Psst... Moms of Teens, here's an idea

Not much blogging happening here on Rue Siggy.  I have been busy with a most excellent visit with my sister and brother in law.  A blog about their visit and our mutual visit to Bavaria to visit our cousin is in the works, but I’m a post trip blogger … and my sister’s visit continues back with me after her 3 day adventure in Paris with her husband.  So more to come on that.   In the meantime…

Quinn had the day off from school today for parent/teacher conferences.  Since shopping wasn’t on his list, I came up with another idea for something we could do together.   It was actually met with a surprising deal of enthusiasm.  I suggested we go into the City Center together armed with our iPhones and seven quotes (none of which are attributed to me.)  The plan was for us to then separate in the city in search of a photo that captured the essence of the quote.  We’d then meet back at the apartment in 90 minutes for the “big reveal.”   The only rule is that it had to be a picture you took during the 90 minutes (no photo roll business.) 

 Here’s what we came back with. 

1.  “Laugh until your belly hurts and then just a little bit more.”

Quinn’s photo (left):  Leave it to the town’s only British pub to provide some levity.

Kate’s photo (right):  French or not, this advertisement is universally understood.

2.  “Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see.” 

Quinn’s photo (left):  An off-the-beaten path archway missed by most people.

Kate’s photo (right): Discarded branches in an alleyway.

3.  “I can’t lie.  I miss you.”

Quinn’s photo (left):  USA. (with a detour to the US Embassy to snap this photo.)

Kate’s photo (right):  Water.  Both the drinking and landscape kind.

4.  “I fit best with you because you’re my other half.”

Quinn’s photo (left):  The empty sky of a missed best friend.

Kate’s photo (right):  A couple’s grave, visited by loved ones.

5.  “I’d rather have flowers on my table than diamonds on my neck.”

Quinn’s photo (left):  Quinn’s favorite view in Luxembourg, because flowers/a view are for everyone to enjoy while diamonds are just for the person who wears them.

Kate’s photo (right):  Yeah, literal flowers.

6.  “You make my dopamine levels go all silly.”

Quinn’s photo (left):  Chocolate croissant.   The apple does not fall far from the cacao tree.

Kate’s photo (right):  Chocolate cake.  That makes even handsome men in the background fade to black. 

7.  “Enjoy the little things in life… for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.”

Quinn’s photo (left):  “A view that doesn’t look like much, but was one of the those cool moments when you step back, take a break, and think.”

Kate’s photo (right):  This day.  This autumn day.  With my big boy.  My boy who is still part green, but also turning into a young man of vibrant colors.  Your teen is too.  Don't miss it.

Moselle Wine Tour

“Luxembourg is a not only a good place to live, but also a good place to enjoy wine.” – the Commission de Promotion des Vins & Cremants de Luxembourg

See, it wasn’t just me who said that.

Finally, with out of town guests visiting, the children in school, and the vineyards full of fruit, I (with enthusiastic guest approval) decided it was time to take a tour of the Moselle Vineyard Valley.  It is after all only 25 minutes away from my house.

I know as much about wine as I do about playing music, so please know that these wine notes will be thin.  I will try not to use the words “flavor profile” or “complexity” with any hint of authority.  I just know what I like, and one of the things I really like is that with the exception of the Chardonnays (which are just so-so) almost every wine produced in Luxembourg is under 10 euro a bottle.  That price point is enough to keep all pretention out.  It may also be the reason why Luxembourg ranks second in the world in per capita wine consumption.

The Moselle Vineyard Valley runs along the Luxembourg/German border for 42km (almost a perfect marathon distance) from the charming village of Wasserbilling in the North to Schengen in the South.  There are lovely paved paths (both on the Luxembourg and German side of the Moselle River) to explore the length of the valley on foot or bike, or by car (or motorcycle if you want to be obnoxious) on the meandering two lane Route de Vin.  The drive between Grevenmacher and Remich is a particularly pretty stretch of the Route de Vin.  

You can also take a train from Luxembourg City to Wasserbilling, and either BYOB (bring your own bike) or rent cruising bikes in Wasserbilling.   I’ve done the train+bike to Wasserbilling three times now, but none of which involved wine tasting.  The bike path on the German side, as you might expect, is superior.  The wines on the Luxembourg side however win hands down.

This is biking on the Moselle.  Not wine tasting. 

Known for its dry whites and sparkling wines, there are about 50 wine producers in Luxembourg.  The region produces nine main grape varieties (Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Auxerrois, Rivaner, Elbing, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Noir) plus the sparkling wines.  Riesling is their pride and joy, Pinot Gris their most popular, Pinot Blanc their live wire,  Auxerrois their love, Ebling their bottom of the barrel, and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay their stretches. 

With export only to Belgium & Germany, Luxembourg wines have virtually no international reputation but people in the region flock across the borders to buy these irresistibly flavorful wines.  To illustrate the national pride there is with their wine, the Luxembourg Moselle region has 18 wine festivals each year.

I started planning our Moselle Vineyard Valley tour the night before.  This is not advised.  I got all excited when I found this website called “Wine Tasting with Friends” put on by the Luxembourg Wine Commission.  It listed all the “vintners who will give you a warm reception at their wineries.”  But when I started clicking away to discover more about tasting programs, I discovered that most of them were by appointment only and only then provided tastings for groups of ten or more.  This would have been best discovered earlier than the night before our adventure.   However, there were two wineries that had open tasting rooms (for sure stops on our tour) and I sent four email queries (in French – thank you Google Translate!) that morning in hopes that one of them might be willing to do a last minute private tasting for our small group of three.  Disproving my theory of European email lag, I got back three responses the next day.  Two emails were with regrets (but offered alternate days), and one of them was willing to host a late afternoon tasting with us. 

Here then are the stops our on poorly planned, but dare I say well executed, Moselle Wine Tour.  Three wineries with a stop for lunch and coffee make for a complete day.  Plus, having the final winery be an outstandingly awesome experience makes for a pretty perfect day.

1.  Bernard Massard – Grevenmacher

Our tour started in Grevenmacher at Bernard Massard, the biggest producer of sparkling wines (“Cremants”) in Luxembourg.  From 9:30-6pm every day through Oct 31, you can drop in the winery and get a 45 minute tour (in English) of how they make the wine along with a tasting of 3 of their cremants for 8 euros.  For 7 euros more, you can visit the Butterfly Garden. (?)  We did not do this.  Ronnie, our tour guide, was affable but slightly jaded having no doubt done this tour a few too many times.  The tour was quite informative and definitely worth the price of admission.  We tasted the Brut (dry), Demi-Sec (medium dry), and Rose Cremants.  We unanimously decided that we like the Rose the best, and the Demi-Sec was a close second.  They didn’t offer tastings of their still wines, but it’s the Cremants (the French prohibit Lux wine makers from saying “Champagne” even though they use the same technique) that they are clearly the most proud of.   The downstairs décor is a bit dated, but the upstairs tasting room is new and airy and place you’d want to hang out for a while.  On the recommendation of Ronnie, we had lunch just down the street at Restaurant Savory which offered a small, but good selection of lunch specials for about 12 euros.    

"My only regret in life is that I didn't drink enough Champagne." – Harry Cantrell. 

  Okay, Harry, but I’m driving.

2.  Domain Mathis Bastian, Remich

This winery also has a tasting room that is open Monday-Friday from 8-12 and again from 2-6.  They have lovely wines, and the people that worked there were friendly but it wasn’t a particularly inviting place (save for the cat named “Pinot.”)  We didn’t get a lot of information about the wines which could have been a language issue or the fact that we weren’t doing a tasting with the actual wine makers.  They don’t give tours of the vineyards (which are right outside the tasting room) or cellar.  We did do the tasting alongside a couple from Antwerp, who provided some cheer to the otherwise flat tasting.  The couple came in to the winery having had one of their outstanding Rieslings at dinner the previous night.  In addition to that tasty Riesling, the Auxerroris Remich Goldberg “grand premier cru” was definitely worth the stop.   The Auxerrois is smooth, light, with melon and citrus flavors that reminds me of a Sauvignon Blanc.  At less than 7 euros a bottle, I bought four bottles.

3. Aly Duhr, Ahn

After a stop in Remich at an outdoor café along the river for a cappuccino, we drove that pretty stretch of the Route de Vin from Remich back toward Grevenmacher stopping in Ahn. 

Ahn from the German side of the Moselle. 

Ahn is an enchanting village (the most picturesque of the three we were in) with several wineries, including our final stop at Aly Duhr which is perched atop of the hill.   Our appointment was at 5pm.  We arrived a bit early and knocked to be greeted by the wine maker’s Mother who invited us in (to her home) while we waited.  After a few minutes, a young – and I mean young – man appeared in the living room to start our tasting.  Max Duhr, age 24, and his 28 year old brother are the youngest wine makers in Luxembourg having taken over the 140 year old family business after the early death of their father. 

What followed was a wonderful tasting of two Rieslings, two Pinto Gris, one Pinot Blanc, and one Chardonnay with an incredibly knowledgeable and gracious host. Every wine was outstanding, and Max sheepishly mentioned that one of his Rieslings had just received the “Coups de Coeur” or taster’s highest seal of approval by a prestigious wine guide the night before.  Only later did I realize how well regarded Aly Duhr’s wines are in the area.  The finest restaurants carry his wines, and because of demand for them, they don’t need to sell their wines in any retail outlets.   As a small independent winery with a rich history and some of the best located fields, they hand pick all their grapes and use organic farming techniques (although they have no interest in marketing themselves that way.)    Max leisurely took us through his wines, giving us a fabulous education in wine making along with giving us a detailed tour of his cellar.  I left with two cases. If you live in Luxembourg, you must get your friends together and visit Max.  You will be very glad you did.

 If your heart is warm with happiness, you'll need a glass - if sorrow chills your heart, have two! – Hannu

I have two glasses of Aly Duhr’s award winning Riesling for anyone who comes to visit!

Almighty Mothers

When your move to another country, your main concerns center on your children and their adjustment, followed closely by trying to make everything as seamless as possible in the household so that your children continue to think you are the Almighty Mother.  The second thing can be harder than expected when they need a swimming cap by tomorrow or when the movie you promised to let them watch is being blocked with the “this content in only available in the US” message.  You will gladly spend the day driving around in search of a swimming cap, and saying yes to other (perhaps inappropriate or completely inane) movies that the firewall could care less about.

With those concerns at the forefront, one of the unexpected gems of living in Luxembourg has been my Thursday morning running group.  One: because it doesn’t involve my children.  Two: because it doesn’t involve my household (or require my household to be tidy.)  And three:  because I’m in the company of other Almighty Mothers who are doing the exact same work I am.  And we get to talk about it while running up an Almighty Hill that kicks our cute Lulelemon butts. 

There have been few things that I consistently do week to week when I’m in town, but this running group is one of them.  It’s something I look forward to every week and miss when I’m gone.  It didn’t start as an organized group; it just kind of morphed into this regular routine.  There are five of us regulars.  We all have children at the International School, all but one of our husbands work for Amazon and all of us have willingly chosen to leave something behind to have this adventure.  None of us came here kicking and screaming.   In fact, more than that, we all came here ready to endure a few headaches for the sake of something new.  That’s perhaps why the group has “stuck.”  Though we have different interests, kids of different ages, we have a shared attitude that says: “I’m ok with finding the swimming cap, and can I pick one up for you too?”

Angela and Alessandra are the Lux veterans.  Angela was my lifeline as I was moving here.  She also has two high school boys and has been a source of great encouragement as we navigate the challenges of moving a teenager.  Angela is an artist, fluent in French (a nice friend to have here!), and finding all sorts of treasures here in Europe to reinvigorate her Seattle-based Window Darlings business.  She’s also usually the first one up the hill.  Alessandra is a professional photographer, originally from Peru and one of those people whose company you seek out in all situations because they are such a pleasure to be around.  Most days she’s got a toddler on her hip, and she always has a kind word and easy laugh.  Ale sees the good in everyone, which must have something to do with her being an amazing photographer.

Jessica and Heidi are the newbies like me.  They both moved here from Russia, so nothing here is hard by comparison. In addition to being genuinely optimistic people, they are also wickedly smart and fun.  Heidi has her Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology and left behind a college professor’s job to follow her husband to Moscow and now Lux as he sells John Deere tractors. (Tip: he's the non Amazon husband.  I don't *think* Amazon is selling tractors yet.)  Bubbly Heidi has already hosted a Friday Happy Hour involving a prize for best set of heels.  I wore sensible flats due to long walk and being from Seattle.  (There was no judgment.)  Heidi was also some crazy competitive triathlete,  but she has a broken toe right now which allows us to keep up.  Jessica left behind a job in Tax, and if she was secretly a Rhodes Scholar or discovered something really important – I wouldn’t be surprised.  She’s one of those smart AND humble ones.  Holly, the recently sabbatical-ed Marine Biologist from Seattle, will be joining us in July …

It wasn’t a topic of conversation today, but I know that today two of our husbands were in Moscow, one was in NYC, and one was in Oslo.  That might be a big deal back home, but here for this crew of Almighty Mothers – it’s just another day.