Twentieth Century Mansion

I had just arrived in Luxembourg. One fine evening in August 2013, we were strolling along Avenue de la Liberte, which is in close proximity to my house. My husband stopped by a huge mansion, with twinkle in his eyes pointed towards the   Arcelor Mittal   head quarter. After all when we are abroad then only we take pride in being Indian. Back at home we are Punjabis, Gujratis, South Indians, Brahmins, Rajputs etc, etc.

It was a moment of pride for me too, as I had read about Mr. Laxmi Mittal and his company Arcelor Mittal too. It is a huge mansion, built by the Luxembourg steel giant Arbed in 1920s much before Mr. Mittal acquired Arcelor. It is one of the notable heritage buildings of Luxembourg city, in a very pristine location. The beautiful Rose garden across the street enhances its magnificence.

It is one of the tourist sites, a stopover for city sightseeing HOHO bus. On Luxembourg national day, the stage is set right in front of the mansion for the Duke and Duchess and other VIPs; from where they view the military parade.

In year 2014, the news started flashing, Arcelor mittal all set to sell off the head quarter because of high maintenance cost. Rumours started afloat, first a shopping mall, then being sold off to Bank of China. But finally it was sold to   BCEE (also known as Spuerkeess, a state owned bank) which has its headquarters in place de la Metz, the historical building near the Adolphe (blue) bridge.

As of now the building is under renovation. I   do not have much knowledge of the architecture but this one is my personal favourite. It must be one of the finest amongst all buildings/mansions of   the Grand Duchy.

A memorable journey from India to Luxembourg

On 26^th Jan 2015, when I saw the Republic day parade , our Prime Minister Narendra Modi standing his head high with  Barack Obama and our National Anthem being played......I had tears in my eyes. It’s so true that “MISSING SOMEONE IS A PART OF LOVING THEM.IF YOU ARE NEVER APART, YOU WILL NEVER REALLY KNOWHOW STRONG YOUR LOVE IS.”  I miss my country so much, the samosa and jalebi treat on every republic day. And so I want to share one incident from my life which made me a better person and say proudly that INDIA AND INDIANS are GREAT.

It was the day when I was leaving India for a better opportunity to a foreign land. My flight was from Kolkata to Mumbai and then from Mumbai to Luxembourg. My flight in Kolkata got delayed for almost 3 hours and I still had no idea how long I will have to wait neither the crew members of the Airline. I was getting very restless as I was alone with my kid unable to connect with my husband due to weak signal. I was desperately trying to square things with crew member as any further delay would make impossible for me to catch the flight to Luxembourg.  

But they didn't seem to be very considerate. However my fellow passenger understood my problem. One of them came to me and asked details of Lufthansa Airlines, called his son and asked them to inform about my situation. Another lady was taking care of my son while I was busy talking to the crew members. Soon all the passengers even those who were not of the same flight started questioning and arguing with the crew members. Obviously everyone was agitated due to the delay but the most surprising part was when they all said “we won't board inside the flight until this ma’am (that’s me) is given a confirmed ticket to Luxembourg and accommodation in Mumbai" as they also felt it was impossible to catch flight now. The manager of the airline had to officially mail me and my husband that if I miss my flight they will arrange the needful. When I reached Mumbai only 45 min was left for the flight to take off and I had to collect my luggage, reach International terminal which was 4 km, and check in with all legal formalities. But I made it. Thanks to all my fellow passengers.

The incident is very small but the way it happened was very dramatic and touching. Each passenger was so concerned for me , they made me feel like one of the family and hence it reminds me one of the quote by Swami Vivekananda ” If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya bhumi ,to be the land to which all souls on this earth must come to account for karma ,the land to which every soul that is wending its way Godward must come to attain its last home, the land  where humanity has attained its highest  toward gentleness, toward generosity, toward purity, toward calmness, above all the land of introspection and of spirituality -it is INDIA.

And I AM A PROUD INDIAN.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg - My Impressions

It's been exactly a year & half since I shifted to Luxembourg. Before coming here one of my friend whose husband was on a business trip to Luxembourg told me that "Luxembourg is like a modern village". Honestly her statement irked me as what I read about Luxembourg was that it is one of the richest countries in the world & is the world’s only remaining grand duchy. However after staying here I can say that it is not a very glitzy place to brag about instead it's a wonderful blend of modern & classic.

The first lesson I learnt when I came to Luxembourg was "language is the road map of a culture" and if you don't know their language you cannot become part of their culture & society. So enrol yourself in a language class as soon as you come here and trust me it's not an easy road to follow as Luxembourg has three official languages but look at the brighter side living in Luxembourg is like living in four countries as you can easily travel to France Germany or Belgium within an hour of driving.

Gloomy doomy skies can lead to gloomy doomy moods so learn to love cloud and rain if you are staying in Luxembourg. I am still learning to do that.

Mostly people are kind and helpful. My neighbour threw my garbage twice without telling me and on a Christmas holiday my owner came dressed like a Santa Claus and gave chocolates to my son.

Houses are very colourful in Luxembourg but dresses are mostly black and white. Get ready clothes in your closet will mostly be black and white if you shop from Luxembourg.

If you are a green panther then you are definitely going to enjoy your stay here as Luxembourg is surrounded by beautiful valleys, mountains, rivers, castles and landscapes. So buckle up to walk and shed some extra kilos as you also have to walk and run a lot if you are in Luxembourg. A great way to start a healthy lifestyle.

The public schools in Luxembourg not only maintains children  health but also look after theirs parents as parents need to drop their kids in morning ,bring them back for lunch and again drop them to school & pick them after school.   So much picking and dropping will obviously help parents in becoming strong and toned.

And if you are a night person then you might be a little disappointed because all the shops are closed by 6 in the evening. You see how Luxembourg makes this statement so relevant that “early bird catches worm”

At last I would like to mention  that even though  Luxembourg  is a very  small country with population of approximately 5.7 lakh, you won’t  feel lonely because of its multiculturalism.In my French class there are 20 students & all are from  different  parts of the world.Infact Luxembourg offers you the perfect platform to understand the diversified world.

Daylight Saving Time - 27th March, 2016

It was showing 8:27am on my phone, when I woke up today morning. But when I glanced farther, the clock was still few minutes shy of 7:30. At once it struck me the clock needs to move forward. With the advent of internet, devices like phone, tablets, and computers reset the daylight saving time automatically. But clocks and watches need to be set manually.

It is almost a decade when I was enlightened about the concept of Daylight saving time in US of A, how the clocks move forward by an hour in spring and again back in autumn just before the onset of winters. Back in India it never happens, though it may result in huge energy saving. It will be like an earth hour daily as people will finish their day chores an hour early.

In Luxembourg and many other developed countries DST is applied on the last Sunday of March and clocks are reset on the last Sunday of October. During peak summers usually in July/August the sun shines brightly even after 9pm.

My body clock takes a while to adjust .Initially for couple of weeks, I feel extremely sleepy and lethargic by afternoon, just because I will be getting up an hour early. So power nap helps. One hour does make a difference, though I rarely sleep during afternoons.

Follow the KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) principle and always remember the DST changes –

Spring ahead and Fall (Autumn) back.

Carnival - Hello Spring and Good Bye Winter

Each year, February and March weekends in Luxembourg are all about Carnivals .The festivity marks the end of harsh and long winters(though winters have been pretty mild in 2014 and 2015).The  different communes  celebrate in their own style. Mostly there are floats, marching bands and cartoon characters   in the procession. Few floats highlight the socio-political humour, while others are more traditional ones.

The vibrant floats are forty to sixty in number. It is an annual celebration and people turn out in large numbers along the city street in colourful, funky costumes. It is like a huge street party with loud music. The parade starts in the afternoon after 2 pm and lasts for about an hour or so traversing the main streets of the city, but the celebration continues till night.

Kids are busy collecting candies and other goodies being tossed from various floats. Most of the carnivals are free street shows but few like the one in Remich and Diekirch have   entry ticket of five euro which doubles as raffle ticket.  

I had the opportunity to attend the Remich and Diekirch carnival. Never seen so much rush in   buses and trains like on the carnival day. It seems everybody, young and old is heading to the Carnival, after long winter hibernation.

Gelle Fra - The Golden Lady

The Golden lady, also known as Monument of Remembrance is an iconic monument in the heart of Luxembourg City. On a tall obelisk stands the golden lady with wreath in her hand at the place de la constitution. The war memorial is dedicated to all Luxembourgish world war heroes.

It is one of the main tourist attractions of Luxembourg.Here you will always find hordes of tourist strolling around with a camera in hand.During sunny days which are quite few in Luxembourg,it is the best sunset vista point.One can enjoy a scenic sunset with stunning view of valley,Adolphe bridge and other heritage building of the city in the backdrop.

There is a souvenir shop nearby from where I always have coffee in winter and ice-cream in summer. Month long Christmas market takes place here otherwise the  square serves as a parking lot,  rest of the year.