Monday, July 31, 2006

Following breakfast on Sunday, we went to engage in our vacation tradition: doing something underground. We probably would have gotten around to this already had not everything been securely locked up, I assume as a defense against jerks who spoil it for the rest of us. This time it was a network of tunnels (casemates) built into the side of a fingerlike projection of land, called the Bock, that overlooked the valley below. Because the tunnels had openings on both sides, there were great views of the Grund district and Alzette valley. Also it was nice and cool deep within the rock.

Fortunately, the maintenance of the site seemed to be of a low caliber, so there was some element of excitement when going down a 300 year old slippery spiral staircase built into the rock, descending into darkness because of burnt out bulbs, and when climbing out over precipices because bars protecting us were missing. Hey--we take it where we can get it. Apparently the tunnels were used a number of times throughout history, most recently during WWII. One field marshal had three rooms to himself during a siege in the late 18th century: study, antechamber and bedroom, each with an exterior hole overlooking the valley. On the one hand, good for him for sticking to his guns about taking up half the liveable space in there (most of the tunnels dead-ended in blind walls, and those with views were mostly for cannons). On the other, he was still living in a cave. The 17 km network below the city was maxed out when 35,000 inhabitants occupied the tunnels during WWII shelling. I wish they had put in some period furniture in there so we could see how they made a go of it. I guess you do what you have to in times like those.

We decided to take the climate-controlled train during the hottest part of the day, so after a pasta lunch we lit out for the station. They had an interesting art installation in the plaza in front of the station: 6 artists making sculptures in full view of the curious public. Unfortunately, it being the day of rest and all, they weren't there. But we did get to see their works in progress.

The train was waiting for us at the station when we arrived. We hopped on and enjoyed a peaceful ride home. After getting our tickets stamped, I discovered that the envelope they put the tickets in contained the phrase "have a nice trip" in several languages. In German it is apparently "gute fahrt". And here I was thinking that Germans were all just rude, constantly commenting on their gas passing.

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I urge you all to lay your hands on some buffalo milk mozzarella if you can, a perfectly ripe tomato and some fresh basil and make yourself a summer treat. Buffalo milk mozzarella is delicious and the regular version pales in comparison. Eat in moderation, however, since it has something like twice the fat of regular. Two Amys restaurant in DC puts it on their pizzas, which are excellent.

Next up, our first American visitors...

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