Passing through....

There's an old joke somewhere about Luxembourg being a country that's so small that, on arrival, they stamp your entry and exit visas at the same time.....

Jase is here for a 2 week residency and competition for a slot at an exhibition at the Shanghai World Expo next spring, so I decided to tag along for a few days en route back to the US.

The idea of the European Community started here, a result of coal and steel trade agreements between Lux and Germany at the initiative of the visionary Robert Schuman in the immediate post-war period. And the Kirchberg district of the city is in full construction swing,completing a nucleus of glorious buildings, including the new home of the European Parliament, the Court of Justice, a Philharmonic Hall, and modern art museum (another I.M. Pei). I visited all, thanks to the rent-a-bike system in place in Luxembourg City---similar to Paris's, you go to the nearest bike stand (dozens around the city), insert your credit card to guarantee the bike for the duration of your subscription, then punch in your code, select the bike you want, then voila it's unlocked by the system and ready to go. Keep it for 30 minutes or less with no charge, with a sliding scale up to max of 5 Euros per day. Bike lanes everywhere in the city. There's an idea whose time has come....for us.
Center city is packed with 19th century charm and a very relaxed, informal pace. We enjoyed two great meals, including dinner at Alexandre Bourgeois with a dining room overlooking the charming Ville Basse and valley below. Night fell, the full moon rose up through the clouds, all we needed were the violins.....

OK, Cinderella, time to get back to dear ol' gritty tempestuous marvelous New York.