Merry Christmas!

The consular team!

The Luxembourg Christmas Market skating rink.

Who needs mistletoe?

And then this happened

You know I love consular work. I talk about it all the time.

But in a small embassy like Luxembourg, sometimes you get to cross over to other "duties as assigned." And thatʻs how I met Nancy Pelosi.

This past weekend I was given the opportunity to be the "control" for Speaker Pelosiʻs visit to Luxembourg for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, and the many events that honored U.S. veterans. She led a CODEL (COngressional DELegation) of members and staffers that numbered about 50. My team and I arranged bilateral meetings with the Grand Duke, the parliament, and the prime minister. We coordinated dinners and lunches and transportation. And when the time came we accompanied the sixteen members of Congress to pay tribute at Bastogne Barracks and the Luxembourg American Cemetery, and we trekked with them through the Ardennes forest for a memorial service to those who fought and died to liberate Belgium and Luxembourg.

It was a lot of long hours and late nights, but in the end the visit was successful and memorable.

At the airport as the CODEL was leaving.

Christmas Markets in Germany

R is back in Luxembourg (hurray!) and we decided to explore the nearby Christmas markets this past weekend. By "nearby" I mean in Germany - and actually kind of far away. On Saturday we went to Traben-Trarbach, a 90 minute drive across the German border, to see the Christmas market that is tucked away in six separate wine cellars:

A view from the road as we drew nearer our destination.

Yes, there were plenty of people crammed into very tight spaces, drinking mulled wine and making merry.

I can only assume that these are wine casks. :)

The next day, Sunday, we threw caution to the winds and ventured 2.5 hours into Germany to the beautiful village of Rudesheim. This town is known for its "Christmas of Nations" Christmas market, and boasts Europeʻs biggest Nativity scene with life-size figures:

Complete with babbling brook!

Merry Christmas from me and the old elf.

I also bought a huge stollen cake to share with my colleagues at work, and many, many marshmallow confections that were divinely delicious. Tis the season!