Luxembourg - New City, New Inspiration

New places are always rife with unexpected ideas and insights. Which is probably one of the reasons why I just love new experiences. I'm lucky that Luxembourg exceeded all my expectations concerning its potential for exciting stories. Coming from Vienna with its wealth of history, I wasn't really convinced that Luxembourg would have the same charisma. However, after a visit to the Musee National d'Art et d'Histoire this weekend, I'm thoroughly cured of all my doubts. Luxembourg's historical crux is just a different one. Where Austria is marked by the emperial power games of the Habsburgian monarchy, Luxembourg to this day lives a culture of multiplicity. While over the centuries it was continuously invaded by foreign cultures, more often then not caught in the geographical power struggles of the bigger European empires, it today profits from its multi-cultural and polyglot population as well as a striving financial sector. 

Since moving to a new city means making yourself at home in a different place, I find it important to find spots in my new hometown which anchor me. Little oases of serenity where you can feel all the little burdens of everyday life being carried away by the breeze... One of these spots is Am Bock in Luxembourg city for me. Situated at the edge of the city centre it boasts the ruins of Sigefried's fortress which gave Luxembourg its name. Beyond its inherent beauty as a relict of history, its location also yields an amazing, panoramic view over the city's different plateaus. 

If the view doens't succeed in lifting my spirits, then the Chocolate House in front of the Ducal Palace is only a stone throw away. There is nothing a chocolate spoon dipped into hot milk can't put right. Esepecially with the added entertainment of seeing tourists tease the palace guards. I think my favourite episode was when a hen night party tried to gain a smile by playing "Mother Duck" chase with the guard on duty, following him on his obligatory marches like a flock of obedient ducklings. The hilarity was even greater because they wore screaming pink T-shirts and feathery tiaras. Those are the moments you would normally only conceive when you are writing a humourous scene. It's great to see when they happen in real life! 

Life Taking Over in Luxembourg

Wow, I would never have imagined that I wouldn’t get around to writing another entry for this blog for nearly six months. I absolutely underestimated what it meant to move to a new city, start a new job and settle in. 

Esch-Sur-Sûre - Luxembourg

Since starting in my new position in March, this seems to be the first time that I have come up for air. I have had an amazing journey for the last few months. I tackled the challenges of suddenly working as an online marketing professional in a global company, went apartment hunting, explored Luxembourg City, my new hometown, and went on trips which took me as far as Chicago.

While I will continue to re-orientate myself towards this new stage in my life for some time, I finally feel like I have reached a stage where I can pick up my writing pen again. And I can tell you, my fingers have been itching for digital ink and paper in the last few months. Yet I was lacking the motivation to sit down and put the right phrases to the stories swirling through my mind. Instead, I filled notebooks with my plot bunnies, did research for “Chameleon”, visited friends, met new people, searched for and indulged in new experiences. It also doesn't hurt that Luxembourg has amazing landscapes and a host of castles to offer. In other words, I just let life take over and realised that I have been missing out on some things while worrying about finding a job last year.

However, now I’m back. So get ready to hear more frequently from me. In the next few entries, I will try to fill the gap between my last entry and this one by telling you about some of my experiences since moving to Luxembourg. Until then…Arwuar :)

Moving Base

Hint at where I am right now. Any guesses?

Sorry, for the short hiatus guys, but the last few weeks I have been busy as a bee running figure eights in the job hunting circus. And...I was finally successful, landing a very interesting marketing job which will give me the opportunity to gain a lot of experience in the field. 

However, accepting the job meant moving to an entirely new country, city, apartment... You get my drift ;) So I packed my stuff - along with my writing pens and journals - and moved to my new homebase. I hope to get back to writing soon, especially since I still hold myself to the May deadline for the Writer's Digest Writing Competition. What you can definitely expect in the next week is an update on my querying journey and a report on my new arena of everday life.

See you soon!

Vivette