Bird Whistles in Luxembourg

  Today is Éimaischen in Luxembourg. Traditionalists say it is named after the biblical town of Emmaus but the connection to bird whistles is unclear. The Monday after Easter people flock to the small town of Nospelt 

Nospelt is a potter town.

and to downtown Luxembourg where a festive atmosphere urges them to buy bird whistles made out of clay, called Péckvillercher.

Loved these bird flags that Nospelt proudly flew.

Wanting to live like a local today, we headed to Nospelt this morning with some friends. Nospelt is a cute little village and we had a good time looking at whistles, carefully choosing which ones to bring home. Our friends told us it was a tradition, well their tradition anyway, to take a photo in front of the church with your birds! The Monday after Easter is the only day that you can buy Péckvillercher so it's a great tradition that you don't want to miss.We ate some delicious sausages and Doug enjoyed a glass of beer while I preferred sipping on bubbles. The glasses were free to keep! It helped that it was an absolutely beautiful day and the flowers were in full bloom.
     From there we headed to downtown to take in the "big city" party. It was nice to see all the people in town enjoying the day. We found 2 more birds to take home. These are a bit special because you fill them with water and that creates a beautiful whistle. Without the water, the pitch is high and shrill. The brown birds in the photo are the water ones.While we were in town we indulged in a traditional Luxembourgish treat called Gromperekichelcher. I have no idea how to say that but I enjoyed eating it. They are basically hashbrowns that have been fried a couple of times! Potato fritters. Delicious and full of grease!
     It was fun taking in this tradition with the locals and we have some nice souvenirs to help us remember the day after Easter 2019.