When American journalist Mike McQuaide moved to Luxembourg in 2013, he never expected his videos of local trails and towns to make him a household name – or earn him a place in the Trounwiessel celebrations.
Mike McQuaide's story began with videos posted on a social network, initially intended for friends back in the United States. When McQuaid arrived in Luxembourg in 2013 with his wife and son, the cycling and hiking enthusiast explored the country and shared his discoveries online.
"When my wife said: 'Would you like to move to Luxembourg?' we knew the country through cycling. I am an avid cyclist, a cyclist fan and when I lived in America I would get up at 6 in the morning to watch bike races online. So we knew of Kim Kirchen, who is a Luxembourger, as well as the Schleck brothers. What I remember about these guys, the Schlecks and Kim Kirchen, are those interviews I watched while wondering: what language are they speaking? Sometimes it seems German, sometimes it seems French. So it was very intriguing!"
McQuaide and his wife then began thinking about it: "We looked at a map and said to ourselves: Wow! Right next to France, Belgium, Germany… That's a good spot!"
It was a difficult decision to make, but one the McQuaide family have not regretted. Yet after spending a quarter of a century in his native New Jersey, Mike had flourished in Washington State, in a town called Bellingham, where he was a journalist: "I had the best beats! I was outdoor recreation and entertainment. So my job was to go to Rolling Stones or Pearl Jam concerts and write reviews. Then also go into the outdoors around and learn how to snowboard, and go mountain climbing, things like that."
'The Trounwiessel… It was just incredible!'
It was initially for his American friends that Mike created the page An American in Luxembourg. The sporty expatriate amused himself discovering the language and the territory.
But very quickly, it was in the Grand Duchy that interest in his posts grew: "I think Luxembourgers were intrigued by it and they ended up reaching out to me: 'Have you already been to this place? Do you know this place?' And so, they opened their arms to me."
Success followed, to the point that Mike published two books about his status as an American in Luxembourg.
© Mike McQuaid
In 2025, a new surprise awaited him in his adopted country. It all began with an enigmatic email from the event organisers at den Atelier. Mike showed up to the meeting without really knowing what it was about: "A young woman gives me this long PowerPoint presentation that just kept going, half an hour, 40 minutes… They were explaining everything that was going to happen with the tram for the Trounwiessel celebrations… And I ask her: 'Why are you telling me this?' Then she shows me this page where the godfathers and godmothers appear and I am one of them!"
Mike McQuaide found himself part of the event, alongside athlete Ni Xialian and chef Lea Linster: "It was an mindboggling experience. I am just so grateful [...] I felt that we needed this. A positive message that all these people who come from everywhere can be like: 'yes, yes, yes.'"
Mike McQuaid en compagnie de Leurs Altesses Royales le Grand-Duc et la Grande-Duchesse à Wiltz le 4 octobre 2025. / © RTL
This ambassadorial role is not one Mike McQuaid plans to give up; the love story between him and the Grand Duchy is too beautiful to end: "I see no reason to return to the United States. We are fully love it here."
