the shortest days of the year...

...and so much has been happening in them!  I have more to report from this last week than I could ever manage to fit into one post.  I will attempt to give you the highlights, along with some pics, and not make this go too long.

Last Thursday I traveled with the family to Aachen, in northern Germany - right in the corner, bordering the Netherlands and Belgium, to be exact.  We stayed with some of their friends, who also have an au pair.  Our two families hung out, and we got to explore the city, see the beautiful church (the oldest part of which was built in the 8th century!), the Weihnachtsmarkt, the Lindt factory outlet, and some touristy things, such as the European equivalent of "Four Corners" in the U.S. - Dreiländereck.

On the Sunday after we returned, I took part in our church's "Raclette und Schokofondue" night.  With the other young people, we did a short skit about Advent, and then sang a song, for which I was nominated to sing with the mic.  I generally avoid singing into a mic of any sort, and definitely not as the only one with a mic!  :-)  Thankfully, the entire group was singing, and the focus was on preparing our hearts for Christ, not so much on us.  Afterwards we enjoyed a very traditional holiday dinner, with melted Raclette cheese over potatoes, with fresh veggies or sliced meats.  Then each table had their own fondue pot - sharing chocolate with friends was the best way to end the evening.

Over the next couple of days, I did some craft-ing with the kids and our neighbors, and then some on my own, to deck out my room with a little bit of holiday cheer.  I happened to decorate just in time to usher in the wintry weather.

Last night, I experienced a different sort of Weihnachtsmarkt.  In Esslingen there is not only the traditional market which you will find in many cities, but there is also a Middle Ages Market.  Here, there were many people dressed up in period costume, various types of craftsman, and a dose of cheesiness as well.  Overall, I found it to be very well done, and perhaps a little reminiscent of the type of crowd you might see at a Renaissance Fair.  Many of those in costume seemed like Middle Ages hippies, complete with dredlocks and drums.  :-)  However, some really did preserve the art and craftsmanship of that period.  My favorite, of course, were the food stands where they cooked, kneaded dough, and baked right in front of you.

This last one is for my Mom, who requested that I find someone who spun their own wool.  Not only did I find the spinning wheel, but also an entire loom.  What can I say...we are kinda fiber nerds in my family.  :-)  Finally, to wrap up my post, here are links to recent pictures:

Weihnachtsmarkt

Wintry Adventures

life is messy sometimes...literally

I was talking recently with a friend about being honest about life, but not over-sharing.  I don't want to give the impression that life here is just one grand adventure after another, nor do I want to emotionally vomit into the world wide web.  Simply, I want to portray that it is real life, with rough days, bad moods, and my usual struggles.  On Thursday, I had the perfect example of this.  Here is my list of everything NOT to do:

1.  Don't wear some nice, fashionable boots with a skirt when driving through German back country (at least, not when you plan do the following things you really should NOT do).

2. Don't be impatient and try to take a back road when there is huge construction truck going 5 MPH on the road in front of you.

3.  When going down said back road and it looks like it doesn't lead anywhere, don't drive till the end where the road turns into dirt, and there is no place to turn around.

4.  When you have to back-up down this narrow road with mud on either side, be sure to remember when your car doesn't have power steering and that a slight curve takes a lot more oomph to go around than usual, and don't underestimate and go off the road into the mud.

5.  When you have backed up into the freshly plowed field and your wheels have gotten caught in the thick clay-like mud, don't let your pride get in the way of calling someone for help.

Now that you know everything NOT to do, let me explain how I managed to recover after doing every single one of those things.  First of all, I can thank my dad and brothers for imparting enough car knowledge to me that I did know NOT to give the car a lot of gas, spinning the wheels even deeper into the mud.  Also, I knew that I needed more traction, so I gathered dead grass and straw from across the road to stuff around and under the wheels.  I would then climb into the car, gradually ease from clutch to gas (oh...right...did I mention yet that I did this with a manual transmission, which I have only been driving for about 4 weeks now?) and move about half an inch, throw up the parking brake, climb out, dig out more mud from around the tire, add more straw, and repeat.  It only took about 30-40 minutes of doing this, and then I was finally free.  I was also covered head to toe in mud, with frozen hands and feet.  I knew I wouldn't want to forget the lesson I learned, so I captured the memory with my phone:

At the very bottom of the photo are the ruts my front tires were stuck in.

I made sure that once I did get free, I would have somewhere to go and wouldn't drive into more mud.  After this, I backed up till the bottom of the hill, where I could turn around on a small gravel road, and then go back home.  After a good cleaning, the car looks even better than it did before I dragged it through the dirt.  And I recovered well after a hot shower and some hot tea.  Lessons learned.

'Tis the season!

I promised I would bring you a full report on the Weihnachtsmarkt, and I will now follow through.  There is nothing like the atmosphere of a Christmas market on a crisp cold night, surrounded by hundreds of people, drinking Glühwein (mulled wine), and hearing kids sing Christmas carols.  There were all sorts of interesting things that I found at the Weihnachtsmarkt - some that I expected, and some that surprised me.  First, let me report on the menu for the night, because let's be honest, the food was the most important part of the experience.  :-)

First "dinner":  Kartoffel Puffer mit Kräuter Joghurt - two fried cakes of mashed potates with an herb, yogurt sauce

Glühwein #1

First dessert:  Gebrannte Mandeln - sweet, roasted almonds, a very typical food at German markets, fairs, and fests.

Second "dinner" (above): Krautschupfnudeln - potato noodles, sauerkraut, and ham - VERY schwäbisch, and one of my favorite comfort foods here.

Glühwein #2

(After this one, I saw a stand selling homemade maultaschen, in a little wrapper, so you could hold it in your hands and nibble away.  I was so full at that point, but you should know by now how I feel about maultaschen.  This time I could only sit and smell the goodness, and make a promise to myself to come back and eat one.)

Second dessert: Crepe mit Zimt und Zucker - crepes are really popular here, and a warm, cinnamon-y crepe is the best way to end the night.

The best part of the evening was having a friend to share the experience with.

We laughed together about the random people you encounter in a Christmas market.  There were a lot of street musicians out entertaining the masses and adding to the atmosphere.  I was surprised to see several younger kids standing on their own, playing Christmas carols, usually on some sort of wind instrument.  Then there was the typical group of young guys with guitar and percussion singing pop music.  There were trios of more classical types of musicians.  There was a man playing a didjeridoo, and another man playing music (I forget which instrument) with a bright green parrot sitting on his head.  Finally, there were groups of young people singing traditional German Christmas songs.

Wandering through the market, you will find stands selling everything from traditional wood toys/ornaments to silicone kitchenware to kitschy oriental figurines.  There were stands selling knitted or leather/shearling house-shoes (which looked soooo luxuriously warm).  One of my favorites was a stand of handmade pottery and stoneware, where I saw some small stoneware birds that reminded me of something in my grandparents house.  There were a few moments like that, when I saw things that are familiar either from the little bit of German culture that has trickled down in my family, or from traces of German culture that you can still find in Central Texas.  Very cool to see those connections, no matter how distant they are.

Here are the rest of my pics from last night.

Weihnachtsmarkt