Sunday, December 9, 2012

December 8th -- Wiesbaden Weihnachtmarkt

December 8th -- Wiesbaden's Christmas Market

C, S and I visited the Wiesbaden Christmas Market on Saturday.  It is a really nice market.  Somewhat different from Frankfurt and Köln, but fun.  Here are a few pictures from the market.







S is holding what we had for lunch -- a cross between pizza and flammkuchen


These wooden dolls are holiday incense smokers -- the incense comes
out through their mouths!

S's favorite -- All different types of chocolate covered marshmallows




This one is for you Mrs. Jones -- so you say you like Torroni -- take a look at this stand.

Puppets so ugly they are cute!

Poffetrjes -- Dutch mini-pancakes

Wurst Anyone!

Had to take a picture of these hedgehogs -- made entirely of grass

S -- the most beautiful girl at the Market!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

December 6th -- Sankt Nikolaus Day

December 6th

K and S put their shoes out last night in anticipation of Sankt Nikolaus Day.  So who is this man?  I guess it depends.  My neighbor, Katrin who is from Austria explained that St. Nikolaus brings an orange, nuts (peanuts and walnuts in the shell), a small toy and candy for all of the children who have been good.  She added that if the children have misbehaved Krampus (a scary looking man), Santa's helper visits the children and hits them with a switch or takes them away in his bag (if they are particularly bad).  After doing a little research,  I found that Krampus, also known as Knecht Ruprecht, is a Austrian/Bavarian tradition. (http://lafenty.hubpages.com/hub/KrampusandKnechtRuprecht)

http://anachronisticdecay.blogspot.de/2010/12/mery-krampus.html





I read in a blog that in Austria and southern Bavaria it is a tradition for young men to dress up as Krampus and go through the streets the evening of December 5th frightening chilren with rusty chains and bells.  http://anachronisticdecay.blogspot.de/2010/12/mery-krampus.html.  I was skeptical of the information so I asked Katrin.  She told me that the information was in fact accurate.

Here is a poem that I found online at the webpage for the St. Nicholas Center.  It does a great job explaining the story of St. Nick. (http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/celebrate-at-school/)



Origin of Species
by Phyllis McGinley

Saint Nicholas meeting Santa Claus
Detail from vintage advertising blotter
Koospol, Prague, Czechoslovakia
St Nicholas Center Collection
Nicholas, Bishop of Myra's See,
Was holy a saint
As a saint could be;
Saved not a bit
Of his worldly wealth
And loved to commit
Good deeds by stealth.
Was there a poor man,
Wanting a roof?
Nicholas sheltered him weatherproof.
Who lacked a morsel
Had but to ask it
And at his doorsill
Was Nicholas' basket.
0, many a basket did he carry.

Penniless girls
Whom none would marry
Used to discover to their delight,
Into their windows
Tossed at night
(When the moon was old
And the dark was showry),
Bags of gold
Enough for a dowry.

People, I read,
Grew slightly lyrical,
Calling each deed
He did, a miracle.
Told how he calmed the sea for sailors
And rescued children
From awful jailors
Who, drawing lots
For the foul design,
Liked pickling tots
In pickle brine.

Nicholas, circa
Fourth cent. A.D.,
Died in the odor of sanctity.
But fortune changes,
Blessings pass,
And look what's happened to Nicholas.

He who had feared
The world's applause,
Now, with a beard,
Is Santa Claus.
A multiplied elf, he struts and poses,
Ringing up sales
In putty noses;
With Comet and Cupid
His constant partners,
Telling tall tales to kindergart'ners,
His halo fickle as
Wind and wave.

While dizzily Nicholas
Spins in his grave.

Source cited at the bottom of the page


I guess K and S must have been good girls because St. Nikolaus, not Krampus, visited them.  In addition to a clementine, nuts and candy, S got a travel coffee mug and K got a Hobbit puzzle.  So what do you think of the shoes that S placed outside of her door?







Source:  "Origin of Species", from TIMES THREE: Selected Verse from Three Decades with Seventy New Poems by Phyllis McGinley, copyright 1932–1960 by Phyllis McGinley; Copyright 1938–42, 1944, 1945, 1958, 1959 by The Curtis Publishing Co. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. For on-line information about other Penguin Group (USA) books and authors, see www.penguin.com.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

December 4th -- Tour Guide in Frankfurt

December 4th

Today I ventured into Frankfurt again-- my new favorite place.  I went with the wife of a colleague of Cs.  She has been here four plus years and did not know how to take the train into Frankfurt, had never seen the historic area and did not know about the basement of the Galleria Kaufhof.  We shopped, had lunch and visited the Christmas market.

Here are some pictures from the Frankfurt Christmas Market.




December 2nd -- If you move to Germany don't rent a house on the corner!

December 2nd

We awoke on Sunday to the scraping sounds of shovels.  Overnight it had snowed 3 inches.  It looked beautiful and MacIntosh thoroughly enjoyed it.




Now the reason why you do not rent a house on the corner is that you are responsible for shoveling and salting your sidewalk.  Let's just say, it is like having a driveway.  If you fail to keep the sidewalk clean -- that is from 7 am to 7 pm -- you are liable if someone slips and falls and gets hurt.  C did it Sunday.  It snowed again Monday so I got to shovel.

Later in the day, we went to the Oberursel Christmas Market.  After Frankfurt and Köln, it was not as exciting.  I did, however, have a good snack at the market.  It is called Raclette.  The Swiss take a big hunk of cheese and heat under a broiler.  Then they take an implement that scrapes the melted cheese and place it on bread.  Basically, it is like having cheese fondue on bread.  I took a picture of the cheese melting at the stand and scared the woman.  She had looked away and when she saw the flash, she thought the cheese had caught on fire.



Here are a few pictures of the market in downtown Oberursel.







December 1st

December 1st and 2nd

Saturday was a fun day.  C and I ventured into Frankfurt again.  We went to the Christmas Market, Kleinmarkthalle, and the basement of a large department store called Galleria Kaufhof.  The basement reminds me of the "Cellar" in Macys -- a wine shop, a chocolate shop and gourmet foods.  We also made a stop at a little store near Kleinmarkthalle that sells handmade German gifts.  A few weeks ago,  I had spotted a beautiful pyramid (that is what they call the wooden ornamental pieces with the wooden slats that are powered by candles) that had a nativity scene.  I thought about it buying it but thought otherwise.  C spoiled me and bought it.  It really is beautiful.  You can judge for yourself.





November 26-November 30

November 26 through November 29-- Playing Tour Guide

C's company had a major meeting here in Germany so many of C's colleagues came over from the U.S.   A friend of mine came over with her husband so I got to play tour guide for the week.  Monday, we explored Frankfurt.  We walked along the river, visited the Christmas Market and had lunch at Meyers. For those of you who do not know, Christmas Markets are all over Germany this time of year.  Most cities and towns have one.  Essentially, the markets consist of stalls where food and goods are sold.   They vary in sophistication.  In Köln, they sell leather bags from Berlin, beautiful handmade pottery as well as other goods, food and drinks.  In Oberursel, they sell little toy figures, crepes and hats and gloves.  A main stay no matter which market you go to are Wursts and Gluwein (Gluwein is a hot mulled wine).

Tuesday, we toured Oberursel, had beer and pretzels at the Brauhaus and watched S play in her first varsity basketball game against Weisbaden.

Wednesday was our big touring day.  We took a trip to Köln, a city about 2 hours from Mainz (2 hours and 30 minutes from Oberursel).  Köln is known for its huge Gothic Cathedral.  The city is quite beautiful and modern and it has tons of shopping.  The Christmas Market was open so it added to the fun.  We decided to do the German thing for lunch.  I had curry wurst (see the picture below) in honor of my son and a gluwein.  My friend had a weihnachten wurst (Christmas sausage) and gluwein.  We explored the market and the shops.  We had a great time.  Here a few pictures of our day in Köln.
The Cathedral (nice rainy weather)

 
Lovers come to this bridge and place a lock in it signifying their love.
We have seen bridges with locks in Prague and Frankfurt








Christmas Market in Köln at the base of the Cathedral


Curry Wurst -- Now that I have had -- no need to have it again.
















Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Perks of Living in Germany - Co-authored by Sarah

After coming home from a long day at school, D told me she had a surprise. She handed me an advent calendar. Now this was not any normal advent calendar, this was a KINDER EGG advent calendar. Not only do you get a piece of chocolate for every day of December, but you also get a little toy. I was beyond excited, as I truly appreciate the little knick - knacks of life. However the excitement did not end there. We soon found out that advent calendars here are a big deal.  When C, D, and I went to Real there were aisles of advent calendars: kinder egg, lindt chocolate, play mobile advent calendars, lego starwars advent calendars. You name it and they have it. Being as exicted as we were we decided we needed to send some back home, to our family and friends. However we were quickly disappointed because kinder eggs are illegal in the U.S: lindt choclate and lego calendars would have to do. Throughout the weeks we have managed to gather quite the collection, as we let our excitement get the best of us. D and I were at the grocery store and saw a marzipan calendar: which of course we had to buy for C. Then D and C were at the pet store and yes you guessed, they found dog treat advent calendars, one for each dog. The last advent calendar, D found. As she was looking around Edeka, our labbones, she found a sexy advent calendar. D thought it was the most ridiculous thing, so what did she do - she bought one. The next thing I know, an advent calendar with 3 shirtless men on the front is sitting in the pile.


Kinder egg calendar

yes, we went a little overboard. 


Kinder Egg Calendar


The perspective toys in the kinder eggs

Playmobile calendar
Playmobile calendar


Marzipan calendar for C

Dog Calendar

The treat selection



enough said. 

Now advent calendars were not our only excitement. As it is now Christmas season, the stores are filled with little treats. Being the 5 year old that I am, D saw a Kinder-Egg Maxi at the store and brought back a few for K and I. We have been keeping a collection of the toys, yes our excitement again got the best of us. 

  


A puzzle

A game

penguin

rodent on a wheel

rodent on a bike

Seal, shuffle boarder

The collection.


Here are some other little knick- knacks that we have found. 

This spins, when the candles are lit. Traditional German item. 

The best candy in the world.