December Highs and Lows

This was a busy, but not hectic, month. We did a lot, cooked a lot of delicious meals, (my daughter and I) took a few trips, and experienced the joy of the Christmas season. Germans really know how to do Advent and Christmas. I feel like Christmas in the U.S. is about sales, shopping, rushing around, and stress. The rushing around and stress were partly due to the fact that I was working full-time as well, of course. I haven't had any rushing or stress related to the holiday, and M has been able to stay out of the office for several days!

It's New Year's Eve now, and we're about to start preparations for our Raclette dinner. After that we'll watch "Dinner for One" and have our Bescherung (gift exchange) with my Schwiegermutter. Christmas has really lasted more than a month for me! I had Thanksgiving and Christmas with my parents and both kids in Wisconsin on November 26th, Christmas with M and my daughter on December 24th, and now tonight we combine Christmas and New Year's Eve with M's mother!

But without further ado, here are this month's highs and lows:

HIGHS

• spending a few hours at the Tübingen Chocolate festival with my daughter


• visiting Esslingen's Weihnachtsmarkt und Mittelaltermarkt


• a bus trip to Bad Wimpfen with my daughter for its Weihnachtsmarkt


• spending five days in Rome with my daughter - I was not as "wow-ed" as I thought I would be at the time, but as time has passed I have realized how glad I am we went there and had that experience. 
  


• seeing Disney's musical Tarzan at the Apollo Theater in Stuttgart


• going to Stuttgart's Weihnachtsmarkt and riding the Paternoster (open, constantly-moving elevator) in the Rathaus with my daughter's friend


• interviewing an Esslingen author, two of whose books I have read and enjoyed; this was really my daughter's thing, which she arranged to aid in her senior project about Schwabenkrimis (Swabian crime novels), but I came along and enjoyed meeting and chatting with her!


• several days of having no plans whatsoever where we just stayed home (and cleaned, read, did laundry, etc.)!


• receiving ten Christmas cards and letters from family and friends in the U.S. I used to receive many more before I moved here, but the number sinks with every year. I hope it's not that Christmas cards are becoming a thing of the past, because I love them!


• Christmas Eve with M and my daughter


• getting an email from my son saying he earned a 3.692 GPA in his first semester at UW-Green Bay! That's three As and a B! (Ähm...better than his mother did most terms in college)


• eating the sausage rolls Martin made
  
  
  


• lamb Stew for dinner on Christmas Day - but we'd nibbled on sausage rolls and weren't even hungry for it!


• making Maultaschen with my daughter on Christmas Day - we froze them to eat on the weekend
  
  
  


• Sunday brunch at our favorite local restaurant


• welcoming my Schwiegermutter, who will spend a few days with us around Silvester (New Year's Eve)


• getting an email from a former student (although we teachers don't have favorites, he was definitely one of those!), whose cousin I happened to be sitting next to while flying from Frankfurt to Chicago in November! I usually don't chat on planes, but he was wearing a Wisconsin Badgers hat and I decided after several hours to ask him if he was from Wisconsin. Turns out he lives in the town where I lived for 17 years and had cousins who attended the school where I taught...


• booking a week at one of Glengorm Castle's self-catering apartments on the Isle of Mull in Scotland for September, 2015. (This is where we got married in 2006.)  OMG!!!!
  
  
  
• Watching "Dinner for One" on Silvester (New Year's Eve). It's tradition!

LOWS

• having to listen to a bunch of darn annoying, disruptive, unchaperoned teenagers during Tarzan


• finishing preparing the meat filling for the Maultaschen and realizing I had not thawed the Nudelteig (pasta dough). It takes six hours to thaw.


• saying good-bye to my daughter who is returning to college; I'll see her (and my son) again in June when she graduates from Lawrence University!


• Realizing at 17:00 on Silvester (New Year's Eve) that I forgot to buy the Schweinebraten (pork roast) for our New Year's Day dinner. The store closed at 16:00 and will reopen on January 2nd. Oops. 

Questions of the Month:

1. Why are there pairs of policemen and/or military personnel all over Rome? Does this mean the city is very dangerous, or that it's a safe place because armed cops & soldiers are all over??


2. Why would parents or teachers allow a group of unruly young teenagers sit in a theater without supervision? And why, after both my daughter and then I "shushed" those kids and they got disparaging looks from others around us, did they not realize or care that they were disrupting other people?


3. The fireworks are for 12:00 midnight. Why have people in our neighborhood set them off at 10:00 am, 17:00, and 17:40?


4. How could I forget to buy the damn roast?!?


5. "So, what do we have in the freezer?"  (Turns out we have four duck legs. Duck it is!)

Happy New Year, everyone!  Wir wünschen euch einen guten Rutsch ins Neujahr!  (We wish you a good slide into the New Year!)

Day Trip 5: Bad Wimpfen

Bad Wimpfen is a lovely little town worth a visit even without the Christmas Market. It's a little awkward to get to by train from Horb and takes three hours with two or three transfers and a 15-minute walk, apparently (not a problem, but good to know). I decided to reserve two seats for my daughter and me on a bus day trip instead with the travel/bus company Schweizer. The drive took 2 1/2 hours to get there because of some traffic issues, but just 2 hours to return, and it cost €25 each. Had we gone by train we could have got there with the MetropolTagesTicket Stuttgart for a total of €24. The bus driver dropped us off right at the main bus parking lot and picked us up there five hours later. Granted, my daughter (21) was the youngest in the group and I was the second or third youngest, but that didn't matter. Funnily, I think we were the only ones who napped on the way to Bad Wimpfen!

Our bus driver gave us the following warning after he'd picked everyone up:
"The bus will be in the lot and we will depart at 19:30. If you are five minutes late, you have to sing a song. If you are ten minutes late, you will sing two songs. If you are fifteen minutes late, you can sing a song where the bus was." No one was late!

I never get tired of Fachwerkhäuser (half-timbered houses)

In the background is the Blauer Turm (Blue Tower),
the landmark of Bad Wimpfen

We got sucked into the Weihnachtsmarkt right away, but what we should have done was stop in the Stadtinfo (Hauptstraße 45) to get a guide book and start a self-guided walking tour of the town while it was still light out. One doesn't really need five hours only for one Christmas Market. I did climb the Blauer Turm, which costs €1,50 and is very easy. Unlike many church and castle towers I've climbed, the steps leading up are wide and straight rather than a spiral, and I wasn't even winded when I got to the top.

Evangelische Stadtkirche
Protestant Municipal Church

Salzgasse, leading from Hauptstraße up to the Marktplatz,
with Christmas Market booths along the way

One thing to know about Bad Wimpfen's Weihnachtsmarkt that is different from others is that there is no Pfand (deposit) for the cups - which means you pay for your cup (only €1,50), reuse it if you want another beverage, and in the end it's yours. You may also bring your own cup from home if you know this ahead of time. We saw lots of people with their own cups.

The rest of the time we wandered around, sampled the delicious food, bought a few items, and took lots of photos.

After you choose a snack and beverage, you find a spot at one of
these standing tables, perhaps sharing with a stranger or two.

It's true that one tends to find the same types of stands at each Weihnachtsmarkt - nutcrackers, wooden smoking men, roasted nuts, ornaments and home decorations, wool hats and mittens, scarves, Lebkuchenherzen (gingerbread hearts), wooden ornaments, candles and candle holders, products made with honey, flavored mustards or spreads, and gifts appealing to children - but each Christmas Market also has its own character. You will always find stands selling rote Würste ("red sausages") and other sausages on buns, waffles, crepes, and usually Schnitzel (breaded pork cutlet). Keep a look out for any food you haven't seen before, and try it! The first new food we saw were small donuts, which were made fresh with each order and served warm with powered sugar, sugar & cinnamon, vanilla sauce or chocolate. They were fabulously delicious!

Schnitzel mit Brot and Glühwein
The Schnitzel was good - nice and crispy, but the meat
was tender and juicy.

Crepe with vanilla sauce and some sugar & cinnamon,
heiße Schokolade mit Sahne, and Glühwein

I'm glad we had this experience - the whole bus trip to a new (for us) town far enough away that we made a full day of it with a lovely Christmas Market. If I return I will definitely plan for a tour of the town to learn more about its buildings and history, and I think I would also go for two days and include either Heidelberg or Heilbronn.

Thus endeth our three-day marathon of day trips, and we plan to enjoy a quiet weekend with M, resting up for Rome. My daughter got out of bed 90 minutes ago and she's already napping on the sofa under a thick blanket...

Have a great weekend!

Esslingen's Christmas Market and Medieval Market

"Seid gegrüßt, edle Damen!"

If you're not a new reader, you know I love the town of Esslingen am Neckar. It's like a second home to me and visiting never gets old. It's a beautiful town no matter the season, but the Christmas and Medieval Market is truly something special. I don't need to go into all the special exhibits, activities, features, programs, booths, and entertainers, because there is a very thorough website explaining everything you could want to know about what there is to see and do there. My Schwiegermutter and I did the English translations of the updated version of the site earlier this year!

When my daughter and I arrived this morning we met my Schwiegermutter and headed straight to the Weihnachtsmarkt with a brief stop at the bank and Karstadt (Esslingen is GREAT for shopping in general!). We meandered through the Christmas Market seeing many familiar stalls and making mental note of where we would return later.

Räucherhäuser - smoking houses
(incense cones go inside and the fragrant smoke comes out the chimney)

handmade soaps

decorations for your home

candle holders

products made from honey

Then we went to the Mittelaltermarkt, which is good splendid fun! The vendors and entertainers are all in costume, and I know it's early in the season, but every one of them seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their roles. They speak a combination of the local Schwäbisch dialect mixed with old German (but switch to oldish English when they hear the American or English accent so common among visitors). Don't neglect to pick up a brochure, which includes not only a map and guide, but also a language chart translating common phrases from Hochdeutsch into Mittelalter-Deutsch. It even gives you phrases you can and should use with the vendors!

Those who interacted with groups of children did so expertly, drawing them in and explaining town life in the Middle Ages, getting them involved in games, and demonstrating various crafts.

He's saying good-bye to a group of children, reminding them
to return their cups to the stand and to be careful that they don't drop and break them!

This man on stilts enchanted children with soap bubble balloons
and general theatrics

Ok, I'm sorry - I know the following picture isn't great, but the scene was so gorgeous I had to include it. This is a very old ferris wheel for small children. They sit in pairs in the little baskets, and for the pairs that don't weigh enough to keep the wheel turning smoothly, the attendants put sacks of sand in the basket with them. I nearly died from the cuteness.

Entering the Hafenmarkt I was accosted by a charming woman selling Pflaumentoffelglühwein (mulled spiced plum-flavored wine?), who lured me to her stand with a free sample, which of course I gladly accepted. It was sweeter than I prefer, but tasty enough, so I paid for a full cup and promptly burned the tip of my tongue. My Schwiegermutter had a cup of her Zimtapfelsaft (warmed cinnamon apple cider), which she enjoyed.

Then we went on through the Mittelaltermarkt to explore the booths.

more Met (pronounced "mate") - it's wine/beer made from honey

This is the public bath. Although we didn't see anyone in it today,
it's real! One can pay to sit in the big barrel of hot water for a
middle ages-style bath.

herbs and spices

I love this old-style pottery

a booth of all things sharp - and he'll even sharpen your knives the old-fashioned way.
There's a little sign that reads "Thieves will have their fingers cut off!"

And because I love dogs...

In the Mittelaltermarkt there are craftsman who demonstrate their talents, show visitors how to do things like shooting arrows and weaving ropes, and of course, prepare delicious food.

the Zundermacher - tinder maker, who has boiled a sponge
and is shaving off pieces to work as flints.

Bogenschiessen lessons

This chap is preparing the Kässpätzle I ordered for lunch.
Kässpätzle = Swabian noodles and cheese

One thing we did for the first time this year is play Mäuseroulette. The woman in charge of the game was sweet, funny, very enthusiastic, and convinced us as we strolled by that we would love this game for only zwei Taler (medieval coins, Euro today)! I readily admit I enjoyed it, and I will play it again when I return. This is a picture of Karamelle the mouse (the caramel-colored blur) running into a house upon which my Edelstein is not. The lady standing next to me won, though.

So I have some advice for those of you who are close enough to Esslingen this year or some year in the future in December:

1. Go to Esslingen's Christmas Market and Medieval Market.
2. Be aware that the Medieval Market continues around the Rathaus (city hall) down a side street to the Hafenmarkt!
3. Participate in everything possible - Mäuseroulette, archery lessons, rope-twisting, the medieval bath... If someone in costume asks if you want to participate in something, don't be a putz! Say yes!! You'll spend some money, but you won't be sorry.
4. Go with an empty stomach and sample every dish that looks or sounds tempting.
5. Split the servings with a friend - the Kässpätzle, for instance, is too much for one person. That way you can also try twice as many different foods!
6. Be careful with your first sip of Glühwein. There's no warning on the cup, Americans, but it's hot!
7. Don't forget your camera!

Tomorrow we're off on a bus trip to Bad Wimpfen, where we've never been before. The highlight of our Christmas season is always the Esslingen Christmas and Medieval Market, but we're looking forward to Bad Wimpfen as well. Stay tuned!

Advent in Deutschland

'Tis the season for Weihnachtsmärkte, Glühwein, Adventskalender, and heiße Maroni in Germany, and I love it! It's next to impossible not to get filled with the Christmas spirit in Germany during Advent. I have discovered there is more to Christmas than shopping in crowded stores, enduring Santa songs on the radio, and stress, though admittedly it's easier to see that when one is semi-retired.

One German Advent tradition or ritual is the Adventskranz. We bought ours last weekend at the Horb Christmas market. It's important to buy it before the first Sunday of Advent, though Martin found out two years ago that if one waits until the Monday after, they are a lot cheaper... As far as I know, in the U.S. the lighting of the Advent wreath is only done in churches, where every Sunday another candle is lit. Here most families have one somewhere in their home.

On the second Sunday of Advent, the second candle is lit, and so on.





The Adventskalender is quite popular here, too. Our grocery store was exploding with Adventskalender (especially the ones with a piece of chocolate behind every door) in the last days of November, and again, on about the 2nd or 3rd of  December, they can be purchased at a reduced price (but seriously, suck it up and buy it on time). Something is missing if a home doesn't have at least one Adventskalender - one per child, in homes with children.

The wooden Weihnachtspyramide is a favorite decoration, the best of them being made in the Erzgebirge region. They come in all sizes and colors, and when the candles are lit, the poor little Holy Family gets spun around to the point that, if they were real, they'd be wretching for sure. It's best not to think about that too much and just enjoy the action.

At the Konstanz Weihnachtsmarkt last year, selecting the Weihnachtspyramide my parents bought me for Christmas.

My favorite part of this season is Weihnachtsmärkte, or Christmas markets. I can't get enough of them. I've been to three so far this season, and I'll be going to five more between now and Dec. 23. The best one in these parts is unquestionably the one in Esslingen with its traditional section and the Mittelalterlichen Weihnachtsmarkt. Two-hour long TV programs have been produced about the Esslingen Christmas market, and rightly so. It's truly something to behold.

at the Esslinger Weihnachtsmarkt

At the Weihnachtsmärkte you will see lots of festively decorated booths selling all kinds of wares - candle holders, hand-carved wooden ornaments and decorations, warm woolen mittens, hats, and scarves, jewelry, and snow globes for starters. No one should leave a Weihnachtsmarkt hungry, because the amount of food to be had could feed several armies. Crepes, rote Wurst, roasted nuts, Lebkuchenherzen (heart-shaped gingerbread), Waffeln, Bratwurst, Flammkuchen, and Bratkartoffeln or Reibekuchen, are just a few of the delictable snacks you can expect to find.

wood carvings in Stuttgart

Glühwein is hot spiced mulled red wine, which warms the soul on cold afternoons and evenings at a Weihnachtsmarkt. This has always been a delicious tradition for me that goes with Weihnachtsmärkte, but this year I discovered that I actually don't love it. Kinderpunsch is the non-alcoholic version, and perhaps I'll try that this season. When you buy Glühwein for €2,50 or so, you pay €4,50, because €2 is deposit on the mug. You can keep the mug, which is a pretty inexpensive souvenir, or return it and get your €2 back. Locals usually return the mug because they already have a cupboardful from the last twenty-some years.

enjoying a Glühwein  and Kinderpunsch at the Stuttgarter Weihnachtsmarkt

München

In the evenings the Weihnachtsmärkte take on a new atmosphere as the sky darkens and the lights add a romantic aura to the scene. This is the Weihnachtsmarkt in Konstanz on the Bodensee (Lake Constance).







Some of the smaller Christmas markets, like the one in Horb, are open just for a weekend. Those appeal mainly to the locals, as it's a nice place to meet friends at the Feuerzangenbowle, hear the local youth entertain with singing and playing instruments, and support local venders. The bigger, more well-known ones are open every day from the end of November until shortly before Christmas.

The markets are outside without shelter. If it's raining, which it often is in December in Germany, you have to dodge umbrellas and make sure you don't impale anyone with yours. If it's snowing and blowing, you better bundle up. Other than the recent hurricane that blew through northern Germany, weather doesn't stop Weihnachtsmärkte or people from visiting them.

I have loved the Advent and Christmas season in Germany ever since my first December trip here. I hope the wonder of the season doesn't fade for me over the years, and it shouldn't. The things that sometimes ate away at my Christmas cheer in Wisconsin - driving on snowy, icy roads, shoveling multi-feet of snow before driving to school or after returning, having to prepare lessons and grade homework, and shopping in over-crowded stores due to holiday sales - just aren't issues for me any more. There is just something special about the old world holiday traditions here that I wish all of my American friends could experience.

Happy Holidays, Frohe Weihnachten, and Joyeux Noël!