Frohe Weinhnachten!

A Merry Christmas to you all back home. We hope it was a memorable and joyous one for you and your families.

Christmas began early for us, before the crack of dawn, even! The not-so-quiet trampling of little feet on our wooden stairs woke David and me at 4:15am. The kids were told that if they happened to wake up before us, they could open their stockings, but could only gaze with wonder upon the presents under the tree. I rolled out of bed at 8:30 and our Christmas morning officially began.

Everyone got a personalized wooden breakfast board which are popularly used as plates for eating your chocolate croissant or Brötchen.

Santa brought Bex this wooden bike with no pedals for learning how to balance on a real bike. You see these here instead of bikes with training wheels.

David managed to find a crockpot on German e-bay. This will help so much with the whole "getting home from school right at dinnertime" madness. Santa also gave us 2 more handsets for our phone. We have been surviving with only 1 phone, which meant anytime the phone rang, the handset was in our bedroom, and I was, of course, in the basement doing laundry. It's been a good way to burn calories, that frantic race up 3 flights of stairs, but what a relief to have another phone.

Girls love filling out surveys about their likes, dislikes and what they want to be when they grown up in these "Friend Books."

My Auntie Anne sent David this wine cork which had been my Uncle Bill's. She also sent me a German Goebel figurine which had been my great-aunt Josie's. We were so touched by her thoughtfulness.

It took Micaela and me over 2-1/2 hours to put this Playmobil castle together for Emilie, and that is no exaggeration. They're such awesome toys, though, so we can honestly say that it was all worth it.

Yes, yes, Micaela got a cell phone. We only OK'ed it with Santa because there are times when afterschool activities are canceled and kids are not allowed to use the school phone to call home (or in the event they are, the school charges them a Euro, which makes for very expensive calls home.) I have arrived to pick up the kids at 5:30, only to find out that soccer practice was canceled and I could have picked them up at 3:20 before rush hour while it was still light outside and they could have gotten their homework done early. So, yes, I am trying desperately to justify giving an 11-year old a cell phone.

James and his dad are looking forward to some father-son time building this cool Lego robot.

Finding Nemo and Monster, Inc. are Bex' favorite movies right now.

Christmas Eve

The ice on the trees has not melted, so it looks like we should have a white-ish Christmas after all.

We went to the English Mass at church in the evening and then allowed the kids to open up their secret Santa gifts. They had all picked a sibling's name out of a hat last week and along with giving a gift, they had to perform two anonymous good deeds for that person. No one was able to correctly guess who their secret Santa was. In fact, no one could tell that anyone had done anything nice for them at all over the past week. I have the sneaking suspicion that the acts of kindness fell by the wayside. Rather disappointing during this season of goodwill.

After the kids went to bed, I put on the TV to see what was on and was just in time to see Clark W. Griswold grease up his silver saucer for sledding in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Seeing him yell "Eichhörnchen!" didn't have quite the same effect as "Squirrel!" It did occur to me that this movie might give Germans a slightly skewed view of American life.

Christmas Lights

If we were going to put up a tree this year, it was going to have to be an artificial one. Real trees have given David and James allergy-type symptoms in the past. We heard from many different people that you can find artificial trees here, no problem. Ha. I think David managed to find the only one being sold in all of Germany and that was after hitting several stores over the last few weeks.

We put the tree up this afternoon, in the German tradition of setting up Christmas trees just a few days before Christmas.

The homes we see here are decorated very modestly for Christmas. Some people put white lights in their windows, a few have strung some lights on their balconies, maybe a glowing deer in the yard, but by American standards, very simple.

So, when we heard about this "crazy" house in the town next to ours all decorated for Christmas, we had to see if for ourselves.Even we thought it was pretty wild. I have never seen so many moving Christmas figures in one place, and this picture only shows half the display. You can click on the picture to get a bigger view. Our favorite part was a Santa riding a bike back and forth on a tightrope.

The man who set it up did so with the intention of collecting charitable donations. The donations benefit a nearby children's clinic, coincidentally the same clinic where Rebecca ended up with her swollen eyelid. We made our donation, figuring what goes around comes around.

A White Christmas?

It was an eerie, freezing, foggy day yesterday. This morning we woke up to this view from our office. We might have a white Christmas, but it would be due to a thick frost rather than a nice snowfall.

It has been below freezing all week, but this does not stop people from bundling up their babies and taking them for walks or playing with their toddlers at the park.

Our own Christmas Story

We got the kids' report cards in the mail today and the school's grading system takes some getting used to. It uses a 20-point grading scale and anything over 14 is pretty good. 20 means perfect and is rarely awarded. It doesn't really correspond in any way to the American grading system, so, as long as their grades are over 14, we're happy.

Today was the last day of school before Christmas vacation. When I picked the kids up at the end of the day, James was sticking his tongue out at a group of girls. I called out disapprovingly, "James!" He showed me a red spot on his tongue and here is how the conversation proceeded.
M: How did you do that?
J: I stuck my tongue to a metal pole during recess.
M: Why would you do that?
J: Well, I didn't think it would actually stick.
M: Did we not just watch A Christmas Story? Was there a group of kids watching you? (David later asked if someone triple dog dared him.)
J: A few. Then a teacher came and stood with me for a few minutes till it came unstuck on its own.
M: Sighs and shakes head.

You don't see that in America

An American friend here showed me her blog recently and I got a kick out of how she often posts pictures of interesting products she has found here in Germany. Around Thanksgiving, she posted a picture of Roasted Turkey-flavored Pringles. So I thought I'd keep an eye out for other exotic products.

I was doing some shopping today and needed some deoderant. I didn't recognize any of the brands, but this bottle caught my eye. As for the extra ingredient, well, I'll let you make up your own jokes.

I also saw something at the store that I just have to comment on. Many times out in public, I will notice couples who are dressed in matching outfits. I saw a couple today -- black jeans, identical blue and green plaid jackets. At the mall one day I counted four couples dressed alike. I wouldn't necessarily call it a trend, but it's something you make note of.

A visit from a friend

Our good friend Jim Auber was flying in to Frankfurt this morning on his way to Luxembourg, so he was able to check us out in our new digs. We're lucky to have so many friends who travel for business and can come see us. The entire Auber family is making a trip to Germany in June and Liederbach is one of the stops on their itinerary. They have already opened their home to us several times when David and the kids have visited Atlanta, so it'll be great to be able to return the favor.

Jim came with us to church, and at a pancake brunch after Mass, St. Nikolaus made a surprise visit. We also had a chance to chat with some of those people we see every Sunday but had never spoken to.

There also just happened to be a small neighborhood Christmas market this afternoon just a block away from our house. A Glühwein, hot wurst sandwiches and potato puffs helped warm us up on this chilly afternoon.

I don't think Jim saw a true representation of our life here. Two activities is one day! We're usually just hanging around the house being lazy on Sundays.

Christkindlesmarkt

During a visit from David's parents, we went to Frankfurt's Christkindlesmarkt (Christmas market). You can't come to Germany during December and not go to a Christmas market!
You can buy all kinds of Christmas merchandise and gifts, especially traditional things such as manger scenes, toys, wood carvings, marionettes, candles and lambskin shoes. There is also delicious food: Glühwein (mulled wine),baked apples, hot chestnuts, grilled sausages and Lebkuchen (gingerbread cakes).

Ah, yes. And there are rides for the kids.

One of the workers told Grandma to climb up on an available horse. Can you find her?

Rebecca's reaction to being taken off the carousel horse.

Micaela and James checking out some traditional German wooden items. Take care, though. Emilie bought a nutcracker here which we discovered later was made in China. For German-made items, you will pay more.

Rebecca is in a choo-choo phase.

Ahhh......Lebkuchen.

I am apparently a bad influence on Emilie.

James can't wait to dig in to the Nutella-Vanilla crêpe. Just a few bites later......

Don't worry, James. Rebecca will let you finish hers.

A last minute piece of taffy...

...living statues amusing the crowd...

...and some last minute window gazing before we left.

Thanksgiving German Style

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American family and friends.

This Thanksgiving was just a little bit different from those in the past. David got up and went to work and the kids got up and went to school. Rebecca and I set the table and got dinner going. I had picked up all the fixings at the commissary last month and was excited to have familiar foods for this truly American holiday.

Our dinner table was not overflowing with abundance, but the meal was absolutely delicious. We had roasted turkey breast, stuffing, gravy, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls and cranberry sauce.

Dessert was more of a problem. I had planned on making apple crisp and pumpkin roll yesterday, but forgot to translate my shopping list before I got to the store. I bought a frozen apple tart instead. After dinner, David translated the directions on the box for me and I had not understood "Thaw for 6 hours in the refrigerator beforehand." The kids were more than happy to make do with Magnum ice cream bars.

Books

So, I have already re-read, some for the umpteenth time, Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I needed to take a break from Miss Austen and Mrs. Rowling (no offense, ladies).

The good thing about having lots of time is that you get things accomplished that you never thought you would get around to. I'm reading those books that have been sitting on my shelf for years. I swear if we weren't here, I probably never would have made the time to dust them off.

To Kill a Mockingbird is just one such book. Somehow, I had gotten through high school and college without having read this book. I had seen the film a few years ago, which took away a little from the suspense and mystery of the plot, but what a great read all the same.

Other books on my list include Beloved and Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. Frankfurt was, after all, Anne's hometown. Back in the 1980s, I visited the house where she and her family hid in Amsterdam and it was one of the most memorable places I visited in all of Europe. And yet, I have never read her diary.

David is doing the same thing and has been making headway through Shelby Foote's trilogy The Civil War: A Narrative.

Shopping at the Commissary

I was lucky to have the wife of a consulate member invite me to go shopping this morning at the commissary at Wiesbaden, which is about 20 minutes away. I have heard that you feel like you're in a regular American supermarket when you're there. My plan was to only buy things that I cannot find at the German grocery stores. That was the plan.

I expected, when I first walked in, to feel like Madame Blueberry when she first walks into the StuffMart -- all woozy and overwhelmed (apologies to those not familiar with Veggie Tales). But instead, I got straight down to business. I had shopping to do!

I methodically walked the aisles, filling my cart with those things I haven't been able to find elsewhere, or have been unwilling to pay so much for: Campbell soups for casseroles, Poptarts, Froot Loops, Starbucks coffee beans, peanut butter crackers, microwave popcorn, large bags of shredded cheddar cheese, etc. Everything was there at my finger tips!

They also had displays for Thanksgiving and I realized, "Hey, I can get everything I need for a Thanksgiving meal while I'm here!" And so I did, from a Butterball frozen turkey breast to Ocean Spray cranberry sauce.

After my first round, I did a second one, now aiming at just filling the cart up with other things we would like (I had noticed how inexpensive most of the food was and, afterall, it would be downright foolish of me not to use every inch of the cart, wouldn't it?).

The only two things I couldn't find were Nathan's hotdogs and Marie's caesar salad dressing. Not too shabby, otherwise. It was wonderful being able to stock up on snacks for the kids' lunches. German stores don't have a good selection of cookies and crackers.

And, bonus! They packed our groceries in white plastic grocery bags! Hooray! Now I have a good supply of little trashcan liners.

So, for dinner, it was Celebrate America! We had Tyson chicken strips with Sweet Baby Ray barbeque sauce, Lipton rice and sauce (broccoli and cheese flavor), salad with Newman's Own salad dressing, Country Time lemonade, and for dessert, some warm Duncan Hines brownies. The kids were in heaven. David and I were halfway there ourselves.

My mouth is watering just thinking of that Starbucks coffee in the morning.

Harry Potter und die Heiligtuemer des Todes

There have been posters all over the mall for the last month or so for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The German-language version was only released today (as opposed to the July release in the U.S. for the English-language version). However, Germany is scheduled to get the DVD of The Order of the Phoenix a month earlier than the U.S., so it all evens out in the end.

Below is cover art for all the German-language books. It's always interesting to compare the covers from other countries, but Mary GrandPré's artwork for the U.S. versions is the best, in my humble opinion.

Trick or Treat

We didn't know what we were going to do about Halloween. There are decorations and bags of candy at the stores, but trick or treating is only done in certain areas here. We weren't sure where Liederbach stood in all this. The American Women's Club has an event where you're given a list of participating houses in towns in your area and you drive Halloween night to the different homes to trick or treat. So, driving in unfamiliar areas at night, finding parking spots, getting the kids repeatedly in and out of the car. Three of the things I dislike most in the world. Maybe next year.

The parents of one of Micaela's friends invited us today to go trick or treating at the Siedlung, the American compound attached to the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt. This is an area of former army officer's quarters that houses consulate workers and their families. I have heard it referred to as "College with Kids." Today I understood why. These people know how to have a great time.

Bex wore the Lala teletubby costume I made years ago for Micaela.

James in last year's costume.

We arrived and right away saw kids in costumes and tables set up in front of the buildings with baskets of treats. We met up with our friends and spent a few hours walking from building to building, marveling at the lavish decorations, enjoying a beverage with friendly strangers and having a great time. These people can all shop at the commissaries on the army bases, so most of the candy handed out was American!


Frankenstein had his own spooky house we visited.

It was a great Halloween and from the looks of it, the adults enjoyed themselves just as much as the kids. For just a little while, we were back in America.