Visiting with the Nylunds

The day after Christmas, we drove down to Connecticut to visit with David's family at his sister Chris' house. And we all fit!

Time for more present. We all gave each other MarioKart for the Wii.

Sir Taevis is ready to do battle with his personalized German sword

The away German National Team soccer shirt for Jake and Josh

More polish pottery

Playing catch a bug with Grandma

Trying out MarioKart.

Jake is looking very rockstar-ish

Emilie and her cousin Sydney would just disappear for hours playing.

The kids had a great time with their cousins doing indoor miniature golf, bowling and playing Wii. The adults had plenty of time to play fussball and catch up on family news.

During our visit, we have been asked many times if it felt strange being in the U.S. We've come to the conclusion that the human brain does a good job of compartmentalizing its experiences. What we see in Germany is normal for Germany; what we see and do in the U.S. is not strange because it is normal for the U.S. However, those SmartCars near Marblehead did jump out at us and I still notice how large American kitchen sink are.

Merry Christmas!

The calm before the storm

Becca opening a medical kit

Emilie with a German Diamond Castle Barbie

Mimi with the Christmas nutcracker I got in eastern Germany

Becca got the other German Diamond Castle Barbie, and when you press a button on their hands at the same time, they sing songs from the movie in harmony (in German!).

Micaela with her new much-longed for bathrobe

If you look carefully, you can see the boo-boos James got as a result of a face-plant onto ice encrusted snow. David thought it would be fun to take the kids sledding, and since they have only been one other time, there was bound to be an accident. His face is much improved today.

Emilie thrilled with her new Nintendo DS game

James saying a prayer before opening "the big one".....Yes! Rockband!!

David couldn't resist opening the Rockband instruments, even though Mimi and Deeda don't have a Wii.

Auntie Kim with some Polish pottery

Hannah and Paige got the same Barbies

Deeda getting a kick out of his Tom Brady Stetson cologne

Could they be the next Go-Gos?

Uncle Tim showing them how you do it

A Christmas toast and the kids' first taste of eggnog

Christmas Eve

After church, we were invited over to my brother Tim's and his wife Kim's home for a traditional Italian dinner of "The Feast of the Seven Fishes." Kim outdid herself making, among other things, clam chowder, shrimp, scallops, and my favorite, fish tucked inside a huge fish-shaped pastry.

Kim and her mom had served us all the seven fishes meal when we spent Christmas together on Maui several years ago, and we appreciated all the work that went into the meal by eating until we were full, and then eating just a bit more. We did the same this year.

What did the kids like best? The bread sticks! They all wanted to pose with their yummy bread sticks. Here's Seamus, the spit and image of my brother at that age...

...pretty Paige...

...and Hannah and Emilie.

Back in the U.S.

We're back on American soil for the holidays. Once a year, we get plane tickets where we cannot get kicked off for paying passengers, as happened twice over the summer when we flew back to Atlanta. What a relief to know those seats we reserved were truly ours. We flew in on Saturday, the 20th and couldn't have planned it better. The Boston area got almost a foot of snow the day before, and then another 8 inches or so the day after we arrived.

We've been spending a lot of time visiting with relatives, but even more time racing around getting shopping done -- both for Christmas and for things we needed back home in Germany.

While driving around, we passed two Smart Cars. We see these all over Europe, but they're still pretty new to the U.S. Here's my brother Tim posing with one during his trip to see us last year. And we have seen even smaller cars than this in Germany.

Marblehead, the town my mother's side of the family hails from, is a very walkable town, but the ice on the roads and sidewalks was inches thick, making our shopping trip a bit treacherous.

We were on our way to the CVS (there was soooo much I wanted to buy, including magazines, toothpaste and Heath bars) and the fantastic toy store across the street. The steeple in the distance is Abbot Hall, Marblehead's town hall and historical museum.

You can see the original Spirit of '76 painting in Abbot Hall.

2008 Christmas Card

A Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all.

Click on the photos to read the text from our Christmas card.

Cover...

...inside left...

...inside right...

...and back.

Class Field Trip to Wiesbaden

Our German teacher decided a field trip was in order, so we met today in her hometown of Wiesbaden, the capital of the state of Hessen. You have no doubt heard about Wiesbaden as the city with the American armed forces hospital wounded American servicemen and women are evacuated to before heading home to the U.S.

Window shopping along Wilhelm Straße, a street known for its expensive shops

I have made a vow to get that brown bag hanging to the left before I leave Germany for good.

Traditional German Christmas decorations

You can tell this little fellow in the theater square has been touched in some places more than others

The Kurshaus (spa house) was built about a hundred years ago and houses performance halls and a famous casino. These school children were arriving for a performance of "Robin Hood." It is a tradition in Germany for school children to attend some kind of performance during the Christmas season.

The lobby of the Kurhaus. That poinsettia Christmas tree consisted of 2,200 poinsettia plants.

The lobby was decorated with an Antiquities theme

A painting high up on the wall of the lobby of Apollo

Germany's national symbol in stained glass

The larger hall

This little fellow was painted above a doorway in a smaller performance hall

Strolling through town, we passed the Heidenmauer ("Heathen Wall"), the last remnants of the Roman aqueduct of Aquae Mattiacorum.

A Gummi bear store.

Wiesbaden is one of the oldest spa towns in Europe. Its name literally means "bath in the meadow". Over 2,00 years ago, the Romans who settled here found springs that carried hot thermal water to the surface. Throughout its history, people have flocked to the town to bath in its waters that are said to have curative properties. Wiesbaden remains famous for its mineral springs and at one time, boasted 27 hot springs. Fifteen of the springs are still flowing today.

This is the most famous sodium-chloride thermal spring, the Kochbrunnen. The temperature of the water is 66°C (151°F) and it gushes 346 liters (91 gallons) of mineral water per minute. The water is said to be good for your skin and digestion. People of all ages were dipping their hands in the water and spreading it on their skin and drinking the water, too.

Here at the nearby Kochbrunnentempel, we sampled the water. It was extremely salty and for most of us, a few sips was enough.

Wiesbaden also has many spas and thermal baths. Beware, though. They are almost always co-ed and no clothing allowed. Some do feature "Ladies Night" once a week, though.

Here was a list of the minerals in the water. I found two of the ingredients particularly noteworthy.

Arsenic

Cyanide

After a relaxing cup of coffee in an elegant café, it was on to the Christmas market

Some in our group found these springy toys memorizing

A little food and drink at the market

The writing on my paper napkin made me laugh. It's great, man!

One last look at the Marktkirche, the largest Protestant Church in Wiesbaden

As we walked back to our cars, we came upon a large group of children, each sucking on what looked like a huge green jaw breaker. Not sure if that, too, is a Christmas tradition or not.