Winter has arrived here in Bavaria. We have had several snowfalls in the past 2 weeks, with snow almost continuously on the ground. The temperature hovers right around 35 F most days, with night time temps dipping into the 20s. It does remind me of living in Montana and North Dakota, except more snow. The holidays are almost upon us, although of course, Thanksgiving is not a big deal except on post. Germans don't have to wait until after Thanksgiving to begin to decorate for Christmas, so you see them all over the malls already. The first weekend in December kicks off the Christkindlmarkts, or Christmas markets. These outdoor markets are famous throughout Germany, with one of the most famous just north of here in Nuremberg. But almost all of the small and medium villages also have at least one weekend of Christmas Market scheduled. Last weekend we had the Holiday Bazaar on post, and I got to try the local gluhwein, or hot spiced wine. Normally it is made from red wine, but the one I tried was a sweet white wine. Delicious! The stores are filled with great German cookies and candies, Lebkuchen being the most common. I am so excited to experience the wonderful Christmas season here in Bavaria especially. But the best part of Christmas this year is the present I am getting on Dec. 22- Ben arrives to stay! I miss him so much; living alone is no fun. I do have Kitty here with me, but she is just not the same. The furniture that we have left (after Ben has sold most of our furniture) will be picked up next week to be either stored or shipped over here . I so appreciate all of the hard, hard work he has had to do. I honestly probably have no idea just how hard it has been for him. God has blessed me so much with my excellent husband!!
For Thanksgiving, I do plan to take the train to Heidelberg on Thursday to spend Thanksgiving with Stephen and Megh and Megh's mom. A first class train ride is very relaxing, as long as the train worker's strike doesn't interfere.
Work is going well, mostly. Of course, I am still learning a lot every day, but I THINK I am getting the hang of it. Nothing too exciting- lots of new books and schtuff. I love it.
Yesterday, a friend and I hopped on the train in Parsberg and rode for 20 minutes south to Regensberg Hauptbahnhof, the city main train station. There they have a mall called Arcaden, with lots of great stores to shop in right in the train station. So cool to ride the train, shop, and ride it back. It was snowing outside and cold, but it didn't matter, no stress, just ride the train and chat. I am making plans to perhaps travel to Poland to the Polish pottery place in a few weeks to get some great colorful Polish pottery.
So much to do, so little time!
Write me! Post a comment! Is anyone out there????
