First of all, I had a great time at Thanksgiving with Stephen and Meghan and her mother. Stephen had to help serve the Thanksgiving dinner on post and he wore his dress uniform. Doesn't he look handsome?
It was great to be with family at that holiday time. I enjoyed the train ride there and back also, even though I had to go through all the small villages.
It was great to be with family at that holiday time. I enjoyed the train ride there and back also, even though I had to go through all the small villages.Frohe Weihnachten! Merry Christmas to all of you (if the comments are any indication, that would be all two of you!) The Christmas markets are in full swing here, and I have been able to go to several. Last blog I mentioned a possible trip to Poland- well, we did do that! The Sunday after Thanksgiving, my friends Marianne and Beth and I jumped in my car and drove about 4 hours north to Dresden. Dresden is in the former East Germany, and it is striking the difference still between the two parts of Germany. We spent the night in a hostel in downtown Dresden and were able to go to the Striegelmarkt there, the oldest Christmas market in Germany, having been started in the 1400s. The picture left is of the largest Christmas pyramid in Germany, I believe. The hot spiced wine, or Gluhwein, is great and is served in unique cups which you can buy and keep ( I am now collecting them!) since each Christmas market has their own designed cup.
The next day we drove to Poland, to the town of Bolestawiec, which will be a familiar name to any Polish pottery lovers out there! We visited around 6 or 7 different pottery shops, which is apparently only a fraction of what is there. I finally found a pattern I liked, but it was difficult to find as it is a unique pattern. I really like it though.
The road trip was so much fun, even though Beth fell asleep for part of the trip back!
The next day we drove to Poland, to the town of Bolestawiec, which will be a familiar name to any Polish pottery lovers out there! We visited around 6 or 7 different pottery shops, which is apparently only a fraction of what is there. I finally found a pattern I liked, but it was difficult to find as it is a unique pattern. I really like it though.
The road trip was so much fun, even though Beth fell asleep for part of the trip back!My German ladies have decorated the library really beautifully in a blue and white color scheme. We had a tree decorating party on the 6th of December, which is St. Nikolaus day. The kids had a great time making ornaments and hanging them on the tree. I have been busy putting together a library newsletter and brochure, and of course, ordering books and DVDs. This past week has been rough, as there were only two of us working the library all week. We had rotation troops from all over the world- France, Romania, Holland, Afghanistan, Russia, and many more. There were even soldiers from the French Foreign Legion! Normally there are four of us working, which allows me to be in my office doing my administraive stuff, but one of my ladies was on leave, and one had to call in sick all week, so that made it tough. Then on Friday and Saturday I had to work alone all day. The good news is that I will get a day off during the week next week, so I think I will be able to go to the Nuremberg Christmas market during the day when it is not so busy. Last night (Saturday the 15th) I went to the Christmas market in Hexenagger which is a smallish village about an hour from here. It has a great Medieval style market, with outside booths and handmade ornaments, candles, and great food! (See picture below.) There are cool little huts that families and friends can rent, I guess, and sit down together and stay warm and visit. It has been really cold, and last night was no exception. I think it was about 24 degrees. Brrrrr! I wore my Cuddle Duds and was really thankful for them! We had homemade Lebkuchen, the ubiquitous German cookie at Christmas time. And of course, gluhwein. Duh.
Ben comes on Saturday! Yeaaaa! Drew is flying over on Friday to visit Stephen but I will get to see him too, perhaps this weekend.
Whew! This is a busy time. I am still learning to speak German ( or Ich lerne gern Deutsch sprechen). January should calm down and give Ben and me a chance to settle in a bit. There will be some adjusting to do, and I am looking forward to it! Ben closed on the house last week (thank you Jesus!) and is now homeless, living on the generosity of our friends Libby and Greg Hale. But soon he will be here! Can you tell how excited I am?
If I don't get a chance to write again before Dec. 25, Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year! Emmanuel has come! Rejoice!!
Nan
PS: I just returned from a very sweet Christmas service at the chapel on post. It was hosted by all of the Protestant congregations on post. The music was beautiful, with hand bells and all. We had a very moving candle lighting, with the original flame having been brought from Wurzburg by the Boy Scouts. This flame was apparently brought to Wurzburg from Jerusalem itself!
