Christmas 2006

More Pictures!

Weihnachten in Deutschland

Yesterday, it was a month ago, that we arrived in Germnay. It was not difficult to leave Seattle, which was to face the worst storm in recent history. I expected a bumpy flight, but everything was very smooth, considering we were riding this huge storm. I felt for the people, who were leaving for Honolulu on a much smaller plane, having to go through the storm. It has been five years since we have been to Germany for Christmas and so it was the first time for Marlene and, off course, for Amelia to remember it (Last time Marlene was 4 months old). We did all the things you do during the Christmas season. We went to various Christmas Markets, ate the food, rode the carousels, bought little gifts, and met with friends. A highlight was definately our visit to Sabine, Peter, Felix, and Florian in Nuernberg. Nuernberg has probably the biggest and most famous Christmas Market in Germany. I can still taste the Gluehwein (which is made from blueberry wine in Nuernberg - something I did not know) and the little Nuernberg sausagges. You get 3 on a bun. We pretty much ate ourselves from one booth to the next. Marlene liked it a lot and declared, that when she is grown up, she will move to Nuernberg. I can live with that. Christmas itself was fun with lots of family. My brother Klaus came with Denise and Antonia. And we had Christel on the first day and Karin, Christian and Charlotte on the second day. We cooked a turkey for the crowd. I would have never dared to hope for it to turn out so perfect. We did the Good Eats Turkey in brine, which kept it nice and moist. The biggest challenge was to find a 16 pounder in Germany. Your average Turkey there is 10 pds or less. I will not go into too much detail, I will just leave you with a lot of fotos and impressions. Happy New Year!!

We are back!

It is over a month since I posted the last blog. It took us a while to get back, well, to actually arrive physically and mentally. The trip back was quite difficult due to Amelia not wanting to sleep. She just screemed for several ours. It was hard to endure. Luckily there were at least 20 children on the flight and they all screemed at one time or the other, so we were not the only ones. It has been freezing cold since we got back. School was closed because of snow and ice, so it was my job to keep the kids busy without driving. Finally Amelia has set foot in the snow. After Thanksgiving she did not want to put her feet into it, but now she loves it. We played in our yard, where we built a ramp for sledding. For the first time we joined the older kids with the sled at the playfield by summit. Both girls loved it. It is great to go down the hill. Marlene learnded how to steer and stop. Amelia is reckless and just comes along for the ride with Marlene. Afterwards it is always great to come inside for hot cocoa or cider. We baked bread as well, because both girls miss the German bread. Marlene asked,why we can not eat like in Germany. Today is Martin Luther King Day. So there was no school for the elder kids and everyone came to our house for Totwatch. i think it was the first time in about a year that all the kids came together. The older girls played very peacfully together, something that was unexpected, since there had always been some bickering. Well, tune in soon again to see pictures from the Holidays in Germany.