The Zoo

Yesterday was the "2nd day of Christmas. " This is still a holiday and all the stores are closed. We had some cabin fever and wanted to get out with the children. We spent the afternoon and the Neumünster zoo. We enjoyed seeing the two polor bears who appered to be enjoying the cold weather.



In the monkey house, we could go inside with the animals. They came right up to us. Other visitors fed them bananas.





They has several historical buidings. The structures have either been moved to this site or have been recreated. This is an excellent example of an old farm house complete with a thatched roof. This house has a living section for people and a barn section for animals.

Kollin is in a cage at the top of a pirate ship on the playground. Even though it was cold and damp, the children had fun at the zoo's playgound. Unfortunately, the gray skies and setting sun were not a good background for pictures.

Christmas Markets

We have been to several Christmas Markets. This one is in Neumünster, a city about 20 minutes north of our town. Mrs. Harper lived here as an exchange student. Isn't that a coincidence? We came here to do some last minute Christmas shopping. (Herr Grünberg's home town is small and has limited shopping.) The Christmas Market was located on the main shopping street. This market offered more services rather than merchandise. Booths mostly included food, beverages and some rides for children. Most stands are cute wooden structures decorated with lights and wreaths. I was surprised to find a little skating ring set up in the middle of the booths. (picture above) My sister-in-law Heike is ordering a fresh crepes in the picture below.









This Market is in Aachen. The market here also had food, but was much larger and full of Christmas ornaments and other goodies. I found some wooden ornaments and a "Frohe Weihnachten" decoration within my price range. I was excited because 1. Everything is usually expensive and 2. Many decorations are still in English. The children got to ride the carousel and we finished the day with a 1/2 meter Bratwurst.

The Netherlands

We took a train trip to the Netherlands to visit friends from Friday to Sunday. We delayed our trip a few days because of cost. Train tickets are significantly cheaper if booked a few days in advance. Luckily, our friends didn't mind the last minute change in plans. The train ride was about 6 hours total from Wrist to Hamburg, Hamburg to Dortmund then from Dortmund to Aachen. Aachen is in Germany, but near the boarder to the Netherlands. . The train ride was especially beautiful because of the frost. In some areas, everything was white and the trees looked cristalized. The children kept asking if it was snow. Then, the sun came out. We hadn't seen the sun in days. The contrast of blue skies and the frost was also breathtaking. Our train passed through Münster. This is the city I lived in for a year in college. I caught small glimpses of some familiar places . I tried pointing them out to the children. I'm sure they were thrilled.

Our friends picked us up at the train station and drove us about 20 Min. to their home in Holland. Kevin, one of my oldest and dearest friends, is stationed there while serving our country in the Air Force. I have known him since high school. His wife Jennifer is also a special friend and she has the gift of hospitality. We always enjoy our time with them and their two boys. We were so looking forward to seeing them. We spent most of our time relaxing and visiting (and eating). It was fun to see how they, as Americans, live in Holland. We enjoyed the mixed American and European cultures. (Notice the picture of the square toilette.) They live in a typical Dutch (not Deutsch) neighborhood (as opposed to a U.S. base), but have some of the extra conveniences Americans expect. For example, they have an American size refrigerator, washer and dryer etc. Europeans have these appliances as well, but they are much smaller. They also have access to the mulitary base that provides U.S. servieces. We went on base to the grocery store. It had American products and they pay in U.S. dollar. This was fun for us. They have products not available in regular European stores. We went from eating croissants from the local backery to giving the kids Teddygrahams.

On Sunday, we drove back to Aachen. We shopped at the local Christmas market and viewed the Dome in Aachen. The church is gorgeous. It has fabulous stained glass windows and an incredible mosaic tile floor. Kevin had us at the train station with four minutes to spare. We sadly said our goodbyes and rushed to our platform to catch our train back to northern Germany. It was a great weekend and will be a highlight of our vacation.

Christmas Eve

Today is Christmas morning. Merry Christmas. Herr Grünberg and I are up early. We are still a little off with the time change. The house is quiet and it is dark outside. The children are asleep after an eventful day.

In Germany, Christmas Eve is a big celebration. We spent the morning wrapping gifts and getting ready. Herr Grünberg went to the grocery store before 8:00am to buy milk and a few other items we will need during the holidays. The stores were busy with long lines. Everyone here knows that the stores would be closed in the afternoon and also the 25^th and 26^th. We needed to buy enough milk to last until stores open again on Thursday.

At 3:35pm, we walked to the church for the 4:00pm Christmas Eve service. ( It is only about 3 blocks.) The Christmas Eve service is a tradition for many German families. The 3:00 service was letting out as we arrived and we could hear the church bells ringing. A crowd had already gathered outside and when the doors opened, we were still able to find a pew, but the church filled up quickly. Traditional hymns were sung and local teens presented a modern version of the Christmas story. The little church, built in the 1700s, was beautiful with the tree and many candles.

Back at home, the adults prepared for the gift exchange while the children were forbidden to enter the game room (more about this room in future blog.) They had to wait. And wait. And wait. We hung lights, arranged candles and decorations and put the candles on the Christmas tree. Yes. Germans put real candles on their Christmas trees. Finally, the children were allowed to enter. Gifts were exchanged and then there was a knock on the door. The “Weihnachtsmann” (Christmas man) was at the door with his sack of presents. He came in, greeted the children and asked if were prepared to recite a poem. The three German Children each recited a beautiful holiday poem while we watched in awe. He asked our children if they too could recite something and we just looked at one another. Unfortunately, I only vaguely knew of this tradition and hadn’t prepared our children. Luckily, he told the children it was OK and he thought he still had something in his sack for them. He passed out his gifts, waved goodbye and headed to the next house.

The children were allowed to play with their toys and cousins for a while and then it was time to eat. We had a nice dinner. Then the adults spent the rest of the evening visiting, while the children played until past bedtime.

Today we will have a roasted goose dinner with Herr Grünberg’s parents and his sister and her family. In the afternoon, cousins will come for “Kaffee."

We wish you all a blessed Christmas.

Kaffee

On Sunday, we were invited to my host family`s house for “Kaffee.” My host family is the family I lived with when I was here as an exchange student in 1986. They are a wonderful family who took good care of me and put up with me for a year when I was in High School. I always look forward to spending time with them and I’m always sad when I have to say goodbye. They have traveled twice to California and even made a visit to my classroom. We borrowed wet suits from Herr Snyder and took them waterskiing in March.

“Kaffee” is a important part of German life. Most people stop and have a coffe break around 2:00 pm. Kaffee wouldn’t be complete without a cookie or other sweet. When guests are invited, Kaffee reaches a new level. The table is set with linens and the good dishes. Tea, fruit juices, soft drinks and mineral water are also offered as beverages. Fancy cakes, pastries and cookies are either baked or purchased from the bakery. Guests are served and served and served. I’ve been to Kaffee where four or more different dessert plates were passed around the table. It is a time to relax and visit with friends. We chat, drink Kaffee, eat goodies, chat, eat a piece of the next cake, have a 2nd cup of Kaffee,” Oh that looks lovely too, I’ll have a small piece.” Chat chat, “Ja, ich hätte gern einen Keks. (yes, I would like a cookie.)” etc. If you are invited to Kaffee, set aside several hours and bring your appetite. Germans are much better about slowing down and taking time to build and cultivate relationships.

Today, we sent Kollin off to school with his cousin Lina. She is in the 5. Klasse at the “Realschule.” Heute hat sie vier Stunden: Deutsch, Englisch, Mathe und Sport. Kollin hat Sport gern. Sie schrieben in Mathe einen Test. It is his first day of German school and I sent him off without a Schultüte.

Tomorrow, we will travel by train to visit friends in Holland.

1st Day in Deutschland

We made it to Germany. All three flights went well. During a security check in London, Herr Grünberg and I were both asked to walk through an extra security check. We had to individually stand in a machine that shoots bursts of air. I thaught it was pretty cool. I giggled through the whole process. Then our backpack was singled out to be searched after it went through the x-ray machine. I was surprised because it only had books and toys for the children. They asked Herr Grünberg if we had any liquids. He said, “No.” The lady looked at him a little funny and asked again. He had forgotten that the children had been given a can of apple juice on the last flight and hadn`t opened it. It was in their backback. We had to take it out and turn it over to security. The current rules are that you may not take more than 3 ounces of any liquids. Oops. Sorry.
Time Change: We are trying to get used to the time change. We were so tired that we went to bed at 5:00 PM Friday. (This is 8:00 AM Friday California time and we hadn´t slept yet.) The kids woke up at 9:00 PM, 1:30 AM, 4:30 AM. Finally, I told them they could get up. It seemed even earlier because the sun rises so late here in the North in winter. Sun rise was 8:33AM and set shortly before 4:00PM.
Today, Saturday, we went to the weekend market. There are stands that sell produce, flowers, eggs, meat and poultry, clothing and food. I am always amazed at the beautiful selection of flowers at the weekend market. Flowers are also more affordable here. We bought cups of hot chocolate and looked around. They don`t use disposable cups very often here. We were served our cocoa in mugs that had to be returned. In the afternoon, we drove to a nearby town to see the “Christmas Market.” It was a lot of fun. They had Christmas trees, booths with ornaments, food, pony rides etc. The children had hot spiced juice, Bratwurst, and dessert waffles with powdered suger. Santa even made an apearance and gave all the children a bag of Schokolade. I tryed to stay near on of the fire pits because it was a little chilly. The weather is a little colder than home, but not as cold as I had feared. It has been overcast. This weather pattern should hold a few days.

Itinerary

We leave Fresno Thursday morning (13. Dezember) and will arrive in Germany Friday morning. The times below are the time it is in that country.

Fresno-San Fransisco 10:00AM -11:00AM.
San Fransisco - London 12:30PM-6:55 AM (London is 8 hours ahead of Kalifornien.)
London - Hamburg 9:00AM - 11:30AM (Germay is 9 hours ahead so it will be 2:30AM in Fresno when we land in Germany.)
We still have to get our luggage, go through customs, find our family and drive about a 45min. (mit dem Auto) to get to our final destination. I'll write again whan we are there. Have a great week last week of school.

Frau Grunberg's Blog

Liebe Deutschschülerinnen und Deutschschüler!
Wilkommen zu meinem ersten Blog. I am creating this blog so I can share my Germany experience with you. I hope you enjoy following my trip.