Germany 2011 Pt.2

More Germany- Now from Jill's area.

Christmas Eve

At the Bracketts, with baby Joy!

Switzerland & France

Switzerland


France

Switzerland

Had so much fun in Basel today!! I don't have my laptop with me so I can't post the pictures yet. I did take a TON and am super excited to get them up. Tomorrow we are heading into France, YAY.

PS Don't worry Elizabeth, you will be lots of chocolate.  :)

Monica's Neighborhood (& Renata's)

Went for a walk around Monica's neighborhood. She lives in a great part of the city, walking distance to downtown and lots of great shopping. Our next stops will be southern Germany, Switzerland, and France!! Can't wait to hit the road.


UPDATE: Pictures of Renata's neighborhood added (Monica's aunt in southern Germany)

Praha (aka Prague)

The castle was amazing!

New life goal: Become a princess and insist on castle with central heating. (That place was COLD)

Dachau

Visited Dachau, the concentration camp, which now stands a memorial to the people who lost their lives there. We were only there for 3hrs but it felt much longer. There are no words to describe the horror that lingers in the air, that's seeped into the earth, and felt within the buildings.

Day 7- Dachau

Altomünster

Went down to Altomünster to visit Dachau and Munich. The drive there and back was fun, it was only about 2.5hrs. Oscar, Monica's GPS devise, took us on a couple of scenic detours but always got us were we wanted to go. I am constantly amazed by the number of Catholic Churches there are around Germany, small, large, simple, or ornate. It is wonderful to ask where the nearest Mass will be held and they point across the street! Almost as frequent as the Churches are the number of hops fields there are- we were apparently traveling through the "Beer Mug" of Germany. (Yes there are lots of pictures of fields, but there are other things too!)

Christmas Eve & Day

Christmas Eve Mass was beautiful! The church was so old and cold but so amazingly beautiful. The service ended they turned out all the lights so only the candles on the trees & alter were lit. Then we sang Silent Night, they sang in German but I quietly sang along in English. I love the Catholic Mass, no matter where I am in the world I can go and understand exactly what is happening.

Weiden

A life size Advent calendar in the center of Weiden at the Christmas Market.

The evening ended with some wonderful German desserts! Ben had the damphnudeln covered in vanilla sauce while I had a waffle with powedered surgar and caramel. (I am still surprised that at the Christmas Markets -all outdoors- they give you real plates, forks, and spoons, very rarely do give you diposable anything)

Netzaberg

Monday began with another German breakfast, fresh baked bread is probably one of my favorite things ever. From there we took the autobahn to Monica's very large very nice German house. We stopped by base and went to the nearby Christmas Market. Lots of snow everywhere but I am adjusting to needing at least 5 layers with/on me at all times.

Heidelberg

I arrived in Frankfurt at 5:15 am and was in Heidelberg by 8am. Breakfast was huge wonderful event, breads, meats, cheeses, veggies, jams, and pickles. Monica’s family is so nice and welcoming, Anneliese & Guenter (aunt and uncle). After breakfast we went to the local monastery where they brew their own beer and have a little Christmas market. While there I got to have my first cup of mulled wine, the first of many come- I hope. Then we returned to house and had a traditional German lunch (or dinner as they call it). We had beef rolled around pickles and cheese with mashed potatoes and red cabbage.

After lunch we stopped by Heidelberg Army base where they have a Jesus Land(?). If it wasn’t snowing and so cold we would have gone into it so I can’t tell what Jesus Land is all about. From there we headed to the main Christmas Market.

The Christmas Market was so FABULOUS! So many stalls with tons of fun German things and from around the world. We began with another cup of the wonderful mulled wine (or Glowing Wine), Ben had hot cocoa. There were so many people there despite the snow, making the whole atmosphere festive and exciting. I would describe more but I think the pictures tell a much better story than I could.

My first day ended when my eyes refused to stay open any longer (8pm). Looking forward to tomorrow.

5 Days!!

I will be back in Phoenix on Friday, just 5 days from now. I can't wait to see how much Alex, Dazza, Arianna, & Elysia have grown in the last 4 months. My whole family is so wonderful, I am excited to spend the Christmas season with them.

Christmas in Japan is slightly. . . off. They don't seem to know why exactly there is a celebration but since the Americans are shopping something big must be happening. Plus the Japanese culture is much more subdued so the excess that makes Christmas so much fun is mostly lost here. I think there is only one house in my neighborhood that has decorations at all, and I can't even think where that house is, so maybe it's in a friends neighborhood(?). My house isn't decorated at all since I won't be home for most of the season.

I actually like the lack of distractions at this time of year. You can get so overwhelmed, the pretty colors and lights all trying to get your attention. I am grateful that I can focus on the actual reason celebrate, Jesus. The lack of shopping and decorating has allowed me time to reflect and spiritually ready myself to truly celebrate the birth of our Lord.