Thanksgiving Markets, Family, and Strasbourg

Adreann and her kids were able to join us for Thanksgiving this year.  It was wonderful.  Cora made 7 pies from scratch. 

We had lots of leftover food.


We decided to put together a puzzle, a new one that we hadn't done before.  The picture was of the city Koln, and as we put it together we decided that we would go to the Christmas market there the next day.  We finished the puzzle in the nick of time, right before we left on Friday.

This was the first German Christmas market they had been to.  They've been to one in London, but it's not the same.

 

It's nice to be reminded of things you love, and I LOVE the Koln cathedral. 

It's so amazing and so beautiful.

On Saturday we went to Strasbourg, France.  I LOVE STRASBOURG!!!  I would take Strasbourg over Paris any day....I mean, other than the museums ;)  But so picturesque.  The whole Alsace region is beautiful, and I would definitely like to explore it more.  This is the same area I came to when I took my very first trip to France (Soufflenheim) to buy some pottery with my friends, but that was about 1/2 hours away from Strasbourg.  I was surprised to learn how many times this area has switched hands between France and Germany, and it really has the best of both worlds.  The Strasbourg market wasn't the best we've been to, but we still loved it.

 The cathedral was another gorgeous one.  Construction was started in 1015, it is the 6th tallest in the world, and the sandstone used gives it a slightly pink hue.

 The tapestries are from the 17th century.

 I believe this is the pulpit, and was made in 1486.

Below is an animated astronomical clock inside the cathedral, and is one of the largest in the world, build in the 1800's.  The clock shows much more than just the time.  It also indicates solar time, the day of the week (each represented by a god of mythology), the month, the year, the sign of the zodiac, the phase of the moon and the position of several planets, and it is extremely accurate. According to legend, the creator of this clock had his eyes gouged out afterward, to prevent him from reproducing it. However, similar legends are told about other clocks, including the astronomical clock in Prague, so really, how reliable can it be?

  When we got back outside the cathedral, all the lights were coming on.  It was beautiful.

We saw a store devoted completely to fruit cakes.  All kinds.  People were in there buying them.  As a joke?  I don't know.  Apparently some people actually eat those things.

Before we left, we had the sudden realization we hadn't eaten dinner and we were all starving, so we stopped off for some Döner.

While Adreann was here, we also make quick trips to the markets in Rudesheim and Wiesbaden.

All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving and a wonderful visit, and we're already making plans to meet up again.  It's so good to have family on our side of the world!

Happy Joseph

Joseph turned 14 a long time ago....on his birthday.  14!


He's SO tall.  Almost as tall as the Eiffel Tower.  He's getting hair on his upper lip.  I'm not sure he can be trusted with a razor though.  I think his voice is getting deeper.....except when he screams.  I think he's gotten those teenage hormone things, because he gets moody.  It's very teenagery of him.  Spell check does not approve of my word "teenagery".


I've started calling him my man-child.  He humors me.  I adore him.

A Curious Halloween

Yes, we did actually celebrate Halloween this year, although it did not get the adequate attention it deserved.  I volunteered to head up our ward's Trunk-or-Treat this year, and I was so preoccupied with that, that I kind of failed in the costume department this year. Ugh!!!  All I did was don a wig myself, but here's what we came up with for the kids.




Joseph was Jack the Pumpkin King - tall and lanky

Madelyn was the Cheshire Cat - curiouser and curiouser ;)

Alex was a Storm Trooper - I don't think he can actually see anything through that mask.

Cora was actually in a play the weekend of the Trunk-or-Treat (more about that below), but she had a Halloween party with some friends at our house, and they played around with some makeup.

The play Cora was in was the High School's production of The Curious Savage.  It was a small cast, and only played the weekend before Halloween (which was unfortunate, since the Garrison decided at the last minute that we should do trick-or-treating on Saturday instead of on Halloween, which ruined a lot of people's plans, boooo!).  But it was still really great, and we were super proud of Cora!

They just had auditions for the Spring musical, which will be The King and I.  We'll see if she gets a part for that too (fingers crossed!)

Idstein

Back before Halloween, I went with a friend to a nearby town called Idstein, to help take her family pictures.  Such a cute little town (super little).  I know, I say that a lot.  But just look at these buildings!

 Killingerhaus (1615) - currently the tourist office and a municipal museum.

The 4-story Shiefes Haus, or Crooked House (1727)

 

 Konig-Adolf Platz - the central market place

The Gatehouse (1497) - once the quarters of a Count, then a prison and torture chamber, then a granary, and today the registry office (apparently you can get married in there).

The other side of the Gatehouse.

 A group of buildings, connected to the Gatehouse, which form part of the original castle (1565) - used as administrative offices along with Town Hall.

 

  Witches Tower (1170) - Idstein's oldest remaining monument. 

 Looking back towards the Gatehouse.

 The small Palace Gardens

The Palace (1614?) - It has since been used as an archive office, convalescent home, military hospital and barracks, a hostel, teacher's training school, and now is a grammar school.

 Back through the Gatehouse again.

 
The Lower Market Place, and some more beautiful buildings and features.

I'm really looking forward to going the Christmas market here this year, which is a small one, and only open for one weekend.

Craving Korean

I been seriously craving some good Korean food lately.  I think it's the cold weather.  It's cold outside, and my feet are cold because I don't want to wear socks, so I keep thinking of hot dishes like Kimchi Jigae, Dakgalbi, or the nice soupy version of Bulgogi.  Mmmmmmm.  Actually, I made some Kimchi Jigae for dinner the other night, and then ate it for breakfast the next day.  Breakfast of champions.

I only lived in Korea for 4 years (a mere 4 out of my almost 42 years), but it is forever a part of my soul now.  I think about it, and miss it, almost every single day.

I miss the cheap, delicious, unique food.
I miss ondol heating (in the floor).
I miss having a 7-11 every couple of blocks, open 24/7.
I miss ridiculously fast internet, and exceptional phone coverage.
I miss cheap and easy to use public transportation.
I miss just hopping off at a random subway station and exploring.
I miss being able to walk to....pretty much anything I needed.
I miss having a good reason to wear my hanbok.
I miss the feeling of complete safety.
I miss the festivals and markets.
I miss the friends I made in Korea.
I miss my Korean dentist.
I miss the Korean culture.
I miss the loving people.
I miss the beautiful country.

These are a lot of the same things that everyone says they miss about Korea.....maybe not my dentist. But a lot of what I miss about Korea I can't really put into words.  It's just the whole feel of it.  And it hurts a little, knowing that I might never go back there again.  I hope I do.  Someday.

I wonder if Germany will be as much a part of me as Korea.  I wonder if it will hurt as much to leave. I have a feeling it will.  I love it here so much. We're on our last year here, and I feel like I'm in a room where the walls are slowly closing in on my.  I don't have enough time.  I definitely don't have enough money to go everywhere I want to go, and do everything I want to do.  But the time....the time is killing me.

Sorry if this is a boo-hoo me post, but it's cold.  I don't know what that has to do with anything, but you figure it out.