Thanksgiving, Weihnachtsmarkt and First Advent

 The Holidays are here!

This past week was Thanksgiving in the U.S. and the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Here in Münster, it was just a regular old day for most people.  The Christmas markets opened this week, so Holiday shopping is definitely started here as well. 

Thursday night there was a Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by the German American Alliance, but we decided not to go since it didn't even begin until 7:30. Not having a car, we would have had to ride our bikes in the dark to our destination, about 20 minutes away. We could have taken a cab I suppose, but it just seemed like a hassle - not to mention it was a school night.

Another U.S. family invited us to share a Thanksgiving with them on Saturday. There is young man in my German class that is from Idaho, so I asked him to come along also.

We met in the club house of our building. The other family provided drinks, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce (a real luxury here as they are difficult to find) and pumpkin pie while I brought green bean casserole, sweet potatoes casserole, turkey, brötchen, apple pie and chocolate cake. Notice how I put my new baking dishes to good use.

I was happy to see there were plenty of Turkeys in the stores. This little guy only set us back 12 Euros (about $15 dollars). It did taste good and we will have turkey pot pie in a few days! Not being used to this oven, my turkey tasted good, but did not look stellar.

Sadly, as I was baking my pie I had a little mishap. It was finished baking, but the top was not golden enough for my aesthetic taste. Putting it back in the oven with the broiler on, I thought I would rinse a dish and then take the pie back out of the oven with a beautifully browned top crust. Instead I found a beautifully blackened top crust.

Luckily, I decided to just lift off the burnt layer (since I had a suitably flaky crust, there was still a layer of top crust left) and sprinkled a crumble topping over it. A few carefully supervised minutes later, I had a nicely salvaged apple pie.

I always wet brine my turkey which means I generally buy my gravy. I have tried to make gravy with the drippings of brined turkeys, but it always is too salty for me. Turkey gravy is not found in grocery stores here so I HAD to attempt a giblet gravy. I have never been able bring myself to make this before because it always grossed me out.  This year I stepped up and threw myself into it.

It amazes me that something so disgusting can turn into something so delicious. I let it simmer for a whole day and ended  up with a rich, thick stock. I did add a few tablespoons of the turkey drippings to fill out the flavor even more. I could not, however, bring myself to mince the neck, heart, liver and gizzard.

I also found a store that had reasonable prices for sweet potatoes. Here they are about to be made into a delicious casserole. Not too sweet with a delectable coconut, brown sugar and ground almond topping.

Of course, these tiny European refrigerators make leftovers a little challenging to find places for.

Saturday morning, while we were picking up a few last minute items for out Thanksgiving lunch, we also picked up an Advent wreath. Sunday is first Advent and as we don't have the space for a big tree, or even medium sized tree, we are trying to add some holiday decorations.

Happy First Advent!

Our dear friend Ute gave the boys a Milka Advent calendar and we bought the boys a Star Wars Advent calendar. On each day before Christmas, starting on December 1, you open one "door" in the calendar. Inside is treat. I have seen many advent calendars that are not disposable and are refilled every year.

These aren't really decorations, but they are fun for the boys.

I can't wait to go back to the Weihnachts Markt. It is beautiful and full of such interesting things. Here is a taste of what you will see next week.

These are beautiful lamps.

This is a gigantic Christmas Pyramid.

More beautiful decorations.

Haben eine wunderbare Woche!
Have a wonderful week!

Schimmel! Le Creuset! and Visitors!

First ...
Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends in the U.S.


And now,


Schimmel

I had never heard of Schimmel before coming to Germany. Our apartment manager, Frau F., mentioned in October that since the weather was cooling off we would need to start concerning ourselves with Schimmel. So, of course, we popped onto the computer and looked it up on Wiki. Sorry the link is in German, but if you scroll down you will get the idea.

This is not our apartment. This is just an example I found here on Flikr
Basically, it is mold or fungus.

So, now we know what Schimmel is, all we have to worry about it how to combat it! Since out 9 year old has asthma issues, we really don't want to mess with this stuff. Our industrious apartment manager gave a few simple directions on how to keep the fungus at bay.

Step one - Wipe down all the condensation from the windows in the morning and night. This also means you have to put the towels outside as soon as you are done or the moisture is still trapped in the apartment.

Condensation

Wipe, wipe, wipe

Step two - Open the windows and doors to bring in fresh, dry air for at least 20 minutes.

Step three - Repeat step two at least three times a day.

Of course, this would be no big deal if it wasn't 30 degrees outside.

This task would also be less intimidating if I was able to wash these wet, black streaked towels anytime I needed, rather than the once a week I am allotted to use the communal washers and dryers. Ok, I actually have two allotted times, but one is at 7a.m. I don't think it counts.

If we don't wipe up the condensation we end up with puddles of water on the floor. If we don't open the doors and windows we end up with stale, musty air.

Oh well, I do have other things to console me.

Le Creuset and Cousances
My friend who regifted her leftover kitchen ware to me really gave me a few treasures. She had several cast iron and enamled cast iron Le Creuset and Cousances pots and baking items that she was not interested in keeping.  Here are a few of my new treasures. Be jealous. The only question is, "How am I getting these back to the States since they weigh about 100 pounds?"

As I was packing them into my saddlebags and backpack I said, "I can't wait to bake something in these". My friend looked at me and said, "I have never said that about cooking anything".

I used the skillet today when I made breakfast burritos and it was a little piece of Heaven in my Kitchen.

Visitors
On Saturday we had a short visit with Paulina and her mother Ute. They were in town visiting family and came by to see us as well as bringing a few treats. They very graciously brought a spare CD player and CDs as well as many books to fill out our German book selection. Today we listened to Peter and the Wolf.

They also brought a few games including Ubongo. I had forgotten how fun this game is!

It is kind of like a competitive tetris game.

We all hung out at our apartment for a bit and then went down to the Saturday market where Ute bought the boys some candy. She is the next best thing to a Tante (Aunt) here.

A selection of Gummi candy from Holland

A Marshmallow Gummi Maus

A Licorice Frog

Ute and Paulina were also kind enough to bring more "Paton Marmalade", or Quince Jelly. Lucky for him since we had just finished the last jar they gave us. The Kellersmanns are so good to us. I gave them half the loaf of Banana bread I made with my new Le Creuset loaf pan.

Today is Thanksgiving and we are thankful for many things - especially our new friends here in Münster and all our old friends and Family back in the States. On Saturday we are having a Thanksgiving with a another American family but I am still a little bummed to not have it today.

On the bright side, the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Markets) are open!

Inheritance and the Joys of German Class

Inheritance

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but the family of one of Paton's classmates lived in our current apartment for 5 years. Last Spring they bought a house. In Germany, when you buy a house or condo, you have to furnish it completely. That means besides all the normal things like sofas, tables and chairs, , beds, curtains you also have to fit out the Kitchen. The WHOLE kitchen, such as countertops, fixtures and cabinets. EVERYTHING. Once their friends knew they were moving into their own home, they were gifted  leftover kitchen supplies to use in their completely empty kitchen. Last week our kids had a play date and she invited me to go through the extras she had put up in her attic.

**Small side note. I have always thought the German word "Gift" was interesting. In English, a Gift is a present. In German, if you hear "Gift" it means poison.**

As we were going through the three giant boxes, I saw a few treasures. One is this. 

My new Loaf Pan

It is a Le Creuset loaf pan, and let me tell you it must weigh at least 8 pounds. It is so heavy and I can't wait to bake something in it. Since it is so cold here right now, I will wait till Summer to make a terrine. I think banana bread is in my immediate future.

My cast iron spice grinder

Above is a Skeppshuult Spice Grinder - also cast iron. Too bad that after Preston tried to grind a carrot with it, he cleaned up his mess without drying it off completely and so it got a bit rusted.

Hmm, not sure about this one, but I can't wait to find out.

My Facebook friends suggested the items above could be for cutting out biscuits or scones - anyone have a favorite recipe?

My friend did not know what many of the items were, but once I explained what they were her she realized many of the items would be useful to her (so I missed out on a few real finds like a fabulous roasting pan). Oh well, I am very grateful for what I could bring home.

More German Class

My boys are also taking German as a second language classes. My nine year old has class during his regular school day while Our 12 year old has one in school as well as one after school. I usually have Russell help with the homework (Hausaufgabe) since he has a much better grasp of German. I am afraid I will teach them something wrong if I help. However, it is time for me to step up! I decided to take on the task. Paton was learning about comparatives. The cartoon below is the example at the top of his worksheet. The kids are having a fight about who is dumb, dumber or dumbest.

This would never fly in a classroom in the U.S.

This part of the exercise uses comparatives to talk about whose "Bild" or "picture" is ugly, uglier or ugliest. Could you imagine what would happen if a teacher in a U.S. classroom passed this worksheet around?

Again, I can't imagine any grammar teacher using this example.

None the less, I am so happy that both boys are gradually getting a better hold of their German. They can understand so much and are starting to speak it without having to be prompted. I can tell that they are both a little homesick though. Since we will be returning to the U.S. in July and back to their schools in Norfolk, I have been having them practice writing paragraphs in English to keep their writing skills up. Yesterday they had to write two paragraphs, one about what they like about Germany and one about the challenges they are having. Both commented on how hard it is to talk to friends and understand what is going on.

To combat potential sadness Russell and I have been trying to intersperse "treats" throughout the week. On Fridays we always get an ice cream. We make sure they have good treats to take to school for their Pausenbröt. We try to have enough for them to stay busy. None the less, there are days when they both need a little extra affection.

The Weather

BRRRRR - If you were in Bavaria, you would roll your "r"s when you say this. Below is the puddle of condensed water that has frozen over outside our window. Next week I will tell you about our rigorous de-humidifying routine. Apparently the the Schimmel is really awful here.

It has definitely changed to cold weather.

Kein Schweiss aufs Holtz! (No sweat on the wood!)

The weather here has really taken a turn towards winter. The leaves fell like snow, leaving the trees bare. Now that all of the leaves are down, they are mussing up the lovely pathways and grassy areas - so they must be swept up! In the U.S., the street sweepers are always roving around, but here, the leaf sweepers are hopping.


I Love the Sauna!
Of course, all of this cold weather means unpleasant outdoor runs. I will admit that I am a complete wimp when it comes to running outdoors. When it dipped below 50 degrees, we signed up at a Gym. I am back to my 5 day a week workout schedule now that we have settled in and are a little more comfortable. I asked a friend of mine where she works out, and she recommended Fitness First. We had only seen one other Gym and so we checked them both out a few weeks ago. The first Gym we visited is called McFit. Yes - McFit. You could definitely tell that one Gym catered to poor college students and the other catered to people who are a little more established. Of course, it also costs 3 times as much a month. McFit had all the basics I actually needed, but Fitness First has a Sauna! Not just one Sauna, but three! One for women and two that are co-ed! 

This is not exactly what the Sauna at Fitness First looks like, but it is very similar. 

I like sitting in the Sauna very much, especially since I can sit next to Russell. Of course, being new to the Sauna scene, we had to learn a few rules. 

Rules of the Sauna

1. You MUST be naked. No clothes, no flip flops.

2. You MUST have a towel to sit on. Of course those who are a little shy can use their towel to cover up as long as .....

3. NO skin touches the Wood - Do you want to sit in someone else's sweat? - Kein Schweiss aufs Holtz! (No sweat on the wood!)


Of course, I am not just sweating in Eucalyptus bliss during my time at the gym, I do actually exercise. I have found that, like most things here, the Gym is the same, but different. The only thing that trips me up, and I do mean this literally, is the layout.

The area with cardio machines is slightly raised above the surrounding area to allow for wires underneath. I almost never remember that there is a step down to get to any other area. Usually I can manage to gracefully recover my footing, but today I completely wiped out. On my butt. Luckily, only my pride was injured - mostly. I will have this lovely reminder of my gracefulness on my knee for a few days.

One additional highlight of the Gym here is that distances are in Kilometers. For some reason running 8 kilometers seems shorter than 5 miles. Go figure!

Deutsch Class
My other new adventure for the week was the start of my Fremd Sprache Class. The first class was on Monday and I was a little nervous because I opted to skip the first level since I have already been studying on my own for several months. I walked into the class and sat down next to another woman (from Columbia) and we became fast friends! The class has about 15 people in it and we are from all over the world.

Our textbook is divided into 5 chapters and each lesson is only one to two pages long. Our teacher has to fill 90 minutes with a relatively small amount of material. That means, we have discussions that are sometimes tangent to the topic.

This first lesson covered body parts, illness and injury. We learned all of the body parts and their articles, which I had already learned with my boys, as well as the plurals some of which were new to me.  One word that was definitely new to me was Durchfall. Do you want to take a guess at what that means?

We spend about 10 minutes guessing how to spell diarrhea in German. The teacher had a representative from each country get up and write out the word in their own language and when everyone was finished, we figured out the word is spelled Diarrhö. Durchfall is what everyone calls it, but the clinical term is Diarrhö.

I also learned that if you have a cold, you must stay in bed for two days and drink Grog (or Krog if you are my German teacher). To make this miraculous cure, heat up enough brandy to fill a glass 2/3, add 1/3 water and three spoonfuls of sugar. Drink this slowly while it is hot. Do this for two days and you WILL be GESUND (healthy). So says my German Teacher.

This is what I have to look forward to next week. I guess this girl is working at some sort of printing press.

She wasn't careful enough.

I love the German sense of humor.

Bis nächste Woche!

Hannover or Bust!

What a week!

Since the boys have a two week Fall break right now, we took advantage of the time and took a little trip to the city of Hannover. Paulina, our exchange student from the 2009-2010 school year, and her lovely parents invited us to visit them. They live in Ronnenberg, a city just outside of Hannover.

A colleague of Russell's from the Uni asked him what we were doing over the break. When Russell said we had been invited to Hannover the man said, "Why would you go to Hannover?" Well, that made me a little nervous, but it didn't matter since we would be visiting friends that we have grown very fond of.

I have to say again how lucky we are to have friends here. The Kellersmann family were wonderful hosts that really went out of their way to help us experience GERMANY. Because, of course, there is the Germany tourists see, and then there is the Germany Germans live in.

On Friday night we walked around Hannover and saw a few of the most important sights. The first place we went to was the Historisches Museum Hannover. The current exhibition covered the history of Hannover from 1900 to 1939. It also had many other permanent exhibits that were interesting. You can see the rest of the pictures here.

New City Hall was the next destination of the day. For a few Euros you can take an elevator to the top, then walk up several winding flights of stairs for a panoramic view of the city.  The seven of us (the four Haines, Paulina, her mother Ute and the elevator operator) squeezed into a rhombus shaped elevator. The many slanting walls disoriented me, so I didn't notice that the floor and ceiling are clear plastic. Once we started moving I realized the elevator was tilting sideways to follow the contours of the dome we were climbing through. Trudging up the stairs reminded me a little of climbing up to the top of Notre Dame. Of course, the view from the top was well worth it. One interesting view showed the shell of a small church. The middle was destroyed during the WW2, but the facade remained. Rather than rebuilding the church, they left it as a reminder of what happened.

One room of the New City Hall held models of the city at different times throughout history: 1600's, 1939 and 1945. The 1945 model portrayed the damage Hannover experienced. It is amazing to see, even in scale model, the level of destruction laid on this city. The large building in the front is the model of the New City Hall.

We met up with Matthias for a quick dinner near the train station. The boys settled on Weißwursts and a pretzel while the rest of us had some Spanish fare.

On Saturday we walked around Ronnengerg with Ute while she did a bit of shopping. There was a lovely Church we were able to walk into that originated in the time of the Romans.
Afterwards, we visited the Hannover Flea market where all found a few treasures. After a pick me up snack, we took S Bahn (train) over the the Royal Gardens of Herrenhauser. The Baroque gardens here are considered some of the most famous gardens in Europe. In 1696, the gardens were begun and since then have remained nearly unchanged, although parts were damaged during WW2. Although we spent a couple of hours there, it would be easy to lose yourself for an entire day. Just across the street is the Berggarten which is well worth your time as well. More pictures can be seen here.

Monday's weather co-operated, so a trip to the Hannover Zoo was on the schedule. The Zoo nearly failed in the 1990's, but in 1994 was converted from privately owned, to a limited company. The zoo was completely renovated and redesigned with a new concept. It is an adventure zoo - "The different zoo worlds give people the chance to experience animals in scenic settings, without visible barriers, that meet the needs of both animals and visitors. A 5 km long explorer path leads through the different animal kingdoms:". 
The rest of the pictures can be seen here.

We finished our adventure with a stop at the BEST Zoo playground I have ever seen. See more of it here.

On Monday, we took the train into Hannover and met Paulina so we could see where she went to school. She didn't have much time so we just saw the highlights and then had a quick lunch.

Mmh, Currywurst

After lunch, Ute took us on a bike tour of Ronnenberg and the surrounding areas. Monday was also Halloween, which is not observed by most people in Germany, although a couple of trick or treaters came to the Kellersmann's. During our ride, we went past a "You Pick" flower/vegetable plot. We picked up a few pumpkins (Kürbis) to carve.

Tuesday it was time to go home. We had a wonderful time and were happy to get to know the Kellersmann family even better.

If you are a history buff at all, I recommend you read the Wikipedia entry on Hannover.