O Tannenbaum

Two weekends ago we put up the Christmas tree - or tannenbaum as they say here in Germany. The last time we purchased a tree it was in Fed. Hill at a little league field. We overpaid for the tree...but the guy told us it was the Cadillac of Christmas Trees - the Frasier Fir (ooh ahh). Well it was a great looking tree - but it was full of sap! This year's tree was bought at bargain basement prices (EUR 19). She's a bit skimpy but she does the trick. Needless to say, I think we purchased the Pinto of trees. We had a good time putting the decorations we've accumulated from our travels over the past year on the tree. German Christmas tree stands rock! Rather than the US metal-screw-in-model, they have a model that essentially puts the tree in a vice grip by using a lever. It also has a water meter. Amazing.

We also headed out to the Weinachtsmarkt in Frankfurt. I love Christmas market season! We strolled around for a few hours, ate some delicious food, and perused the Christmas decorations/ornaments for sale. We also stopped by an outdoor ice rink set up near the old opera house (Atle Oper). For little kids that are just learning how to skate they have these penguins that they can push around the rink and use to steady themselves - so cute! As much as we love going to the market - it was freezing out and after a few hours I was a total bumpsicle and we had to head home.

On December 6th we headed to Heidelberg for Shaun's Holiday party for work. We had a delicious meal and had a good time mingling with everyone he works with. The owner of the restaurant (who is 85!) even entertained us by playing some VERY old instruments.