First Advent

 Everything is a bit smaller this year. We want to have a bit of the Christmas spirit at home, but not too much since we'll be moving out soon after. 

But it is First Advent and one has to do something to recognize the season. There were so many little Christmas Markets this weekend in our little neck of the woods, and despite needing to pack, we needed also to get out. 

Saturday, it was the Vegesackerschutzenverein.  Oh, do Germans love these long words! Actually, this is probably Vegesacker Schutzenverein, so not so long a word. It's the shooting club, and every little town and every little section of a larger town has one. Technically, they practice shooting, historically to protect the town - guns of various sorts, bows and arrows, too; I don't think they do axes, though. These days, though, it is a lot more social than aggressively militant. And the local club had a Christmas market this weekend. We stopped by yesterday, hoping to find a pair of socks or two for Werner.

There were about 40 stands, but unfortunately, they were all a bit on the kitschy side, and we didn't find anything we wanted to buy other than coffee and a piece of cake. BUT - we were out and about and got some riding on the bikes done, even though it was only about 45° !!

But today, Sunday, there were more places to visit. First stop, Haus Blomendahl in the neighboring village of Blumentahl (blooming valley, if you will).  Again, hard to call these places "castles" though "castle"  is a part of the name. This one, established in 1354, has a moat around it still. They put on lots of event throughout the year, and the Christmas Market is a fun one, and a level or two above the one at the shooting club. 

 And we found socks that Werner liked!  There were a few stands with lots of knitted goods. Just to let you know, I am NOT doing socks for Werner. He likes these hand-knitted ones, but I do have limits on when and where they can be worn. Lordy.

And of course, they had coffee and cake, too. And mulled wine, naturally, though we didn't partake this time. 

And on the way home, we had to stop by our local church where there was a one-day Christmas Market as well. What fun! So many young families, little kids running around, bread-roasting over an open fire, and a few more stands with home-made goodies. We even ran into some neighbors and had a nice time standing around in the cold and crisp air and just chatting.

Back home, we admired our booty for the day. 

Not my socks. His. And I will monitor their use.