Socks

Tell the truth, I never paid so much attention to socks when I lived in Florida.  Socks? Florida?  That's not a pair one usually puts together.  One's in the wash and the other ... gone.

Of course I needed socks to play tennis or softball.  That's good.  But here in my Germany, socks have a whole different place in the culture.

For instance, it's simply colder here than in Florida a lot of the time, so feetsies need warm, therefore socks.  Some years ago, I bought a pair of socks from a woman who had picked the sheep to be shorn for the wool that she spun for the socks that she knitted.  I kid you not.  I still have them and wear them around the house all the time (in winter).

But hand-knitted socks are good lots of other times too - as in almost anytime - so we seem to have collected a few, from markets and from friends.  And we have sent pairs to lucky folks in the USofA.  If you haven't been so lucky, let me know.
Our socks hanging to dry.

Last year, we got one pair each from one of our Platjenwerber folks. She can knit!  Smooooooth seams, smoooooth toes and heels.  So I bought some wool and begged.

Now we have new socks.  Werner put his on right away - the more restrained gray/black. I go for color.  I'm still waiting to wear mine, but it won't be long!

Christmas Market 2015

We're famous!  Not me and Werner, but the market.  People come by the busload from around Germany as well as Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands and even further afield.  And now some random internet site rates Bremen as the Number One Christmas Market in Europe.  I can't vouch for their objectivity, but I also can't disagree with their assessment.

 It isn't quite and annual affair - for instance, last year we were in the USofA the whole of December -  but most years René and Rima and Amina come  here to visit the Bremen Weihnachtsmarkt - Christmas Market.

Even leaving the train station, well before the market itself, you are put in the spirit of things.

 This year we went first to the Schlacte, along the Weser, that has all kinds of restaurants and pubs and walks, now obscured by lights and booths of all sorts.

 Hats!  You know how Werner loves a hat (though I have put him on restrictions!)  But the one René tried gave us all a laugh.

And there's food, of course, and mulled wine, of course. We made a little dent in potato stores  - french fries AND potato patties AND elk sausage.

Then to the market around the old town square.  There's a sign if you don't quite know which way to go.

Lights and candles and candy and ornaments and so much to see.

 It really is a bit magical.

And then, what Amina always wants to do first, but we put it off to the last - the rides.  There are only three:  an old carousel, a very small Ferris wheel and this one that goes round and round and a bit up and down but hardly a twist. She's changed a bit over the years, but Opa looks like he always has.

And while they were whirling around, I got a hug from the big man himself!

 

First Advent, 2015

Light the first candle. (That's after checking the score of the FSU-FL game.  Good for us!)

Several weeks ago we went to a small and private market and I saw there an Advent arrangement that was pleasing and thought I like that.  It's easy.  So here it is, set up in a basket with a battery operated LED twinkly light.  I'm not yet enamored, but maybe I will be.

We missed last year's First Advent Feast at René and Rima's - that was the Thanksgiving in the USofA year.  But here we are this year so it is time again.  Every year, there is some gourmet surprise.  Yes.  Gourmet. You are not surprised.

Actually, this year was a repeat of The Fowl in Fowl in Fowl from 2008 albeit with different guests.  That year, Mutti was still a guest, and we miss her still.  This year we had Amina's Godparents, two sets of grandparents and Olaf, a good friend and a trained chef who especially wanted to see (EAT!!) this special dish.

Rima prepared the setting and set the table.

And the bird was served.  A corn-stuffed dove in a bread-stuffed guinea hen in a farce-stuffed duck.  Yes, a lot of work. Hours.  And hours of cooking.  It was delicious.

After the feast, we had dessert.  Without consulting, both Rima's mother and I brought cheesecakes, but hers was traditional and mine was a pumpkin.  The same but different.  Both delicious.

The last time I did a pumpkin cheese cake it was all soggy on the bottom.  With some advice from Lee, this was much better.  But I'm thinking how I can make it more pumpkin-y next time.

And then of course coffee and schnapps and conversation.  It's never long enough,

But next weekend, we get to do the Christmas Market together.  The party never ends!

Thanksgiving Again

I am a little frustrated.  What more can I say about Thanksgiving that I haven't already said?  I have written more than a time or two of our expat Thanksgiving celebrations in Our Germany here and here and here and here - among others.  Really A LOT have I written!  But I have to do it again, so thank you for tolerating my ramblings.

Welcome to Thanksgiving. Here's Michelle's turkey attachments to a pumpkin and the asters from a year ago that survived and were allowed to grow naturally.  I take no credit for the asters or the pumpkin except that they are on the stoop. And nice.  But the colors clash. Purple and orange?

More than any holiday, Thanksgiving is about Tradition with a capital T.  Mother asks every year, Don't they have Thanksgiving there?   No, it is uniquely American.  But some things transfer well with a little training, and since we have been doing Thanksgiving now for 20+ years, our folks are well trained.  And here, just as in the USofA, you can tweak, but don't mess too much with Tradition:  turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, pecan pie.  Other details vary.  That said, even the basics get a tweak now and again. 

Menu for 2015: 

Curried Cauliflower Soup
Roast Turkey
Cornbread Dressing
Cranberry Sauce
Brussels Sprouts
Sweet Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Black-eyed Peas
Key Lime Pie
Pecan Pie

Everything is from scratch.  There is no Pepperidge Farm cornbread dressing mix, no Pillsbury pie crust, no Oceanspray cranberry sauce, no Butterball turkey, no canned peas.  So we start early. 

Even the table gets done before Saturday.  This year Werner asked: Can  we use some white linen napkins instead?  No, sorry.  No change.  Our Tradition.

Our group was down to 8 this year, but it's still the "big" table and still the "Grandma" china. Tradition.

Our tweaks?  The turkey got a major shake up!  It no longer looks very traditional, but all flat and splat since we did a spatchcock turkey this year. Tradition out the door!!

It looks rather immodest, but we were thrilled with the results: a crispy, moist turkey quickly done!! Tradition makes way for good and tasty.

But first the soup - and a group portrait. 

Well, soup.  Major disaster. Several weeks ago, we'd bought purple cauliflower at the market and made a remarkable soup - so amazingly lavender-colored! We thought we'd do that for Thanksgiving!  Yeah, but this time somehow it wasn't the same - late cauliflower, darker turkey stock base, who knows?  It was brown-gray, brown-gray-brown, unappetizing looking.  Tweak.  Add curry.  That helped the flavor enormously, but the color -- not so much.  But our friends come hungry and curious about the soup, so it was a hit! Wow, that's great!  Who knew?

And then the rest of the food.  Photographer fail.  NO PICTURES.  No picture of the lovely carved turkey, the yummy peas and potatoes and dressing and the amazing sweet potatoes and etc.  Ingrid went bonkers over the dressing.  What is that?  How do you make cornbread?  Where do you get the flour?  Funny our our lowly cornbread can become so exotic in another setting. Our regulars just smiled and said, Eat. Enjoy.

Dietmar, an old friend of Werner's from high school and one the first of his friends I met here in Bremen way back at the very beginning, was a late addition to our Thanksgiving table.  He tried so hard to decline and confessed he didn't really want to come because, since his retirement, he's assiduously avoided having appointments on his calendar. Actually, he's not alone in that. But it worked out.  He appeared to more than enjoy the conversation and the food.  Even managed to take seconds on the food.  What a compliment.  Thank you, Dietmar!  Maybe you should make more appointments.... just sayin'.

The weather was unwelcoming.  Drizzle, cold, getting dark early.  Want to take a walk?  Uhhhhh.  Come on!  Let's walk.  Uhhhhh.  But we did.  And it was good to walk off some turkey before tackling the pies:  Key lime and Pecan.  Years before, I'd done three, but two was enough.  I think.  No one complained.

And after another couple of hours of coffee and schnapps and talk and schnapps and wine and talk and talk, we called it a night, but reluctantly. Sigh.  Guests gone and then the clean up.  But since the earlier-in-the-day beginning, clean up means we get to bed before midnight!  OK!!

It was totally lovely.  We will totally do it again. Of course we will.  Was that a question???

And the next morning - a first dusting of snow!  That's fun - since it is Sunday and we don't have to do anything we don't want to do, that means we don't have to get in the car and drive anywhere.

After breakfast out, a rarity for us, we wandered over to the local mall for a little art show.  It was half kitsch, half wonderful.  To excite the crowd, young ladies go around passing out slips of paper so you can vote on your favorite work among the various stands.  OK. We'll play.

So we looked a bit more carefully and found an artist who really spoke to us with her lovely watercolors, realistic but with an appealing style.  And then I fell in love with a particular piece, and when that happens, I just go with my feelings.

Now we own a small watercolor, a wonderful rendition by a non-native of the Bremen Cathedral from a slightly different, non-native point of view that particularly spoke to another non-native - me - who loves this city. I can relate. It joins a watercolor of Paris, and precious original prints of Florence and New York, other cities close to my heart.

 

Here it is - a poor reproduction of the original - in our gemütlich little Bremen house.

Every Thanksgiving I am so grateful for friends who come and celebrate with us what Thanksgiving is all about - sharing and communing over generations and states and countries. Let's keep talking.

Happy Birthday to me.....70!

That's a lot of years, and coming up to 70 was filled with ... well, not the best feelings in the world.  Trepidation.  Anxiety.  Not really depression, but sort of.  All in minimal amounts, but there.  Weirdness.  70?  Hard to grasp.

So, let's have a party!  That'll blow the blues away.  Here in Germany, you throw your own party, no waiting around for someone else to celebrate you.  Celebrate yourself.  So I did. We did.

Planning was a logistical problem - how many to invite? How to arrange?  I didn't want the formality of a dinner in a rented hall, but our little charming LITTLE house can only handle so many folks at a time.  Answer?  An open house.

Friends and family from far away had sent cards and what a wonderful treat that was (is).  Days before my "special" day, little reminders arrived in the mailbox to let me know folks were thinking of me!

Werner thought it would be fun to put up pictures of me from lots of years ago.  School pictures are always a hoot and it was fun, I have to say, to look at these old pics.

 Before the party, on the day itself, Werner had a special card and some roses on the breakfast table.

 And then came a wondrous bouquet from my children.  My kids.  My loves.  Thank you so much!!

On Saturday, we arranged hors d'oeuvres from the local caterer, added a cheese plate and some mini-quiches, a hot soup (pumpkin, of course) and  - voilá! - an Open House.  It worked.

Our little, cozy, little, little house was full to overflowing, but it was such a congenial group!  We toasted with bubbly, we ate up the goodies (though not enough!) and we talked and talked.  That was the whole point.  We got lots of good feedback - maybe the new thing here will be an open house!

A little poem from Ulli and Ilsemarie put the cherry on top of the ice cream.

I don't have as many pictures as I would have liked.  Since I am the major picture-taker and I had to take care of other stuff, pictures didn't get done.  BUT, it was so much fun.

Next day, with Rima, René and Amina, we took a bit of a walk to unwind and relax.  Great move. 

Thank you all for making this such a wonderful day/wonderful days.

The Bremen Art Museum

October 18 -- Kunsthalle Bremen, as we say here in our Germany.   It's in the city, the Art Museum, but since we are not in the city on a regular basis, we don't visit the Kunsthalle as often as we'd like.  Nevertheless it was time, the weather cooperated (not a good day for walking or biking) and we were in the mood.  All the stars were in alignment.

We were greeted by this mural by Sarah Morris just beyond the entrance hall.  Colorful, monumental - striking!  When the exhibit is over, the art will be a memory - preserved digitally, for sure, but in fact gone forever.

Another current exhibition is an installation by Thomas Hirschhorn, a Swiss artist whose work is often beyond my ken, but somehow I could talk to this one.

The installation is titled "Aftermath" (Nachwirkung).

Like many of his works, cardboard and packing tape are integral to the installation - temporary and original - and the theme is ruin and destruction. That you could discern without my interpretation. It looks like a bomb went off in the place.

The graffiti messages are not at all hard to grasp:

"Art is a beautiful lie" he says.  Others said: "Art is truth" and "Don't make excuses for art."
So we wandered there for a while and took it in.  Even though it was only three rooms, there was a lot to digest.
And then, since we had time, we decided to check out the permanent exhibit, something we'd not done in quite a while.
In fact, we haven't visited the permanent collection since the Kunsthalle was expanded and reopened in 2011 (how embarrassing!) though we have been there for other special exhibits.
The refurbished rooms are light and spacious.

 The former exterior wall was incorporated into the new interior space.  Cool

 Nice, huh?  This is nails, lots of them, hammered in such a way that the shadows and emphases change depending on the angle. 

And here, as in several rooms, they've added the really new (digital) art to the conventional and traditional.  It didn't jar - but was a fascinating contrast.

Afterwards, there was time for coffee and cake.  There is always time for that.