The Christmas season (yes, we still can say "Christmas" is Germany) is in full swing here in Duetchland. City streets are lined with tents containing unique German gifts, food and of course, Gluhwein. Gluhwein is a warm wine served at the Christmas markets. Almost all adults make a stop at the Gluhwein tent while shopping, especially when the temperatures drops. The Christmas markets also have fun activities for children. In addition to Santa, there are several rides and ice skating rinks. Heidelberg's ice rink is very quaint. It is located at the base of the castle, making it look like a page out of Dickens. Although Henry is far too young to skate, he enjoyed watching the other children. He did, however, take advantage of every other ride the markets had to offer.
We had the pleasure of having our good friends and previous neighbors in town this week, Duane and Dorothy. They have been to Germany several times, so they ended up showing us around quite often. While Duane went to work during the day (he works at Deere), Dorothy and I enjoyed shopping, lunching, visiting and exploring the area. Dorothy also got to experience day to day life here in Germany. She accompanied me to the grocery stores, to Henry's school, to the doctor, parking in Mannheim, and getting trapped on the tram! In the evening, Duane and John joined us for dinner and more shopping. We thoroughly enjoyed their visit and miss them already. Henry is wondering where they went.
If you are wondering who the little paper boy is in some of the photos, his name is Flat Stanley. Our cousin Jason's third grade class is doing a Flat Stanley project and asked us to host Stanley for the week. We had fun doing it. Everyone was a good sport about participating, even if they had no idea what we were talking about. Dorothy has done a couple of Flat Stanley projects with her nieces and nephews, so she was really enthusiastic about doing it and very helpful. As you can see, we were not shy about asking people to pose with Stanley, he even visited John Deere for a day! It was fun and we hope Stanley enjoyed the week.
We also want to wish a Happy Birthday to all of the December birthdays this month, especially to my Uncle Bill, who turns 70 this week. We miss you!
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