How was your Christmas?

Our Christmas was full of family time fun, some surprises, and of course, amazing food. We spent the holiday with G's parents, near Frankfurt. Instead of driving, this year we decided to take the train. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that the whole train experience was the exact opposite of what I imagined. It wasn't the cold, uncomfortable, and extremely loud train ride I remember on Amtrak from my college days. We had a small glass encased room, with a table, reclining seats, and even wait staff. Anyway, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th in Germany so my Christmas Eve was fantastic. As I've mentioned before, G's Mom is the Martha Stewart of Germany, so to say that we overate is an understatement. She served a different meal for every dinner and every plate on the table was practically licked clean - I started wearing my loose fitting jeans in the evening! She has a way of making every meal just perfect. Here's our table on Christmas Eve afternoon.


Denzel's first Christmas was full of more firsts...

His first Christmas present wasn't an instant hit. He was freaked out by the squeaking starfish. But after one day of close inspection and a lot of test bites, now it's his favorite toy to try to rip apart!

He also had his first experience with stairs. He was brave for the first two steps and then he got stuck.

And he survived G's first "let's see what he does when we....." idea.


We spent a lot of evenings playing Monopoly. It was the first time I played with G and his family and let me just say, they take the game to another level. It was a Monopoly War! Now I understand how G can make me go bankrupt, every time we play. But I had to forgive him for kicking my butt in front of his family because he gave me such a cool Christmas gift. It was a small white paper package and when I opened it, it was a piece of cheese. Huh? You can imagine my facial expression. But then he told me to read the inside of the wrapping....

The inside of the wrapping is a flag and printed in the middle are the details of our trip to Amsterdam! Anyone have any suggestions on things to see or do in Amsterdam:)

Fabelhaft!

Was denkst du über mein neues Bett?

Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt

der Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt

Glühwein

One of my favorite things about Munich is spending a winter afternoon or evening at a Weihnachtsmarkt or Christmas Market.
Last year, G was my tour guide and naturally, he introduced me to Glühwein. I did not think I would like it. It is literally spiced red wine, served warm. But after my first cup, I was hooked. It was not that I started to like the taste but, how can I say this without sounding like an alcoholic....it gives you a little extra pep in your step and the cold weather seems a lot warmer! Well, this season, I discovered Weiß-Glühwein, which is made with white wine instead of red wine. Yummy! And on Saturday, we are going to Germany's most famous Weihnachtsmarkt -
der Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt.

Wochenrückblick

What a week! I had my final Deutschprüfung (German Language Test) on Wednesday and I passed! I not only passed but I performed well above average. I'm proud of myself, because the last couple of weeks have been very difficult for me emotionally and I've been so preoccupied with Denzel. I haven't had the desire or time to study as much. I forgot how cool but still extremely time consuming it is to raise a puppy. And I've taken him to class every day! The third and final intensive course begins on Monday. I'm excited about the last course because this is where all of the hard work from the first two courses come together and when I complete it, I should be, dare I say, fluent. I'm serious...fluent! Hmmmm.... We shall see:)
And my girlfriend will continue in the course too. Learning German is so much easier when you can talk about girl/expat stuff during the breaks. Yup, she's also American and married to a German. And Denzel? He had a busy week. He had his first check up (he has a little cold), first day of school (he's already a Lady's Man), a ton of new toys and treats (he's afraid of the mini soccer ball), and his first experience walking on a leash (he's not a fan). We can only walk him for about 10 minutes at a time so I usually carry him in my shopping basket. I think he likes it because he's so warm. He just sleeps the entire time.

And he loves his new rope.

But paper towel rolls are fun too.

Ein Baby

We are very happy to introduce you to our new puppy,
Denzel Washington. He arrived Saturday morning, from New York.
He is a Puggle and only weighs 3.2 kilograms but he is a ton of fun! He plays nonstop until he passes out. It's hilarious just watching him. He has brought a little sunshine back into our home. We are excited, a little nervous, and understandably overprotective but soooo ready to love him.

God is good and He has blessed us...again.