time to bundle up

Hello all once again from Bavaria's capital. Brenda is currently singing her second performance of Die Schweigsame Frau at the Bavarian State Opera, and I just finished putting our little guy to bed. Since her first performance on Sunday, Brenda has been able to enjoy some well-deserved time off after a busy rehearsal schedule last week. Rowan and I have enjoyed having her with us as we shovel sand in the nearby parks. It's been cold here (highs in the 30s) so Brenda went shopping and bought Rowan a winter coat, pants, and boots. He's quite puffy when he's all geared up and looks kind of like a colorful marshmallow bouncing down the sidewalk. I'm a terrible packer and did not think to bring a winter coat so I mostly stand shivering with my hands in my pockets while Rowan plays. I'd consider buying something but why bother when I'll be reunited with my winter clothes in a week and a half? I'm pretty sure I can stave off frostbite until then.

We've been enjoying our apartment in Munich even though we haven't been using the climbing wall nearly enough. The apartment is quite large and has two pianos, and the other day Brenda bought two books of piano sheet music so we can enjoy making a little music in the apartment. One of the books is filled with Christmas songs, which Brenda bought for me because I love Christmas, and since we're in Germany we don't have to wait until after Thanksgiving to get into the Christmas spirit. The other book is filled with German children's songs. Rowan is actually getting a sizable dose of German culture while we're here. He hears the other kids at the park speaking German, we've been showing him German kids' shows, and we've even got a couple German kids' books for him to read. He'll be correcting our German in no time.

So even though Germany doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, we have been invited to a Thanksgiving dinner next week hosted by an American in the Bavarian State Opera chorus. Apparently, a lot of people come and there's a ton of food. I'm looking forward to it.

I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk to you next time!