Home for Christmas

Hey All! We are back in the States! We got back yesterday around 5pm and are still getting adjusted to the new time zone. I'm happy to report that our flights were uneventful and we got to avoid the New York area entirely. My heart goes out to the people stranded in those airports.

We'll be celebrating Christmas with my family tomorrow and then we're headed up to Appleton on Thursday to spend time with Brenda's family. Over the weekend we went to a couple of Christmas dinners in Frankfurt. On Christmas Eve we went to the English speaking Lutheran Church and afterwards had Barb's delicious baked ziti at the McCown's place (2nd year in a row!). On Christmas Day we ate Raclette at Florian and Marlar's place. Brenda and I feel very fortunate this year to be able to celebrate Christmas with our friends in Frankfurt AND our families in the US.

My relationship with the ziti was definitely love at first sight.

Barb and Brenda enjoying their red couch. All the cool kids have red couches.

One of Florian's more flattering headshots.

Florian and Elza

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season. Happy New Year and I'll talk to you next week!

Frohe Weihnachten!

Hey All! It's time that you met the newest member of our Frankfurt Family. His name is Cree.

Isn't he beautiful? We got Cree in front of a supermarket a few blocks from our apartment. Brenda's Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Ron helped us pick him out and even helped carry him back and decorate him. His name didn't come until the next day when, in her Christmas-fueled excitement, Brenda exclaimed, "Look at our Cree!". What she meant to say was, "Look at our cute tree!" Needless to say, we are totally in the Christmas spirit.

We had a great time with Ron and Marilyn while they were in town. As I mentioned last week, they came to two of Brenda's performances with several of their German friends. After the second performance we went out for a drink in the canteen attached to the opera house. At the stroke of midnight we all burst into a very operatic version of Happy Birthday in honor of Ron's birthday. Ron and Marilyn's German friends also had a birthday tradition they wanted Ron to experience. They sat Ron down in a chair and had four guys (myself included) each grab a leg of the chair and hoist him into the air three times. Ron wasn't expecting it at all and was surprised to say the least. Someone has a great picture of him as he's being tossed into the air but, unfortunately, I don't have a copy to show you.

The Nürnberg Christmas Market was really beautiful. There are a ton of shops, numerous eating options and even a teenage girl that has been selected to play the Christ child. Why baby Jesus is portrayed in Nürnberg by a teenage girl with long blonde hair is beyond me. We got to see her (or him?) talk, though, and she was nice enough to give all the kids some gingerbread.

Brenda and Marlar had their 2nd annual Christmas cookie bake off this past weekend. I played my role as quality control expert very well. I'm happy to report the cookies were delicious.

On Monday, Brenda and I head back to the states for a late Christmas celebration with our families. We are both really excited to go back. That also means that my next post will be coming to you from the US. Until then, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

today's entry tomorrow

Hey All! We just got back from a great holiday party (thank you, Simon and Anna) and it is too late for me to post an entry tonight. Check back tomorrow!

Guests in town

Hey All! Here's a quick post to tide you over until the next one. Brenda's Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Ron are still in town and we are having a great time with them. We spent the day today traveling to Nürnberg and visiting the beautiful Christmas market there. Yesterday was Ron's birthday so we helped him celebrate (with schnitzel). Brenda had two (very successful) shows over the weekend. Ron and Marilyn got to see both operas and even invited some of their German friends to the performances. We have been having a lot of fun and the time has been flying.

Brenda at the Nürnberg Christmas Market

Unfortunately, I have to keep this short since sleep is always a high priority for me. I hope you are all having a great week and I'll talk to you soon!

Busy Bee-renda

Hey All! Guess who forgot what day of the week it was and, therefore, is a day late in writing this week's blog entry. In my defense, pretty much every day is Saturday for me so it can be hard to keep all of the Saturdays straight. My absent mindedness might also have a teensy-weensy bit to do with a certain video game that Brenda and I play. A big expansion came out for World of Warcraft yesterday and we spent a good part of the day (more than I care to admit) in that world instead of this one. In any case, it's time to fill you in on what we've been up to.

Brenda is currently in the middle of an intense stretch of performances. When all is said and done next week, Brenda will have performed 3 different opera roles (some more than once) and a gala performance totaling 6 performances in 10 days. That is a lot. I might also add that the 3 opera roles are in different languages (French, German and Italian). On Saturday, Brenda performed at a fundraising gala for Oper Frankfurt. She sang for a bunch of opera donors (aka rich people) and then rubbed shoulders with them over dinner. From what I've heard, her singing was very well received. She looked gorgeous to boot.

Sorry about the blurriness of the photos.

Come on Apple, why isn't there a 12 megapixel camera in the iPhone?

On Sunday, two of our friends, Juliane and Patrick, came down from Bremen to visit and see Brenda perform. We had a great time with them and they seemed to really enjoy Brenda's opera, Die Zauberflöte.

Brenda's Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Ron will be arriving in Germany tomorrow. We're really looking forward to spending time with them. While they are here they will see two of Brenda's shows. Also, we will all be going to Nürnberg to visit the famous Christmas Market there. Guess we'll have to drink more glühwein. Darn.

I hope you are all doing great and I will talk to you next Tuesday. Unless I forget what day it is.

Snow!

Hey All! We are living in a winter wonderland. We woke up yesterday to a beautiful sight: snow! I realize that snow may make some of you think of shoveling driveways and dangerous driving conditions but, since we don't have a driveway nor do we drive, it is a welcome sight to us. It means that Christmas is on its way and we are one step closer to going back to the US at the end of December.

A view from our kitchen

The other side of the apartment

Turkey day came and went and we did our fair share of celebrating. On turkey day proper we had a few people over for pizza and merriment. A great time was had by all even though no one ordered turkey pizza. On Saturday we went to the Marsh's house for their annual American Thanksgiving (come to think of it, are there any other kinds of Thanksgiving?). As in the previous years, it was filled with lots of traditional foods and lots of friends. The Marshes always put in a lot of work to feed the twenty or so people that attend and we certainly appreciate it.

Our apartment is filling with Christmas decorations and holiday music. We are getting into the holiday spirit and we need only one last piece to finish the puzzle; a christmas tree. The last time we had a Christmas tree was in NYC. We are long overdue.

Our new tree stand

Frankfurt's Christmas market opened a few days ago and we are very excited to go see it. It looks like we'll get over there tomorrow. Glühwein and Schneebälle here we come!

Have a great week and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!

Amsterdam

Hey All! I am writing to you from beautiful Amsterdam. As I mentioned last week, I am here visiting my friends Kris and Drew. Some of you may remember Kris as the guy who did a wonderful job playing piano at our wedding. Kris and Drew have lived in Amsterdam for almost two years and they both love it. I can understand why. Amsterdam is a gorgeous city with a lot of character and, in spite of its actual population, Amsterdam feels like a big village. I would definitely say it is one of the most appealing cities I've seen since moving to Germany.

Canals run throughout the city. As do bikers. There are lots of bikers.

I have really enjoyed hearing the Dutch language being spoken around town and on TV. I don't speak a word of Dutch but the language sounds like a mixture of German and English. Sometimes it seems like I could understand what's being said if I would just listen harder. Even if I could understand, however, the spelling and pronunciation of the language are different than any other language I've studied. Maybe I'll start learning Dutch as soon as I finish mastering German. (Don't hold your breath.)

That green thing in the middle of the picture is a public bathroom.

I would have to be pretty desperate to use something that public.

Based on her reports, Brenda has been enjoying her time in NYC. She has been having lessons and seeing lots of friends. I'm glad she's having fun but I'm looking forward to seeing her on Thursday when she gets back to Frankfurt. I head back to Main-hattan tomorrow. It will be nice to be back in a country where I'm only partially clueless about what people are saying around me.

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll talk to you next week!