Christmas Break so far

sorry guys, this is a big one... I haven't had an internet connection for a couple weeks, but I've been making daily updates on the new comp (YAY) and now I'm posting them, so... be warned!

Thurs, Dec. 18
Last day of classes. I said goodbye to my kids, and the teachers I know, and ran home to pack (of course I hadn’t done it earlier). Packed all my stuff into my hiking bag, and made my way to the train station. Turns out, the train is packed, so I can’t reserve a seat all the way to Ulm. So, I got on the train, find a compartment with two guys already in it, sat down, and promptly fell asleep. The train ride to Ulm was 4 hours long, so I got a nice little nap in. When I got to Ulm, I called mama, and met the girls in the train station. It was really weird seeing them here, it seemed like I was the one out of place, as I’m used to the family being far away. That night, we went out to “barfuesser,” a german microbrewery and restaurant, and had a couple liters of beer, and some kaesespaetzle. After that, we met up with Judith (a cousin of the Marstallers, the girl I met up with last time I was in Ulm) at the Weihnachtsmarkt, had some pflaumenwein, and proceeded to get mama wasted. When we had tucked her into bed, the kids all went out in the city. After a while of indecision, we decided to head to her friend Maxi’s new apartment, for a housewarming party. We all had a lot of fun, the girls all got along well (too well, in fact… scarily…) We stumbled home at about 2, relatively early in German “going-out” terms.
Fri, Dec 19
The next morning, we woke up, and mama and I headed to a little café/pastry shop to get some breakfast, where Judith and the girls met us later. We then made our way through a part of the Markt we hadn’t seen yet, and had some more gluehwein. Judith had to leave, for paris, so we said goodbye, amid promises that she would come visit again after Christmas, followed by a formal adoption into my family. We ate dinner that evening in the Weihnachtsmarkt, some really good wurste. The sisters and I then watched “the Fall,” which I had ordered, and they had never seen. Its amazing, if you haven’t seen it, I recommend it! (oh, also, the fam brought my new mac!!! YAY!! Its so pretty and awesome… I lurve it good. No more craptop for me! W00t!)
Sat, Dec 20
We woke up relatively early, checked out of the hotel, and had breakfast in a little café. We then got into the ugly-ass-rented-Peugeot, and made our way towards Herrenberg. After abt an hour in the car, we were there, and my ass was numb. Checked into the new hotel, and made our way over to Meisenweg, to see the Marstallers, our old neighbors from when we lived in Germany before. It was great to see them again, and we spent the next few hours re-hashing the last 15 years.
Sun, Dec 21
We all went out to Hohenneuffen, a castle in the area that has an amazing view of the alps and the B-W region. The castle is now pretty much in ruins, except for a restaurant that’s still there. It was originally built in 2200 BC, but the “new castle” was built in the 1100’s. The weather was cloudy and gray, as per usual, but as we got to the top of the mountain, it cleared out really nicely, and we were able to see pretty far, and take some great pictures. Both of the cameras my family brought were malfunctioning, so I let Meagan borrow my camera, since she’s a much better photographer than I am, and she took some great shots of everything. Those will be posted later on. Afterwards, we went out to Villa Meineck, to visit Marianne’s mother, Oma. We had tea with her, and sang some Christmas carols around the piano. The house was just like I remember it, and Oma still looks the same. She calls me Sean like the French would say it, i.e, without an “n” at the end. It’s quite funny. After that, we went to Esslingen, to the “Mittelaltlicher Weihnachtsmarkt,” the middle-ages Christmas market. It was really cool, and huge, and the town itself is gorgeous. We then headed home, and relaxed a bit.
Mon, Dec 22
We had planned on going to the Mercedes-Benz museum today, only to be reminded by Marianne and Joerg that museums are closed Mondays. Ugh. So, instead, we hung around, wandered around Herrenberg, and I made some kaesespaetzle. After that, we FINALLY heard from my dad, that he had arrived, and that he was already in Herrenberg, so I went to go pick him up with BUP (big-ugly-Peugeot). Marianne had bought us all tickets to the Christmas circus in Stuttgart, which is a famous circus that comes every year, with the cream of the circus crop. It was my very first circus ever, and it was pretty cool, I must say… pictures of that are also gonna be posted.
Tues, Dec 23
Today has been pretty slow, papa is sleeping off the jetlag, the family is around, doing various things that need to be done. We spent the afternoon making Christmas cookies, and then the girls started doing crafts for Christmas, including paper stars, and other fun stuff. We also helped decorate the Christmas tree that the Marstallers set up in the living room. I made some zimtsterne (cinnamon stars) and some vanillekipferl (vanilla shortbread) both turned out really well, and were promptly gobbled up.
Weds, Dec 24
Christmas Eve, which was lovely, and very low key. The Germans open their presents on Christmas eve, which is kinda cool. We sat in the living room with the Marstallers, around the Christmas tree, and then opened presents. I got a spaetzle board!! (so that I can hand-make spaetzle… mmmm….. We then went to the Christmas eve service at the city cathedral, where marie-lena sang.
Thurs, Dec 25
Christmas day, we spent most of the day wandering around the city, which was almost completely empty, and cooking. I was put in charge of the Christmas goose, my first, and so I spent most of the afternoon cutting, prepping, stuffing, buttering, and basting. It also turned out incredibly well, although in my opinon, slightly overcooked (whoops). We all sat down for a fantastic dinner.
Fri, Dec 26th
Started off for spain, after a tearful goodbye with the Marstallers. We left at noon, and made it all the way to the south side of Lyon, France, before having to pass out.
Sat, Dec 27th
Left early, drove most of the day, before finally arriving in Madrid at around 8pm. We found our way to Dave and Esperanza’s apartment building, parked BUP (now also called the Silver Hornet,) and played around with them for a few hours, before crashing in a really neat apartment in the building.
Sun, Dec 28th
We walked around Madrid with Dave and Esperanza, and also got to go to the Prado Museum, to see a Rembrandt exhibit, which was amazing. We then walked back through Madrid, admiring how well the city is lit up for Christmas (pictures of me hamming for the camera will be posted soon!)
Mon, Dec 29th
We didn’t do too much, mostly played around with Dave and Esperanza and their son Daniel, who is 16. (the last time we saw him, he was maybe 2) I’m slowly getting used to the Spanish tradition of eating lunch at abt 3pm, and eating dinner (or starting to go out) at 11pm. We haven’t really gone out and experienced the nightlife yet, but that will be soon coming, and I will further report on that! I hope everyone had a merry Christmas, or a wonderful celebration of whatever you celebrate!

Talk to you in the New Year!

-seany