Christmas in Munich...

It was lovely.

Not only was the city beautiful and clean, but there was just something old-fashioned and wonderful about it. I loved it.

I'll not bore you with every detail of the trip but I will bore you with my hundreds of pictures (most of which I stole from my sister because her camera rocks). We went to so many places and saw so many things, so here are just a few of my favorite things..... from Munich:

Marienplatz - the town square where they had a fabulous Christmas market with so many beautiful (mostly hand-crafted) things and so many wonderful smells. If it didn't smell like grilled sausages, it smelled like candied apples and spiced nuts. Yum. Also, there was the most beautiful building - the Town Hall - that had a working glockenspiel in it. Super fabulous.

The Alps - They are beautiful and yep, I rode a toboggan down them. David, Traci, Calvin, and Henry rode a chair lift up to the top and rode their toboggans down a 3 mile run (an hour round trip) but I opted out (I'm a wimp) and Charlie and I stuck to the bunny hill. But we had a fabulous time walking the toboggan up the hill and riding down several times. I couldn't have had more fun with any other person than Charlie - he giggled uncontrollably the whole way down the hill every time we went. It was so cute. We talked Henry into coming with us once and he reluctantly accepted (he wasn't a big fan of the fast 3 mile long ride), and we ended up in a heap at the bottom of the hill. But they were so cute and we had a good time. The next best thing to that was having schnitzel and a warm cup of "kinder punch" (wassail) in the little restaurant when we were done.

The Residenz - It served as the seat of government and residence for the Bavarian dukes from the early 1500's to the early 1900's. It was really really beautiful. One of those places that I wish I could have seen while I was in interior design school....

The Deutsches Museum - The world's largest science and technology museum. There's something like 13 miles of hallway and about 28,000 exhibited objects and we probably saw a fifth of it. But it was really fascinating and educational.

Neuschwanstein - the castle that looks like the Walt Disney Castle. It is said that it was Disney's inspiration for the main theme castle and also for the castle in Sleeping Beauty. We took a horse drawn carriage up the hill (the castle is at the top of the Alps) and then walked the rest of they way up. The poor guy that owned it, Ludwig II, only lived there for nine months before he was diagnosed as crazy, committed to a hospital, and then mysteriously died shortly after. The castle was never finished, but it was very lavish and fun to see nonetheless.

Nuremberg - A fabulous little town outside of Munich. It still has the fortress walls up around the original city. We were there on Christmas Eve and I must say that this was my top favorite. The town was charming and the Christmas markets were fabulous. I got the most precious hand-carved nativity there. And I saw a flower seller that was selling flowers that made me want to cry. For reals. But the best part was when the huge (beautiful) cathedral bells started peeling (really loudly and longly - is that a word?) at 3 pm and everyone starting closing up shop and heading home to be with their families. It was adorable and felt everything good and Christmasy.

Frauenkirche (The Church of Our Lady) - a big beautiful cathedral at Marienplatz where Traci and I went to midnight mass. Yep, two Mormon girls at a Catholic mass - how much more random could it get? It was all in German and Latin and we didn't know what we were doing, but it was very interesting. And we sang Silent Night in Latin. I mean, how much more Christmasy can you get?

Ok, I know I said I wouldn't bore you with the details.... but I think I just did.

Anyway, here are some pictures. You may want to take a quick break - there really are a lot of them....

Charlie on the plane and Cal waiting for baggage

Me & my back-buddy, Charlie at Marienplatz

Cute little toy booth at the Christmas market

Marienplatz

The goodies at the Christmas market - true candied apples with hard candy shells (yep, had one! Yum!), candied and chocolate dipped fruits, and hot chocolate and real chestnuts roasted on an open fire (yep, had some! The hot chocolate was good, the chestnuts - not so much. But at least I can say I tried some!)

Another booth at the Christmas market... they were just so cute!

The Residenz - gor-ge-ous!

Nuremberg

The Cathedral whose bells rang loudly on Christmas Eve...

On the way up...

On the way down...

Turns out I can't steer a toboggan very well...

How cute are they?!

I have no words for how cute this boy is...

Calvin and his bog, me and the Janie, and all of us (minus David, the photographer) at the slopes

Jane while walking... Jane enjoying her own reflection... Isn't she the cutest?

I liked the taxis outside our hotel - they were Mecedes. Nice, right? Germans do make some nice cars...

Ludwig II's version of Versaille's Petit Trianon. Just one of his "little" escapes at the top of the Alps. Everyone needs one of these...

Neuschwanstein - the "Disney Castle." We didn't get the best shots of it...

but this is how it looks from afar... (not my picture - I stole it off the internet)

The precious hand-carved nativity that I got in Nuremberg. I love how baby Jesus can either go in the manger or in the crook of Mary's arm...

This is not German, it's Ukrainian. But Traci & David got this for me for Christmas and I LOVE IT. It is so detailed and intricate and precious. I have started a nativity collection and I have a particular interest in the simple ones with just the Holy Family. Isn't it beautiful? The top even comes off so you can put treasures inside... sigh.

Anyway....

Of all the eternally long posts that I have posted, I think this one takes the cake.

it's BEGINNING to look a BIT like Christmas.

Despite my recent efforts at being an optimist, I've come to realize that Christmas will probably never be as magical as it was when I was a child - with the waiting and anticipating, the overall naiveté, and the stress-free-ness of it all. But still, there are things that I just need at Christmas time.

A few of those things include lights and decorations everywhere, apple-cinnamon/spice scented everything, and at least one radio station that plays continuous Christmas songs all day long (in English). I don't think that's too much to ask.

But Ukraine doesn't have any of that stuff. Not yet, anyway.

Along with several other Orthodox countries, Ukraine doesn't celebrate Christmas until January 7th. So their decorating has barely begun. It's just strange when you're used to seeing Christmas popping up everywhere as soon as Halloween is over. At the very least after Thanksgiving. But the whole month of December has been pretty drab here without the normal green and red and glittery-ness that most of us Americans have become accustomed to.

But then a couple weeks ago we went to Mega Market to do some shopping and to my utter joy and excitement, they had decorated for Christmas! Mind you, it was Ukrainian style, but it was a sight for sore eyes nonetheless.

Since then, I have seen little bits and pieces of Christmas popping up around town. It's amazing what some simple decorations can do for a Christmas-loving soul like mine.

Despite the fact that the magic of Christmas has all but died for me, I still want to feel that tingly happiness that can only be associated with Christmas time. I mean, let's get real here - I get giddy just thinking about sparkly ornaments and Frank Sinatra's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" makes me cry every time I hear it.

So I've been hoarding Christmas-ness - taking pictures of any decorations I see, listening to all the best Christmas tunes, baking my favorite holiday cookies (which also satisfies my need for cinnamon/spice scented things) and storing them up so that I can feel Christmas close by whenever it starts to feel a bit drab and un-Christmas like. Enough of these simple little things and perhaps it will start to feel a bit more like the holiday I have always loved...

And perhaps going to Germany tomorrow will help me get more into the Christmas spirit - they really know how to put it on over there.

So, until the 28th - Auf Wiedersehen! And hey, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I made some friends....

.... and then they left me.

I mean, I can't really understand why you guys didn't want to stay in киев forever. Let me reiterate some of the perks of this beautiful city for you:

1.) It has very lively traffic.

2.) You never have to feel bad about pushing people.

3.) You can stare relentlessly and never feel awkward about it.

4.) You can sit so close to someone on the metro that you know them really well by the time you get off.

5.) The sidewalks keep you alert.

6.) You are always young and sexy here - "Why not you wear shorter skirt?"

7.) I'm here! Hello? Need I list more??

8.) Beer is the equivalent of a soft drink. Not that that matters, but come on... cool right?

9.) Everyone is concerned about the well-being of your ovaries.

10.) It is full of smiling, friendly faces. No wait, I must be thinking of a different place. Scratch that.

So there you go, 10 9 good reasons why you should, I don't know, come back. That's not to mention all the little chillins (including my nephews) who think you guys are pretty awesome.

And I just can't imagine the next group being as cool as you guys are....

Ok, I know you're not going to come back. So really all I want to say is thank you for being my friends, showing me around town, teaching me the metro, and hanging out with me even though I'm old enough to be your mom! I'll sure miss you ladies!

Just because you keep asking...

So quit nagging me already!

1.) There are exactly two single men that I have met so far: one Ukrainian, one American. Both Mormon. I'm not interested in either of them.

*Ukrainian men are not the finest specimen in the world so the chances of anything happening here are, well, slim to none.

2.) I'm not totally aware of the social scene here (no surprise there). And I'm not really sure that I want to be aware. It seems like the only socially acceptable things here are short skirts, stilhetto boots, and lots (and lots and lots and lots) of alcohol. And we all know where that combination would get me - wait, where would that get me? Just kidding, don't answer that.

I have been to a couple church activities with the young single crowd here, but it's hard when you don't speak eachother's languages. But let's be honest - regardless of the language barriers, I've never been one to enjoy singles activities. Let's leave it at that. I could go on and on about it... :)

The one redeeming aspect of my social life has been my beloved ILP girls that force me out of my hermity I-don't-want-to-be-aware-of-the-social-scene zone. Thank heaven for them! (more on them another time)

3.) Still no job. There aren't very many options for me since I don't have a working visa. I really only have a couple options, one of which is no longer an option so I just need to get on the ball with the other one. In the mean time I will probably be advertising myself in the kids' school newsletter as a "homework helper" where I'd mostly help non-native English speaking kids with their English. Calling myself a tutor would probably require some real brain usage (and probably some math), and that could be detrimental.

4.) I don't really know how long I will be here. Six months to indefinitely. It all depends on the job thing. And what I want to do with the rest of my life. Except wait, if it depends on me deciding what to do next with my life, I could be here forever...

Suggestions welcome any time.

5.) That all sounds really drab and pessimistic.

6.) On a more cheery and optimistic note, we are headed to Munich in two weeks! They go nuts there at Christmas time (unlike here where they don't celebrate Christmas until January - more on that another time as well) so it will be a snowy, wintery, Christmas wonderland in Germany. And I'm pretty darn excited about it!

7.) I am LOVING the time I get to spend with my niece and nephews. They are little darlings. And they do some seriously funny things. And my sister - I have only seen her once in the last four years or more, so it's been fab getting to spend some quality time with her. How many people can say they got to live with their ultra-cool sister and her family in a foreign country? Not many.

8.) Oh, and no, I'm not on a cabbage-only diet. I'm not losing weight and I'm definitely not down to a size smaller than what I was when I left. In fact, I have gained weight since being here. I have eaten more in the last two months than I have in the last three years of my life combined. So thank you for bringing that one up. I appreciate it.

Ok, that's all I can think of... Does that answer all your questions? :)

the need to blog + lack of inspiration = really lame post (fair warning)

I think I've hit a blogging wall. I had so many things up my sleeve to talk about when I started up my blog, and now all of a sudden, I'm drawing a total blank. Maybe it's because my posts are eternally long (and probably boring - sorry to my 3 readers) and I cram WAY too much into each one. Nevertheless, I need some good blogging material to come my way... soon. Something totally noteworthy and memorable.

On a random note, we ran out of regular laundry soap yesterday and I really needed to do laundry this morning so I used Dreft (baby laundry soap) instead. I put my comforter in first, put a capful of soap in, and started the cycle. It wasn't until the cycle was mostly finished that Traci informed me that Dreft is "extra sudsy" so I don't need to use a whole capful when I use it. Oops...

When I went back in to check on my laundry, I noticed that even though the cycle had completed, there were mounds of soap around the comforter, in the comforter, and all over inside the washer. I opened the door and a glob of suds nearly plopped out onto the floor. Yep, it appears that Dreft is in fact, EXTRA SUDSY. I think they need to put a warning label on the bottle.

It turns out that I had to do two extra rinse & spin cycles to get the soap out, which thankfully did nothing more than set me back a bit in my laundry-doing this morning. It's probably a good thing we have the upright kind of washer that locks. I had a daydream of the cliche movie scene where obscene amounts of bubbles are spewing out of the washer onto the floor in every direction until the floor is totally covered with suds. I don't think it would have been an exaggeration. I probably would have slipped, flown three feet into the air and landed on my back in a fit of laughter while bubbles spilled down onto my head as well. And the dog would have run in, jumping around and barking at all the floating bubbles. Except we don't have a dog, so nevermind that part...

Whoa, wait, I just blogged about overly-susdsy baby soap and my movie-esque daydream. I told you I've hit a wall.