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| Strasbourg |
You don't normally hear much from me over Winter because, if you didn't know already, I HATE WINTER!! This is our third Winter in Germany and each one has been significantly different. Our first year here there was sooooo much snow, the second year the temperatures were -20C (-4F) but less snow and this year - finally a winter I can handle and not whine (too much) about. The temperatures have hovered around the pleasantly mild -3 C (28F) and, so far, there has not been too much snow!! Yayay!!! My winter weekday mornings consist of me hesitantly opening our blinds to see if the roads are clear of snow and I am happy to report that most days, they've been clear and therefore easy to do the 30min drive to school ... on the mornings that we awake to a thick blanket of snow covering the roads, it takes me an hour to get school and yeah, I am a grumpy, whining and complaining for the whole hour there ... and the whole hour home again. BUT ... this year has been pretty good - perhaps we have already seen the last of the snow?! Nah. Probably not but now that our Summer holiday is booked, I certainly have the warmer weather on my mind. So, I'm in a good enough place to update you on the fun times we've had (so far) over the Winter.
In November I went on a super fun filled, fantastic girls weekend to Edinburgh with some friends I met through the kids' school here. I love Edinburgh!! I lived in Edinburgh during my wild and crazy days and part of my heart will always remain in bonnie Scotland. It was amazing to revisit my old 'home' town. Since living in Munich, if I ever hear anybody speaking English, I feel it's my duty to strike up a conversation with them (they could be my new bff after all!!) and while I was in Edinburgh, with all the Scotts (kinda) speaking English, I found myself joining in on all sorts of conversations in any and all situations; walking down the streets, in stores, cafes, restaurants - anywhere!! ... Alert!! Crazy lady on the loose!! I was smiling from ear to ear during my entire stay in this stunning city. Walking up to the gorgeous Edinburgh Castle was definitely a highlight. I caught up with my very good friend, Ann, whom I met when I lived there and I went to visit her parents who are like family to me. It was so wonderful to see them again and catch up on their news. A fantastic trip all round. Lots of laughter, fun times, fabulous meals & Christmas shopping was done ... hmmmm...how I've missed fish 'n' chips and banoffee pie!!! Yummm!!
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| Carousel in Strasbourg |
The end of the year is always frantic and now that Polly is in Middle School, her heavy workload continued right up until the last day of school. We celebrated Polly, Henry and Nick's birthdays all before school finished. Another crazy busy (but super fun!!) December!! We were all so happy and relieved when school finished and we looked forward to spending some family time together just chilling out and relaxing for a while.
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| Petite-France District of Strasbourg |
We spent Christmas Day at home and then on Boxing Day we packed up our little car and headed to Strasbourg, France, the "Capital of Christmas". Strasbourg is supposed to be about 3.5hrs drive from Munich by car, just over the German border into France, but I guess many other people decided to head out of town on the same day so we were stuck in a lot of traffic and the drive took us about 5 hours. Yuck. We arrived in cosmopolitan Strasbourg, the home of the European Parliament, in time to wander into town and explore the Christmas Markets that started in Strasbourg in 1570. The 12 different Christmas markets in Strasbourg are set around the historical, sandstone, Gothic Cathedral. The markets are a little bit different from the German Markets and so fun to walk around and enjoy the various arts, crafts, delicious crepes and cheeses. Strasbourg changed hands between Germany and France often over the centuries and it has been the French flag flying (again) at the Cathedral since 1944. Strasbourg is situated on the Ill River, where it flows into the Rhine on the border of Germany. It is the home to several medieval churches and bridges that have survived the wars and destructions that have plagued this stunning city. Strasbourg is so easy to explore by foot and it is surrounded by fabulous medieval black and white timber framed buildings, particularly in the Petite-France district - we felt like we were walking through a fairy tale book - just gorgeous!!
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| Strasbourg Christmas Market Stall |
One claim to fame for this impressive city is that German born Johannes Gutenberg worked here from about 1434-1444 perfecting his printing press!! Gutenberg was the first European to use movable type printing in 1439. Didn't know that, did you??
We spent three fun days exploring Strasbourg. What a gorgeous city!! While we realise Strasbourg is French, due to the history of this quaint town, we expected the German language to be widespread. We were wrong. You would've thought we were in the middle of France. No German. No English. Yikes!! I did French in 8th Grade but it didn't seem to come flowing back when I tried to communicate!! One thing we really noticed in Strasbourg was the super low prices and excellent quality and taste of the food!! Wow!! It was so noticeable to us the wonderful flavours compared to Germany!! We bought salads for lunch at a small deli store and they were seriously one of the best salads we've had and so, so cheap!! We were both thrilled and surprised!! Strasbourg was fabulous and well worth the visit!!
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| Marble shopping on Market Day in Freiburg |
Next on the Fitton itinerary was a small town called Freiburg - what a gorgeous, quaint town in the heart of a major wine growing region on the edge of the Black Forest!! Freiburg was a 'must see' for us because it has well known for being Germany's sunniest and warmest town - sounds good right?? Freiburg is a well known, ancient German University town and lucky for us we were there on market day! We thoroughly enjoyed this little town and would recommend it as a day trip to anybody visiting the area. We explored the town on foot and enjoyed some time in the sunny gardens in town. We were only in Freiburg for a few hours as we were on our way to spend 3 days in Lake Constance.
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| Gorgeous Lake Constance (Bodensee) |
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| Lake Constance |
We left gorgeous Lake Constance on New Years Eve and drove the 2hours home to Munich where we enjoyed the tremendous variety of fireworks at midnight - these Germans sure do love their fireworks!! We had a wonderful show from every window in the house - it was a spectacular sight!!
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| Nutella Crepes .... yummmm!! |
Some of you may know that Nick was diagnosed with Celiac Disease last October. This Winter trip was our first family trip away from home so eating out was a huge challenge. Nick must not eat any gluten at all and the rest of the family are making an effort to reduce gluten intake too. We are all in this together!! We are all still adjusting to the no gluten as we realise now how many foods or sauces it is in and Nick is also reacting to some gluten free foods too so we are still trying to work out his limitations. It made us realise how much we really enjoy sampling the food from each new place we visit - it has always been part of the whole experience for us ... but it's all a bit different now; it was sad and hard at times ... no crepes, snails or frogs legs for Nick! While we are all trying to transition to enjoy the wonderful health benefits of a gluten free life, the kids still enjoy treats from time to time and they thoroughly enjoyed their crepes with Nutella at the local markets.
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| Sunset over Lake Constance |
So that's our Winter news. Fingers crossed we've seen the last of the snow and that those Spring flowers are getting ready to pop up!! Now that we have passed the shortest day of the year, I am on full countdown to Summer - BRING IT ON!!
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| Tree climbing on the shore of Lake Constance |
