Christmas markets and Window Shopping

When Douglas and I found out we were coming to Germany one of the first things I looked forward to was Christmas in Germany. I did not get my hopes too high.


There are several Christmas markets within walking distance of where we live and many within an easy subway ride. What is striking about the Christmas markets is the variety of goods. Hats, scarves, sweaters, socks and gloves are very popular and beautiful. Douglas and I like to look at the Alpaca booth to tempt ourselves. There is a medieval market that has more dated looking and unique decorations and clothing. This year I bought some tea candle holders, two that look like cordial glasses that sit on a table and three that clip to the boughs of a tree so we can actually have candles on our Christmas tree. I bought them from the man who made them. I was on an excursion with my German teacher. He heard me struggling with German and switched to English. I told him that my German teacher was right here, and to please use German so I don't get in trouble. He laughed and continued in German. I have no idea what he said. At this market there are costumed characters, including St. Nicholas, who wander around interacting with the patrons. It reminds me a bit of the renaissance festival and makes me wish I had my costume with me. The food there is the best. I've eaten (twice) their potato-based noodle dish with ox meat. Oh, my . . .


Most of the markets feature handmade works. I'm eyeing a honeypot I may buy for Douglas this year made by a local ceramicist. Don't tell Douglas.


My favorite things are the ornaments of which I've bought several. Specifically I like the blown glass and the painted pewter ornaments. There are many handmade nativity scene booths with more pieces than I've ever seen in anyone's Christmas nativity. I've not bought any of these, but I always stop to look which is more than half the fun.




Speaking of looking being more than half the fun, I've never been a window shopper. Sure I'll notice an attractive display, but that's about it. In Munich I find myself often pausing outside windows throughout the year, but at Christmas time it seems like it's a friendly competition for our attention.




















The above two pictures are of a shop near Marienplatz (a famous area where the Rathaus - old town hall - and Glockenspiel are located). There is always a large crown outside this window. I was lucky to get these shots.


















The above picture and the following picture were taken on my way home from a rehearsal one night. I joined up with the Munich English Language choir (which conducts its rehearsals in German, go figure) to sing an Advent service. One evening Douglas and I had been out to dinner with a friend before my rehearsal and I was so full even after rehearsal that I decided to walk home rather than ride the subway. I was so taken with the windows that I pulled out my phone to take some pictures. They turned out particularly well, I think, because it was dark out and the windows were lit. Enjoy.

A Diplomat's Life

Douglas and I are into our last year in Munich. This has been his required consular tour during which he spends his mornings interviewing people for visas to go to the United States. His afternoons are spent following up on some of these cases. Our next post will likely be in Washington D.C.

Occasionally Douglas is called upon to serve in a representational capacity as he was last weekend. We were  privileged to accompany the Consul General,Bill Moeller to the laying of a wreath at the Munich War Memorial. 

The morning began with indoor speeches bringing attention to all those who have died in wars and other violence from World War I to present day Syria. Interspersed between speeches were performances by a chorus with an orchestra. The ceremony then progressed outside to the memorial where  a few of us were allowed to go down next to the memorial while the rest of the audience watched from above. A military band marched into position to a cadence. This was juxtaposed with the ringing of Sunday morning church bells giving the event more depth and meaning. Hanging low in the sky were small, dark gray clouds giving me the impression of cannon smoke. Wind whipped the flags representing various parts of Germany so that their fabric rustling could be heard and their supports clanging on the flagpoles called attention to some of the affected areas of the wars. That plus leaves swirling down from surrounding trees set a perfect backdrop to honor those fallen in war and violence. As those trees continue to flourish after losing their leaves, so do countries continue strongly after losing so many in war.

This is a scene from the memorial Sunday morning. It was slightly awkward taking pictures so we (Douglas) only got two. We didn't realize the man checking his phone. Too bad he couldn't pay attention for the half hour or so he was there.

This is the wreath representing the United States that we laid next to the tomb. To put it in perspective, this enclosed/covered tomb is located to the right of the first picture.

Later that evening we attended a concert by the Munich Symphony Orchestra sponsored by the local law firm of Bub, Gauweiler & Partner at the Cuvilliés-Theater at the Residenz (former royal residence, now museum and concert hall). The first half of the concert was music by Richard Strauss; the second half by Sergej Rachmaninow. A violin concerto (Opus 8 in D minor) by Strauss was played featuring Ingolf Turban on violin. Tenor Francisco Araiza sang Morgen, Opus 27 #4, Allerseelen, Opus 10 #8 and Zueignung, Opus 10 #1 also by Strauss. Soprano Marija Vidovic sang three songs by Rachmaninow - Vocalise, Opus 34 #14, Wesennye wody, Opus 14 #11 and Sdjes choroscho, Opus 21 #7. The concert closed with Aglaya Sintschenko playing piano concerto Opus 18 #2 in C minor. The talent was superb. The theater, while not very large, was elaborate. If you want to see a picture, look up “cuvillies theater Munchen”. 

A Walk in the Park

As I write this (long overdue) blog I am by an open window listening to a pianist and violinist practicing at the Orff Center next door to our apartment. We often hear musicians practice. We also get our share of free concerts during the fair weather when all windows are open. Two beautiful woodpeckers are hard at work snacking on one of the trees just outside. The larger of the two is primarily black and white, but has a prominent orange or red spot on the underside near its tail.

I just got back from a walk around the English Gardens. It's a gorgeous day. I'm not sure if this is too early for Indian Summer, but that's what it feels like on the tail the blood red moon.

Though it's crowded, I love the park on days like this. It's the opportunity to do things like dance and sing in a circle and no one thinks it odd. You won't get a second look if you just throw up your arms to the sun and spin around smiling. No one here thinks it out of place to strip off your clothes and lie out in the grass either. You may get some second looks, however, especially from the tourists of whom some are so rude they'll walk right up and take your picture. I always want to yell at them when I see them do this, but I never know which language to use.

Musicians come out in droves and play alone or in groups. I passed a particularly talented duo today - one on guitar and one on clarinet. There is always an accordion to be heard and, of course the band at the Chinese Tower Beer Garden known as 'The World's Drunkest Oom-pah Band'.

I suppose one could easily see the English Gardens as the world's largest dog park. German's dogs are rarely on leashes so they wander around freely making friends, chasing each other, rolling and romping in the grass.

It's hard to tell if people just congregate and things happen spontaneously or if they call each other and plan activities like soccer games. I once saw a group of men playing soccer wearing nothing but their BVDs. Who makes that call?

"Hey, you wanna play soccer in your undies?"

"Sure! I'll call Hans."

"Okay, I'll call Dieter."

"Great, see you there."

Often I see a strap strung tightly between trees where people practice tightrope walking. Once I saw a young woman sitting with a little girl and stringing dandelions in a garland for her hair.In the spring, wild garlic grows in patches around the garden and people gather it. There are horse-drawn carriage rides, bicycle rickshaws and Pedal Pubs where you sit in a circle pedaling while drinking beer. I'm sure there was a long line to surf in the Isar today, though I didn't go see them. There is no fishing in the river that I've seen, but there is swimming. People hang their clothes and towels, get into the river float down a mile or so, climb out and either take a tram or walk back and do it again and again. Lulu visited me (a future blog) and she and I saw a couple of men playing Ladder Golf (a game which has many, many names). You toss two balls connected by a thin rope onto a ladder-like apparatus. Which rung it wraps around or hangs on determines your score.

I can honesty say that I've never heard a cross word spoken in this park. (Come to think of it, my German isn't that good. Maybe I'm overhearing cross words all the time. If I am, they are spoken most congenially.) It's like magic; people are so relaxed, content and high when they are in it. Every city needs a place like this.

This is a typical path in the English Garden in the autumn. This, I confess, is an old picture (note the absence of people.) I love wandering off the path into a area with many tall trees. I lie under them and watch the leaves fall down on and around me.

Paddle boats and canoes are available to use on the Schwannensee (Swan Lake). There are swans on the lake as well as a great paddling of ducks and gaggles and gaggles of geese.

Shadows

Shadows, those playful patches of pitch which, somewhat ironically, happen best on the brightest of days, lend many images. From suggesting a sinister presence ("only the Shadow knows") to a slight presence ("he's a mere shadow of himself") they give me much to think and write about.

Shadows are on my mind lately because an acquaintance of mine, Cole Wolford (www.colewolford.com) who paints bright, striking watercolor pictures (currently) of life in Germany is having an exhibition entitled "Shadow Journeys". Many of his paintings show the wonderful impressions that shadows offer. I sat in the English Gardens ("the backyard") and wrote this. This blog is my gift to Cole.

As our dreams show what can happen when our consciousness is blocked so shadows show us the results of blocked light. I've watched children play with their shadows. I've seen grown people use their hands to create shadow pictures of dogs and birds on a wall or movie screen. Outside, our shadows can make us look tall and lean or squat and misshapen like fun house mirrors. And shadows are a great source for riddles. "What follows me everywhere yet never makes a sound?"

Man's rough, paved ground duplicates the straight edges of his evenly built structures precisely, leaving nothing, really, to notice while nature's soft, rolling earthy areas bend and twist those edges unpredictably until no two things are alike.

Shadows remind us that God is not going to set everything in the light. We must hunt. We must notice. We must figure.

While many look at the heavens - stars, planets - and feel small, I have always felt big because I'm a part of it. Shadows remind me that even something as powerful and deadly as the sun can be blocked with the simple gesture of a gentle hand.

Shadows give us balance, like yin and yang. Look at a tree against the sky. It is very shadow-like. The trunk is large, whole and solid, but it opens into branches and then limbs to compliment and play upon the background. When learning to draw trees, many art students are instructed to draw the empty space instead of the branches and that is how many find success.

Music without rests sets an exhausting tone that is overwhelming. A story told without a breath or dramatic pause loses its intensity and color. Silence stands between one note and the next, between one idea and another giving us a moment to appreciate what has passed and anticipate what is to come. Shadow stands between the sun and earth, between us and that which we face when we turn our backs to the light and face the dark patches.

Note to my readers: Some of you more observant readers (Howard) may have noticed that I posted a blog called "Fantasy and Reality". I then removed it from my blog. I did this because it was written so poorly. I am revising it and will repost it. Those of you who didn't see it, count yourself among the lucky ones. Those who did (Howard), I apologize.

Guided by the Ruts

I had a pair of dreams last night in which I was driving over ruts. In the first dream I was exiting a parking lot that was heavily rutted with old dried mud that sometimes stood or sank a couple of feet. I was nervous about getting caught in them, but I was able to easily turn and drive over them getting to where I wanted to go. In the other dream I was on a road that was all loose gravel. The ruts on this road were shallow. I wound up following on of the ruts, actually driving in it.

I've been researching dreams lately and found the images of the ruts very intriguing. Immediately I associate ruts negatively. We talk about being stuck in a rut, needing change. I tried to make different associations with the image of ruts. I can see how ruts can be guiding, like a well worn path keeping us safe from surrounding dangers as they are tried and true. They can indicate doing something very common that many before me have already done. I'd like to hear any associations you can make with ruts.

I thought about the dreams for a while as I considered what is going on in my life. While my life seems exciting in our moving from country to country (and it is) it is easy for me to fall into a daily routine that doesn't get me out exploring the area. That was more understandable in Tashkent, it is inexcusable in Munich. So, last week I kicked myself out onto the street and explored the city a little. This is intimidating for me so I admit with some embarrassment that this was a big deal. I visited Nymphenburg Castle. I'd attach a picture, but dumb cluck here didn't bother to take any pictures. I'm just not a picture person. Sorry. Back to my not being in a rut. I have started practicing piano again after being without it for about a year and a half. I have even chosen a new challenging Chopin piece to learn. I'm focusing most of my writing on my novel on which is I'm making good progress. I have even changed up my exercise routine. Twice a week I get on a stationary bike and do my best to imitate the Spinning classes I used to take - right down to the puddle of sweat on the floor, bright red face and various promises to God if He'll let me live through this. Two or three times a week I go through the weight machine circuit then get on the treadmill and do a mix of fast walking (4.4 MPH) and skipping. I've never been a runner. I'm proud that I'm skipping. It's hard to keep up and I work hard. Forgive me if I've said this before, but I do get a little embarrassed if the marines are in the gym pumping tons and doing pull ups and sit ups with weights. I want to announce, "This is like the widows mite! Comparatively, I'm working as hard as you all are!" But I don't. I just try to stay invisible.

I'm not in a rut. So I considered the dreams again. In the first as I am leaving a parking lot to enter onto a road. Perhaps there is some meaning there. Maybe as I head into new territory (being published? learning the difficult Chopin piece on my own?) I need to watch closely and avoid the ruts. Maybe since, in the dream, I was able to successfully drive over the ruts the message to me is I'm on the right track. That would be nice.

A rut is not always a bad thing to be in. As I mentioned before, they can be guides keeping us on the right path. Some people consider a long marriage a rut. That is one rut I intend to stay in. Um, not that being with Doug is a rut. It's not. I didn't mean it that way at all. It's great. Really Maybe I've said enough. I'd rather find myself in an exercise rut rather than not care for myself in that way. I guess, in that sense, there are ruts and there are habits. Ruts tend to be seen more as traps, thoughtless places we leave ourselves in.

This brings to mind a scene I witnessed at the YMCA. A young boy (9 or 10) was running wild around the lobby and halls. His mother stood in one place, waited for him to run by and gently called his name. He came over to her. She waited until he looked her in the eye (she had to wait, but she didn't have to tell him to) then she said, "I want you to act deliberately." He was out of breath and sweating. Through his breathing he replied, "Okay."

That's what we need. We need to act deliberately. I have so many reasons to stay in this marriage it would take pages to fill. That's a good rut. I started to fall into an afternoon lay-on-the-couch-and-read-while-eating-candy-then-sleep rut. That would not be a good rut to fall into. That's the kind of rut I'm very capable of stretching on for miles and miles until it's so deep I can't see over the edges. I know this because this is a rut I was in while living in St. Paul. It was, interestingly enough, a dream that pulled me, no jolted me out of that rut. Briefly, I dreamed that I was home taking a nap in the middle of the day and Douglas came home. I didn't want him to catch me napping so I tried to get up and greet him, but I couldn't move. He came upstairs and laid in bed with me and held me while talking, "I know this is hard, but you know it's for the best and it will be over soon." I realized in the dream that he was poisoning me and he had come home to be with me when I died. That was why I couldn't move. I woke up very upset with this dream. So what did I do? I rolled over and went back to sleep then dreamed the same dream again. This had never happened to me before nor has it since. Upon awakening the second time from this seemingly horrible dream, I said "Okay, you've got my attention." I sat and thought about the dream. Carl Jung proposed that the dream characters are not who they appear to be, rather they are aspects of yourself. So that's where I started. Why would I poison myself? Immediately I knew what the message from the dream was. Every day in my coming home to nap for a couple of hours between students I was wasting my time. I might as well die an early death. With all the time I was losing sleeping when I didn't need to sleep I could have done so much. That was the last unnecessary nap I took.

Dreams are powerful things. So are ruts. So live deliberately, delve into your dreams and stick to a good path even if it is a little rutted.

Our Christmas in Munich

We are in the land of Christmas. The Christmas markets - which I featured pictures of in my last entry - went up shortly after Thanksgiving and are open seven days a week all day through Christmas eve. We enjoyed walking through them - shuffling through them, really. They are quite crowded, but, as everyone is happy, that's okay. I think we ate more than we bought gifts, but that, too, is okay. We particularly enjoyed Thor's Hammer which is mead with a shot of Irish whiskey. We also drank Feuerzungenbowle (fire tongue bowl, also known as Feuerzongenbowle) which is mead with sugar and rum added. It is served in a special goblet which has a lip extending from the side (kind of like a sippy cup, but there is no lid to cover the goblet). In this lip or shelf is placed a sugar cube. The goblet is filled with gluehwein, strong rum is poured in and over the sugar cube and the entire concoction is lit. You blow it our (duh!) then wait for the sugar cube to cool and sip the gluehwein through the sugar cube. Yum.

The official drinking vessel of Feuerzungenbowle

Unlike Tashkent where there were no Christmas trees, I was able to find a tree here not too far from home. I walked about a half mile to a an open square where they were being sold. I chose one and carried it home. Yes, I had to carry it home. My muscles hurt for days. Although our car arrived before we did, it has been an ordeal getting it and us licensed.

The Christmas tree lot in Odeonsplatz

About a week before Christmas, we walked to a concert by the Moscow Cathedral choir, a boys and young men's choir. The booming, manly sounds of the men paired with the cherubic sounds of the boys was a perfect way to head into Christmas. The personality of some of the boys was very evident in their stage presence. One boy managed to be simultaneously focused and squirmy. Two boys who stood right in front of the conductor elbowed each other giggling through one song. I don't know how they evaded the eye of the conductor. Another boy, who was singing, was looking off to the side. The conductor slowly walked towards him and gently touched the hand holding the music folder never breaking his conducting beat. The boy's attention was returned to where it needed to be. There were two boys who stood next to each other who, for some reason, I noticed early on. I remember thinking, "They must be the cream of the crop". Later, one of them stepped up for a solo.

I used the Frugal Gourmet Christmas cookbook (the only cookbook, I believe, I have ever actually purchased and the only one I have read cover to cover) to plan our Christmas dinner. I decided on Crown Roast of Pork as the main dish. It sounded way too big for the two of us so I substituted a pork loin, but otherwise used all the seasonings called for - fresh, whole sage and thyme. To accompany it I made the suggested sausage stuffing. I'm not sure why it's called stuffing when it's not being stuffed into anything except our mouths. I made roasted potatoes which required over two hours of oven time so I made them the day before saving the final broiler step for Christmas day. They baked for an hour with butter and garlic - boy, did the apartment smell good - and another hour in chicken broth. When Christmas day came, I forgot all about them. They were still sitting on the balcony in our outdoor refrigerator. Finally I made baked onions. Neither Doug nor I had ever eaten an entire onion (unless you count Bloomin' Onions) so we weren't too sure whether or not we'd like them. They were boiled in chicken broth then baked. They were so sweet, we loved them.

The entire Christmas dinner (including the potatoes)

After we stuffed ourselves, we walked about a mile and a half to see the St. Petersburg Ballet Company present the Nutcracker ballet. The day was perfect - in the forties, floating clouds, little wind. The performance wasn't the best - like I'm a critic. First, it was danced to prerecorded music. The start of every dance sequence always came as a bit of a surprise to all on stage. There was more posturing and posing than challenging dancing. But, as it was Christmas day, it was delightful. It was opened with a storyteller telling the story (in German). Then a mirrored jester came out. He was quite a sight. He literally glowed. He stood before a tray of water glasses and played bits of the melodies on these tuned water glasses. It was very pretty, mystical and captivating. He had to watch what he was doing, of course, but he was able to look up at the audience. I write 'at' in italics because I could tell he was looking at people, at their reactions, not just glancing up for good stage presence. He made several more appearances throughout the ballet. I realized what a sexist environment the ballet is. And, this time, not against women. The men often are, in Doug's words, props to hold up, balance and gesture to the women. I don't know ballet audience etiquette. I was taken aback when, early on, a male dancer came out and danced, I thought, quite well - a solo. When he finished I started to clap. No one else did, so I stopped. Next came a female dancer who also did a very good job. Everyone burst into applause. After the pas de deux, having both danced splendidly -really danced, finally - the couple took their bows, or, rather he stood back while she dramatically bowed and bowed and bowed. I was so put out, I stopped clapping. I didn't want to encourage that. I know I'm not a ballet aficionado, but, when I sang in the opera chorus, all the principal singers took their appropriate curtain calls, not just the women. Perhaps someone reading this can explain this to me.

Our apartment is in the middle of about four or five churches that all have bells that peal throughout the day. They were particularly active Christmas eve, Christmas day and the 26th (which is also a German holiday - the second day of Christmas - no turtle doves). When they all get going at once it is glorious, soothing and just lovely. My mom told me that there was a church somewhere in Phoenix that installed bells and the neighbors complained. How sad. I can understand wanting quiet, but I don't understand picking on the gentle sound of church bells. No it is not necessary, I also understand that. And sometimes any sound is irritating. Leaf blowers and lawn mowers are not necessary, yet for some reason that painful, irritating sound goes unchallenged. I'm glad I'm in Germany right now to hear these bells.

Advent

It is Advent (of which I've written before in my "If I Can" blog - December 1, 2009) and this year in my waiting I find myself not merely waiting, but anticipating and moving forward.

I'm trying to learn to be more mindful and it stands to reason that the season of waiting - Advent - would be good practice. But there must be something I'm mindful of. If I am waiting, I am mindful of what is to come. But if I am being mindful of what is to come, then I am anticipating, thus the mindfulness and forward movement. What can I do now in anticipation while I wait for the future?

Before moving to Germany I decided to make my time here a time of conclusions. Specifically of several stories (novels, really) that I've been writing for years. Then fate kindly stepped in (which it rarely does in a kindly manner) and, when I asked Douglas what he wanted for his birthday, he answered, "I want you to finish one of your stories to the point you can send it to an editor. It doesn't have to be by this birthday, just before we leave Germany."

I love Douglas.

So, while I wait, as I anticipate, I sit and make forward progress (page 50 something as I write - feel free to check up on that page number from time to time) on one of my novels.

But it's Advent and Advent is the time during which we wait for Christmas.

A scene from the Marienplatz Christmas Market - the largest in Munich

These years, Christmas brings memories to me. Memories of anticipation because, as a child, it always felt as though I were waiting for something.

For instance, I always knew something good was about to happen when I noticed that my mother had set out butter to soften. Would it go in candy or cookies?

And my father would get a certain look on his face as he strolled into my room shaking car keys. I knew he wanted company on an errand and he was in one of those moods - maybe we'd stop for candy (don't tell mom).

The sight of the UPS (or FedEX, DHL, whichever) truck stopping in front of our house always caused excitement - read anticipation. The bigger the box the more excitement.

Here in Munich I've started a new practice. Just before Douglas comes home, I turn off most of the lights in the apartment and light a single candle in the entryway. I hope it looks gentle, soft, relaxing and welcoming. I hope it tells him that he's home now and no longer needs to work. I hope it tells him that this is his time - our time.

I like how, in the Jewish faith, the Sabbath day - the day of rest - begins at sundown the evening before. They prepare. They anticipate. Sabbath, I believe, is God's way of telling us "Relax, this is your time, our time."

The Christmas market is in the square of the famous Glockenspiel, a beautiful setting.