Umschalten - Switching

Today is February 29th - Leap Day.  This is an occurrence that happens every 4 years.

In Germany, it is called Schalttag.  The Schalttag happens in a Schaltjahr.

Schalt means switch.  Schalten is the infinitive verb form (to switch).

Schalt + tag (day) = Leap Day
Schalt + jahr (year) = Leap Year

Another word that comes to mind for me is Lichtschalter

Licht + schalter = light switch!

A typical German light switch as I remember looks like this:

But I also remember in the Keller (cellar) of my German grandparents' apartment building, there was a very old light switch that looked like this:

In any case, I hope you enjoyed your extra day this year - your Schalttag!  

By the way, I read today that in true German fashion there is actually a law pertaining to any person born on February 29th.  Of course!  It is that on non-leap years, you turn your next full age on March 1st (never on February 28).  So, for example, when you turn 18 and become volljährig (an adult, "of age"), you are not considered an adult until March 1st if your 18th birthday falls on a leap year.  

And that is just a little "tidbit" - a small bite - of German. 

Between the Years

I love the German phrase zwichen den Jahren.  It means "between the years."  For me, it describes this period after Christmas but not yet to the new year quite well.  For many, school is out; time has slowed down.  The anticipation for Christmas is satisfied, but a new year looms wide open ahead!  Full of possibilities, potential -- a blank slate.  

It can be a reflective time of year.  Thinking back on all that you've been through, rehashing good memories - and hoping for good days ahead!  It is kind of a time of optimism ... at least for me.  

Of course, life goes on day-by-day ... but between the years, perhaps it goes on with a little different feeling.  It is hard to explain, but the phrase zwichen den Jahren explains it fairly well. 

A REVIEW: Christkindl Markt in Arlington, Texas

My wish for my birthday this year (November 30) was a trip with my family.

We live about 5 1/2 from the Dallas, Texas area so I asked everyone to go with me to the Christkindl Market that is held annually in Arlington.

PS  Please note, I am NOT a photographer ... and my phone is very outdated, so excuse the poor picture quality.

From what I understand, the venue this year was at Global Life Park for the first time.  That is located right between the old and new Texas Rangers baseball stadiums, adjacent to Texas Live!, an indoor entertainment venue.  The market is outdoors.  For us, the weather was a balmy 70ish degrees F and just a little windy.

We enjoyed our evening, but honestly, it wasn't worth driving 5+ hours (other than the time spent with my family).  If I lived in the Dallas area, sure, I'd stop by. There were about 20 vendors - most of which weren't German-themed  such as alpaca/wool products, dog treats, an apothecary/beauty products, a publisher of children's books, and some lovely wood crafts (boldly stating "Made in the USA" which we found ironic at a GERMAN fest), American bundt cakes, and French macarons.  That isn't to say they didn't have lovely items, they just weren't German.

There is an ice skating rink open this year, which is lovely if you enjoy that.  The Christmas music piped throughout was all American classics.

JJ Concessions provided the food.  It was standard concession food - deep fat fried, it seemed.  And in my opinion - SUPER expensive.  $14 for a Schnitzel plate (included fries and Jägersauce), $10 for a Schnitzel "sandwich" (ie. on a hamburger bun).  There were Jäger fries, Bratwurst, and Currywurst.

We also tried the Kartoffelpuffer (potato pancakes) which did come with applesauce and sour cream (my family always just had the apple sauce), which was basically a hash brown almost...

I won't say it was horrible, but it didn't taste authentic.  Perhaps my palate still remembers my 2 trips to German this year all too well...

I did get a cup of Glühwein, a spiced cider, with a souvenir cup.  Because you have to get a souvenir cup if you go to a Christmas market (or at least I do!).

The cup was cute; the Glühwein was standard.  And it too was expensive (IMO) at $12.

 I don't mean to write a disparaging review.  There were aspects of the market that were really nice - like fact that the German sister city of Arlington  Bad Königshofen was represented at a booth.  They were selling lace ornaments, luminaries, and Lebkuchen hearts, decorated by local school children.

Ironically, my Lebkuchen heart's "Weihnachten" was misspelled, but I applaud the student's efforts to support American-German relations.  

(You can't see it but they wrote frohe weinachtin.) :) 

My favorite stop was the Käthe Wohlfahrt shop.  Of course, it is directly from Rothenburg o.d. Tauber ... so you can't mess that up.  The items are lovely & authentic, fun to look at. 

We spied a few items - a smoker and a Noah's Ark ornament I have - that I bought in Rothenburg in 1997 or 1998!

Since we were decorating for Christmas this weekend too, I came across a paper bag (on the left, below) that I've saved from my 1997/98 purchases when we lived about 45 minutes from Rothenburg.  And now I have a plastic bag from the Arlington store because my children bought me a tin ornament for my birthday this weekend.

I chose an image of das Plönlein in Rothenburg.  Plönlein means "small square" and is said to be one of the most photographed images of Rothenburg.  You can see a half-timbered house, one of the city towers, and the cobblestone street.  There is also a fountain nearby.

More about Rothenburg:  click here

OH!  We also bought gebrannte Mandeln (candied almonds), which were DELICIOUS - warm and made right there in the booth.  That was definitely one of the positive experiences of the Markt.

We ended our night by watching some college football games on the big screens inside Texas Live!.  

I won't say it was disappointing; you just can't compare to a REAL German Christmas market.  We spent maybe 2 hours total there, and spent more money than we wanted because if you know marketing, you know that people who are on "vacation" will spend more than they might on a normal, more frugal day.  We won't be back ... but we can say we saw it once.

It did get me in a little more of a Christmas spirit. 

My FAVORITE thing was that I spent a weekend with my family - for my birthday.

So, I will say:  Mission accomplished.

German Christmas ... In a Nutshell?

My daughter's 4th grade teacher asked me if I'd like to give a "short" talk about Germany / German Christmas soon. Yes, yes - a thousand times YES!  :)  However, how to summarize all the wonderful things about Christmas time in Germany?

What should I discuss?

the lovely Christmas carols
Ihr Kinderlein Kommet 
O Du Fröhliche
or just the simple Stille Nacht

Of course, there is always food and all the wonderful cookies that might be placed on a Bunterteller (colorful plate) and given as a gift to family and friends. 
Vanillekipferl
Stollen
Lebkuchen
and so so many more ...

Christmas markets

and of course, the Christmas Tree
O Tannenbaum

Advent wreaths and
Advent calendars

What is your favorite part of a German Christmas?

German Adventures: October Trip - Conclusion

My mother and I had a nice - though rather interesting - time in Germany last month - October 6-12 ... I wrote about the 3 lessons we learned (some the hard way, some just things that one can't change, some about things that just happen)...

Catch up here:

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

So, I wanted to wrap up our trip with the memories of the last few days we spent together.  It wasn't an eventful trip as such.  We did get to spend some time with various family members - and since my aunt was unfortunately in the hospital, we did get to stay at her apartment and live life much like a German!  :) Such as:

~Public transportation & life without a vehicle (and lots and lots of walking!)

^ my mother, waiting on another U-bahn (subway)

The U-bahn station near my aunt's apartment:  Weisser Stein

Walking down the street near my aunt's apartment - with view of the Fernsehturm (TV tower) in Ginnheim, a nearby district of Frankfurt (where I was born!)

Another view of the U-bahn stop where we spent a lot of our time, waiting.

~ Coffee and cake

At a bakery with my great-aunt Rosemarie (one of my Oma's younger sisters)

~ Food

My favorite "Fast Food" place in Germany is Nordsee (for fish)

It was one of my Opa's favorite places to take me when I was a child.

Typical simple breakfast or supper items:  cheese & meat (in this case, Teewurst, a spreadable, minced, seasoned, and smoked pork ... not to be confused with Liverwurst/Braunschweiger - and yes, Teewurst is RAW/uncooked but very safe to eat.).  

And water - I prefer "with gas" (mit Gas ... that's carbonation, not petrol or any other form of fuel!!), also known as mineral water.

Just normal water is stilles Wasser (quiet/calm water), non-carbonated.  That's kind of the restaurant terminology.  Otherwise, at someone's home you can ask for Leitungswasser (tap water).

^My mother enjoying our German breakfast ... German Bread = the best!

Great start to the day!

We didn't eat out very much on this trip ... but we did eat a good Wiener Schnitzel on our last night in Germany at the Restaurant zum Adler in Ginnheim.

I ordered a side of grüne Sosse to go with my meat & potatoes.  Green sauce is a Frankfurt specialty.  It is made with 7 herbs and yogurt and eggs. 

More about that here:  Green Thursday post

~ for me, Germany means FAMILY

This is me with my (half) brother.

Me and my mom <3

and cousins ... and a cousin-in-law who happens to be American as well!

~and lastly, Germany means origins and roots:

That's me in front of the hospital where I was born ... almost 49 (!!?) years ago.

^ the (renovated) apartment where my Oma & Opa lived ... and where I spent every summer of my childhood.

A familiar path I have walked many, many times since 1996 when my Opa passed away...

This is the entrance of the Friedhof Bockenheim ... the peaceful, beautiful, park-like cemetery where my grandparents and uncle are buried.

My mother's parents' and brother's grave

And one last airport selfie of my mom and me.

We flew from Frankfurt to Atlanta together, then went our separate ways.

We truly had a wonderful time together, despite all the unexpected issues that arose.