Winter moments

The last couple of weeks I took pictures for my blog posts. Having various topics to blog about in my mind I just find myself assembling pictures and typing text only now. So here are some winter moments:
This is what it looked like two weeks ago when looking out of my office window. Snow, snow, snow

 

Then a few day later: Even more snow!

While we in the North were under a heavy blanket of snow, the western part where my sister lives had no snow at all. At times the temperature gap was 16 degrees Celsius and we are only 330 km apart. Fortunately the snow melted away after a week. As I am dependent on using my car I was very happy about that.
Here are the colours of our winter walk in the forest: grey skies, green conifers and and brownish soil. I am actually more an indoor type of person, especially when it's cold and grey outside.



And so are the ragdoll cats of my sister, indoor cats! I helped her moving places. Her cats found it all very exciting and adventurous. They are so gorgeous, their fur is very fine and soft and winter coloured - and is sticking to all of your clothes too ;-)

To bring some bright colours in here is a curry dish I cooked together with dear friends of mine:
chicken curry with coconut milk and coriander, cucumber salad in a joghurt-ginger dressing and some chapati bread.

So this were my winter moments of the last weeks. As you can see, it all ends with something to eat :-)

Advent Calendar

Not only winter has arrived but Advent too! It is the time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before December 24, so we just passed the first Advent sunday. Besides the tradition of lighting a candle on your Advent wreath we also have an Advent calendar which always starts at the first of December. Children in particular receive an Advent calendar. However, there are also those designed for adults (for example filled with alcohol chocolates). The calendars usually take the form of a large rectangular card with little doors which are numbered 1 to 24. Each day you open one door behind which are images, sayings, or sweets. There are also calenders filled with toys or even with beer!
I bought an Advent calender with chocolate for friends of mine. I love this chocolate brand!

This year I created a calender for Peter. I started early in November to select sweets and nuts, wrapped everything in tissue paper and placed them into a shallow basket. The only thing missing are the numbers. Like this he can choose a small or a big piece of sweet.

Christmas Market

Winter season is at it's start. For me the most obvious sign is - besides freezing temperatures - the Christmas markets. They take place from the week of the first Advent until the day before Christmas Eve. The markets are set up in the city centre and usually consists of little stalls selling all kinds of crafts, Christmas items and winter items (e.g. hats, scarfs, clothes). The majority of the stalls though are offering food and beverages. Very popular is mulled wine. The stalls selling this are the most crowded. Personally I prefer hot chocolate or hot apple juice :-)
Below is a picture of such a stall (mulled wine, bratwurst etc.). The stall is quite large and hosts a gigantic version of a traditional Christmas candle pyramid: This pyramids are originally from the Ore Mountains of Germany and are thought to be the predecessor of the Christmas tree. The pyramid consists of several platforms with a long pole in the middle. At the upper end of the pole there is propeller driven by candles. The heated air spins the propeller and the discs connected to the pole. The big pyramid version is just for decoration though and makes an excellent meeting point.

I love the Christmas markets! In particular since it's getting dark so early the markets are creating a cozy atmosphere with all the lights and decorations and smell of food. But also during day time it's a hustle and bustle. The picture below was taken on a weekday at lunch time!