The long-awaited Winter Break

How is it winter break already? Where did most of my semester go? And HOW did it go? I am having a bit of trouble answering those questions right now...maybe I will be able to in retrospective.

Once again, what makes me feel Christmas spirit the most is being out, in the market squares, in outdoor christmas markets, watching people, young and old , out for hours, enjoying the old school fun. Before shopping malls and restaurants were ever build, this is what people used to do, and you can feel this tradition so well when standing still in the midst of it. Handmade wooden tiny ferris wheel, skating rink, smell of roasting sausages, waffles, gluhwine; walking from stand to stand with every kind of sweet imaginable, filling your nosrtils with scents of cinnamon and vanilla! This is Christmas for me, a pleasure for all the senses and by now I have experienced at least 5 markets already. Feels like the whole December was one big Christmas celebration. No pressure of buying gifts, no overcrowded malls, no frustration in the parking lots-just leisurely strolling from one timber stand to the next. Germans know how to do it!

And now-the final touch! My own Christmas tree! We bought a tiny tree (1 m height) by the coolest-looking church in Stuttgart, while looking for something else completely. It smells amazing! Like having a tiny piece of forest in your living room. After puzzling over a self-improvised tree stand (I wasn't about to spend another 10 euros on a stand, that's just going overboard!)s, the tree is now up and decorated. First christmas in Germany! Wow, a year ago I wouldn't even have imagined any of this at all...

Esslingen Medieval Christmas market

A church in Reutlingen square

I wish I had more photos of the pure awesomeness that surrounds you at one of these markets, but usually I am too enthralled and completely abandon my photographer's duties!