Hallo, wie geht's dir? All is well here. Funny, I'm just now really getting comfortable being here, and I have to leave in less than a month. Ain't that always the way?
The Christmas season is full on here, lights are up, the Christmas markets are going on all over the region. There's a nice one here in Freiburg (photos later this week), and we were in some towns in Alsace and in the Black Forest this weekend that had them. As a matter of fact, we wanted to see a beautiful village in Alsace, Riquewihr, but when we got there, it was overrun with hundreds of people..tour buses and cars lined the road into town. So we didn't get to spend any time there, just too many people! We did see some other intersesting things though..the town of Neuf-Breisach and it's walled fortifications, and a tiny village called Zellenberg, in the heart of the Alsace wine growing region.
It was a rainy weekend here in the Rhine valley, and we didn't realise how different the weather would be 20 minutes away. Sunday we drove up the mountains to St. Peter, and it was a winter wonderland. We went to a small Weihnachtmarkt in the village platz. We also re-visited the church of St. Peter, which was the first church we visited when I first came here in the summer. Something called me back there this weekend, and it was nice to sit there for a while, and give thanks for all that has happened in this past year.
We have been making some nice dinners at home, some local specialties, with all the great local ingredients available here. I've included a bunch of photos of our recent dinners, and how they were made. Winter is a great time to eat here, the cool weather is conducive to some of the heartier dishes. Being in the south, there are a lot of regional dishes that are not so prevalent in the northern areas. The area we're in features both Badisch and Swabisch cuisine, and Gisi has been going back to some of the food her mother used to make..Spätzle, Schupfnudeln, raw sauerkraut (so good!). And Feldsalat is in season, I could eat that every day. I made a great roast cod dish (!), and some of my favorite Italian pasta dishes, and tonight I'm making Shepherds Pie for the first time. Fortunately, Gisi likes to cook and we cook very differently. She makes more vegetarian dishes, and uses very little fat. Most of you know how I like to cook! So I have definately been eating better (= heathier), and have probably lost a few pounds. Walking and biking every day helps too! Luckily, the weather has been relatively mild, 52 today, with a few days in the upper thirties and low forties, but comfortable enough to be able to get outside every day.
Check out the photos from the past week or so here.
Hope you all have a good week...Ciao!
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