Travelog for: LittleTeddy

Today we baked some Buttergebäck --- butter cookies. They are really nice for children.


Then we sat on our nice place in the kitchen to watch Petra baking some other cookies.


Here is the nice window decoration in the kitchen. Petra made some more parts of it in the afternoon. I'm sure she will take another photo with me so you will see it too.

It's the fourth of Advent today and so all four candles of the advent wreath are lit.

Today is Holy Eve and everyone is very very excited. There are so many things to be prepared for the evening. The house smells like Christmas and you hear Christmas songs in the radio and from cd.
We are sitting at our place behind the window and watch Petra doing her work. Our new friend, the Christmas bear girl from Trier, is very busy too. She doesn't want us to know, what she is doing, so we three play a game and talk and listen to the music. Here you see us dancing to the music.


Petra promissed to take some more photos with me and her window decoration and here it is. She cut out the new donkey and the Bethlehem star

After playing so long we were very tired and slept for a while. When we woke up, we were alone. We shouted for someone to play with us, but no sign of anyone else than of the budgies in the kitchen. Oh no, our hosts forgot to take photos of us with them and they are so important for us, because they helped us while we were alone at home.
Later Petra told us, that they were in the Kinderchristfeier, a Christmas mass for children. Sabrina had to sing several songs while playing an angel. We would have so loved to see that, but anyway we had a lot of fun at home too.

They lit a candle with the Bethlehem flame and brought it home to us.


Then our Christmas bear girl prepared the table for dinner and we were allowed to sit between the members of the crib

And then it was here, the most silent night of the year


Holy Night


In Germany families celebrate the Holy Night, mostly only parents and children together, maybe grandparents, if they want to be part of it.
The celebration starts with going to the service in the afternoon, if you have little children - or those, who play a role in the Christmas play - just like Sabrina had to do. Older people go to church at 5pm, 10pm or at midnight.
After church my hosts normally went to the graves on the graveyard, which is near to their house, next to the baroque church St.Peter. This year however they didn't find the time for it.
Then Petra had to prepare dinner, while the other members prepared the table. Oh yes, in the morning the they brought the tree in the livingroom and decorated it, but only the boys were allowed to go into the livingroom and so there is no photo of us.
After dinner a bell calls everyone to go into the livingroom. There are only the lights of candles on the tree and table. Under the tree are many presents and a nice railroad.
We sat down on the table, because Petra told us, that we would see everything much better, when we would sit there.

So Sabrina started to read a story about the song SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT and all others of the family read another part of that story. It was really interesting to hear about the history of that song.




Then we played and sang the Christmas carols together.


After about nearly one hour of reading and singing we opened the presents. Only the children were allowed to go to the tree and fetch one present, read the name on it and give it to the new owner, so it took a while until we received our present.

You see me here with my friends and our present cookie. It tasted very well.


Of course we all wanted a photo with us and the tree.

Yesterday we celebrated with my hosts parents and her sister's family at her parents home. Unhappily the photos didn't come out well, so no updates about this.

In the morning I had a ride on the train and I visited the family members of the crib, that is in the livingroom.



I looked out of the window and saw some snow, but too less to play in it. Petra has some nice window pictures in the livingroom too.



I was happy to sit next to the oven in the livingroom, because it was rather cold outside.


Petra got a nice calendar with Australian photos and so it was time for Tenderheart Bear to show us some parts of his country.



Today we went to Ralf's family, this time celebrating at his sister Rena's home.

Today is Sabrina's birthday and we all helped to prepare the cakes and lasagne. We had a lot of fun.

You see Zebrakuchen, Lasagne, Apfelkuchen (apple cake), Adventskuchen

We were invited to visit Petra's cousin and family in Durlach-Aue. Lunch was very good and then we had a little walk around their house.

Today I'm very excited, because it is Silvester / New Year's evening. We prepared everything for dinner and then we sat together in the livingroom. We had raclette, one of the favorite dinners for Silvester in this house. Happily we all were together and had time to talk and eat a lot potatoes and cheese.

We met a cow, that is changing colours from red to blue.

Then we sat there on the table in the livingroom. Petra built us a high place on the table, because that was the only chance for us to see the text on the tv screen . We all sang some karaoke and had a lot of fun.

One and a half hour before midnight we went back in the livingroom again and played 'Mitternachtsparty' (midnight party). It is a nice game with Hugo the little ghost, who wants to catch all women and men of the game.

Then the big firework started and the new year began. First we went outside to watch the firework and then, when we came into the house again, we hugged each other to wish a happy new year and we had a little drink / sparkling mineral water with juice.

My hosts's children were in Karlsruhe today to go ice scating. So my hosts decided to go there to and maybe let us try ice scating, but unhappily the battery of the camera stopped working, when we were there. I asked them to buy new batteries and they did so, but nevertheless they didn't want to go back to the scating area.
But they showed me the front of the palace of Karlsruhe and some other views out of the car. Two photos show the brewery Höpfner Bräu, which is built like a castle.

Karlsruhe is only about 20 minutes from Bruchsal. When you drive there you have to drive through the flat Rhine valley. On the way home to Bruchsal, you see the small hills of the Kraichgau. Bruchsal is a small city, that is located partly in the Rhine valley and in the Kraichgau.


[img]null[/img]




At home again Ralf bought some bread, while Petra took two photos with us.
The red house is the new part of the old people's house. It was opened for moving in in 2007.



On the left side you see the old part of the old people's house of Bruchsal. The house with the tower is the private grammar school St.Paulusheim.