Lubeck, December 5

Lubeck is famous for two things; marzipan and its Christmas market.

Along with our friends Stephanie and Travis, we went to Lubeck to see if this town really lived up to its marzipan/incredible market reputation.

YES, yes it does.

Their Christmas market was HUGE and sold all sorts of crafts you'd never really want to buy, but were fun to look at nonetheless. There was one craft booth that sold toilet brushes, and they weren't even festive toilet brushes, just regular old toilet brushes. I found that rather odd, but hey, maybe it's a tradition I am unaware of.

We visited the Lubeck marzipan museum, where they had life size sculptures of all these people I'd never heard of...but in MARZIPAN! It was neat even if I didn't know who I was looking at. The marzipan shaped like fruit was much more my speed. - Melinda

Greetings from Lubeck!

The Lubeck Gate. Since it was built the ground has settled, and now it's leaning a bit to the left.

The drink du jour of the Christmas markets in Germany is "gluwein". It is a fruity cider that is served warm and done up with a shot of amaretto (or rum).

The Lubeck Christmas market.

Nothin' says Christmas like a ferris wheel!

A beautiful shot of Lubeck.

Travis says, "we go THAT way!"

It's c-c-c-c-cold up here!!!

Stephanie and Travis blowin' in the wind.

People are standing in line to visit this church's Christmas market.

Lubeck from atop the ferris wheel.

A friend of the devil is a friend of mine.

Um, this is a hallway and a tree. I think it is supposed to represent how sometimes the holidays are very lonely??? You'll have to ask Britt for why he took this one.

Amsterdam, November 12-14

This is the trip where I learned how to convert kmh to mph.

Our friends Mike and Xavier rented a car and the four of us drove from Kiel to Amsterdam on a Friday morning. We're going along, I'm admiring the German countryside, and Britt says, "hey, do you know how to convert kmh to mph?" I say, "no, not really." So, he goes on to explain how to do it, then he says, "so, how fast are we going?" I do the conversion...100 mph! They're not kidding when they say there is no posted speed limit on the autobahn.

I learned some other interesting factoids: Did you know Amsterdam has more canals than Venice? Did you know the three xxx's you see around Holland are actually meant to protect the country from the three disasters (fire, flood, famine)? Did you know part of the Dutch Christmas tradition is telling children if they are bad they will be taken to Spain and turned into cookies? Did you know in Amsterdam it is actually preferred to have an old junky bicycle, in fact they say "the older the better" (partly due to the high bike theft and partly to the Germans taking all of their bikes during the war)?

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.... -Melinda

Welcome to Amsterdam!

The Rijksmuseum, most of it was under construction so we did not go in. We chose to visit the Van Gough museum instead, but we didn't take a picture of that one. So, you'll just have to trust that we experienced some culture while we were there.

The Anne Frank House.

Cute Dutch homes.

Look kids! A canal!

My very favorite picture from the trip. I think it looks like I photoshopped Britt into the picture, but alas, it is just my natural photographic talents!

Our hotel.

Britt consulting the map.

I believe this building was a shopping mall or a church. Maybe both. I can't recall.

This is our favorite breakfast spot in Amsterdam. It's called Der Spiegel and they make a fine toastie.

I believe this cat belonged to one of the women working in the cafe. I named him Hans.

Hans the kitty having his morning coffee.

Liar!

Everyone loves a sissy boy!

Britt wanted his picture taken in front of the Dutch national tree.

Snacks are a must in Holland. Mmm Fanta!

You can learn alot in the red light district!

Hooray for Christmas! Here is the hutch done up in things you can buy for one euro. The disco santa hats, however, are from my mom. Britt wears his ALL the time.

Admire the beauty of my pinecone Christmas tree (no, I did not craft it). Trees are a hard thing to come by in Kiel.

One of Kiel's many beautiful parks. It appears this is also a hawk crossing of some sort.

The livingroom (fascinating, I know).

This street is called Wranglestrasse and is around the corner from our apartment.

My first weekend in Kiel, standing outside our apartment building. Note the incredible German architecture. Ha!

This photo was taken by Britt when he came to Kiel for his interview in September. This area is called Kleiner Kiel (I think).

The first of possibly many....

I've finally created a blog for all of these pictures we've been taking. I hope to keep this page updated regularly. Although, when I was 12 I started a diary and that lasted for about a week. So, enjoy it while it lasts! -Melinda