The Schulze family's Christmas tree - they cut the top off of one of the trees in their yard this year - I found that pretty impressive. Apparently they used to use real candles on their trees, but with their two cats, the danger outweighs the allure of ambiance and tradition. (an understandable trade) Also, this nativity scene belonged to Thomas' grandparents and was made shortly after World War Two - very cool.
We set our gifts under the tree on the day of the 24 and opened them that night (Heiligabend - holy evening) after Thomas and I went to the Christmas concert at church and we ate dinner all together. Thomas' mother rang a bell, and we all hugged one another and wished one another a merry Christmas, then everyone opened presents all together. It was definitely different, but interesting and fun to celebrate German Christmas. For the record, I saved my stocking for Christmas morning and opened it with Thomas before we went down for family breakfast - so I got the best of both worlds, which was fun.
This little scene was set up in Schluchsee and added a lovely festive air to our afternoon walk. Thomas was sick (with what we now presume to be mon0) so I went for a walk with his parents around Schluchsee. Despite the bitterly cold wind, it was a beautiful day! (and of course I always enjoy seeing such a blue sky!)
Christmas morning we woke up to a couple centimeters of snow which really freshened everything up. Being so high up in the mountains, there was naturally a lot of snow there, but much of it had melted before we arrived due to a few days of warm weather then a few days of rain. The light dusting of snow made my dreams of a white Christmas come true!
The view of Schluchsee from a tower atop a mountain above town is just breathtaking. We hiked up there one day and I captured this beautiful picture of part of the town and the lake - what a charming getaway! (See is the German word for lake, just fyi)
So, there it is...a short photo-journal of my Christmas away from home. It was much quieter than I am used to, but really restful and wonderful. I love and miss you all, thanks for your prayers and support through the holiday season! ~love~
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