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| Freising's non-white Christmas market |
The Munich tabloid's headline was clear and to the point: "Nie mehr Weisse Weihnacht!" And unfortunately, at least for 2018, it proved to be correct. It was a cold, at times grey, at times blustery Christmas, but at least it stayed mostly dry during the actual holiday.
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| Moles of the world, rejoice: There is no snow! |
Climate change in Europe means that fewer and fewer folks get to see white stuff, not only at Christmas time but before and after the holiday season as well. And believe me, a Christmas market is not the same when rain drizzles instead of flakes fall. I've now been here in Germany for a bit more than two weeks, and today was the third day that I actually saw some blue skies. It's been pretty dismal, weatherwise, and there are no tales of exciting adventures that I have to offer.
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| The sun made a rare appearance on Christmas Day |
If things had gone by plan, we'd be somewhere on the Autobahn at this very moment, an hour or two away from Freising. Instead, we're stuck for a day in Cologne after Sabine fell mysteriously ill last night while we were visiting my cousin, Paddy, and his family. She's been feeling dizzy and sick all day, and it didn't make much sense to try to embark on a 7-hour trip in the Skoda. Thankfully, my cousin and his family are superb hosts, and our staying for another night is not causing any major problems.
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| A bit of German humor to brighten the day |
We had spent Christmas proper with Sabine's brother in the Dortmund area. While Sabine and her son, Jona, had driven up from Bavaria (where I had spent the first few days after my arrival on December 10) I had visited one of my former college professors in Jena and my brother in Berlin. Add to that Sabine's birthday on December 12 and her bother's on December 20, and you start seeing the full picture. In other words, it has been a true Family & Friends Holiday Happening.
While in Dortmund, we twice ventured out on rather staid beater bikes in an attempt to burn off the gazillion calories that holiday festivities bring. In Berlin I had tried to do the same by walking at least 10,000 steps a day. I can't say that I am too impressed with the results. Freising's weather in my opening week had been so crappy that I had managed only one 17-mile ride that prematurely ended in a rain, sleet, and snow extravaganza. Yuk, yuk, yuk.
I completed my travel by train, which turned out to be comfortable and relatively inexpensive--and even (mostly) on time! The German rail system used to be super reliable, but in the past decade there have been more and more problems and only about 70% of all passenger trains are now on time. What has the world come to! Even Swiss trains, which were known to
never be late, are showing signs of weakness in an increasingly digitized world where anything analog equals being prehistoric.
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| In Jena's old town |
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| Berlin's Europacenter |
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| Amazing food selection in the KaDeWe (Berlin) |
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| Happy camper in the Berlin subway |
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| Berlin Hauptbahnhof--fourteen lines crossing on three different levels. Pretty cool. |
Once we get back to Freising (tomorrow, I hope) it's time to get ready for New Year's. Maybe we even get a chance to go to the Alps for a day of mild hiking. The weather forecast is not too exciting, though, and outdoor activities may continue to be curtailed by temperatures just above freezing and periods of occasional drizzle. In other words: November weather in December and no real winter in sight. I suppose the tabloid headline was correct. All that's left to say is: Happy New Year!
Jürgen
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