My Weekend in Pictures

It was another cold December weekend but I was lucky enough to get to have blue skies, lots of sunshine, and good friends to take a holiday spirt-y daytrip with.

Advent calendar goodies days 10 and 11. I now want a puppy more than ever...

A lazy day of Christmas-cookie baking with a side of liquid indulgence.

-Sadly, Micha was gone (in Munich) this weekend so I was left to my own devices. While I prefer him to be here, it is kind of nice to have time apart to miss each other so that when we see each other again, it's that much more special.

-Kerstin and Hendryk brought me on their romantical daytrip to Dresden (thanks, guys!). Dresden has fascinated me since I read Slaughterhouse Five many years ago and I take any chance I can get to go there (it's only a 1.5 - 2 hour drive from Berlin). The last time I was there was with sister and Micha and we visited his silly cousin, hit up every Christmas market in the city, and still managed to return home, full of glühwein, and play a drinking game. Those were the days...

-Things I enjoy about Dresden: the wholly or partially war-blackened churches and buildings; the silly and yet endearing (to me) Sächsische accent you hear everywhere; the deeeelicious Stollen; the very entertaining medieval Christmas market; the powdered sugar-covered Kräppelchen - you can never go wrong with fried dough!

-Christmas markets are a lot less fun when preggers (Kerstin is, not me, I wouldn't just spring it on you like that!), as the main activity there really is drinking Glühwein and, as she reports, no other drinks offered even come close to tasting as good.

-I had planned to make batches and batches of cookies after the hockey game on Sunday but alas, I discovered I only had three eggs in the fridge and our supermarket did not have a Verkaufsoffener Sonntag (open on Sunday) yesterday. Way to plan ahead, Nicole.

-Apparently, our gramma got a new dog! If you know her, that is SO random! And it gets better: it's a little old chihuahua who never barks, has some digestive issues, and who she's thinking of naming Topolino, cuz he looks like a rat, but a cute one. I half think getting him was just a ploy to get Natalie and me to visit more often...