Happy Halloween...from Germany

Well, it is 7 pm and still no kids.

Since our first moved to Germany in 1991 the popularity of Halloween amongst the Europeans has grown immensely.

We seem to have a system in place in our house that if we remember to buy candy for the big night THEN we will not have any kids. It is always the nights we are not prepared (being childless) that we get the most visitors. One year we even handed out office supplies which pretty much took care of the possibility of kids coming the next year. :)

I will never forget the face of the first German child who ever came to our door for Halloween...obviously brought along by some American kids...this poor child...sack in hand, no costume just stood there frozen. I asked..now what are you suppose to say....the frightened child replied...."HALLO".

One year, I was absolutely prepared and no kids came....so I went around my neighborhood and rang door bells saying in Germany...."It is your American neighbor....I bring candy". Yes, there were many shocked faces. And if they did not answer the door I filled their ever present shoes sitting next to the door.

This year....with the kids petrified of barking Clover, I filled Halloween cups full of traditional candy and left them at my neighbors doors for the kids. Perhaps that is the way to go.

Anyway, my biggest kid...(the husband) came skipping in from work all excited to carve his pumpkin...he the dog and the cat, (shocker he was interested) were all out on the patio in the cold....carving a scary faced pumpkin to light.

Happy holiday....hope your candy sack is full to the rim.

Apple Pressing Time....

The last Eis of the Season...

Sadly for some, Fall is here and that means the end of nightly walks into town for a stop at the local Eis Cafe (ice cream parlor).

While living in Belgium we really missed this nightly pilgrimage so since moving back we have enjoyed our infrequent visit to get a scoop or two of the most delicious and fresh made frozen delights.

Of course with the addition of Clover in our lives...things have gotten tricky. My husband...lets just call him "ALPHA" does not share so before 6 months ago I use to have to share some of my favorite cafe eis with the dog. As you can see by the photo it is rather hard to say no to that face.

What happened 6 months ago you ask? Well, I was diagnosed with food allergies/intolerance and can no longer have dairy so I have been relegated to fruit eis as there is no dairy involved. How does this affect Clover? Well, he doesn't do fruit eis. So now we have to buy him his own scoop of yogurt.

Why do we HAVE to share you ask? Again I say....when you see the photo you will understand...or perhaps it is a face only a mother can love. When Clover sees eis he looses all focus....he MUST have eis. He has been known at fests to snatch an eis from a child standing waving it at the drooling beast. Once it wasn't an eis at all but looked like one and turned out to be a taffy mess that took forever to get out of his fur, but that is another story.

At his worst....Clover would just refuse to pass the eis cafe and would freeze in place and stare you in the eyes...and then at the eis cafe. At my weaker moments...I gave in THUS perpetuating the problem. (I know, there are no bad dogs, only bad owners)

Unlike in American, life in Europe is seasonal and with the passing of the Summer season....so goes our beautiful Italian Eis cafe's. Many round up their tables and chairs which normally line the streets and are full of happy eis eating families, and these beautiful places become leather good shops. That is if the family does not return entirely to warmer climes.

So to end our sad tale of the passing seasons....while on a bitter walk in Heidleberg last weekend....we stopped at an eis cafe which was still and eis shop and had a scoop.

Botenservice...from the Apotheke

Ok, so I know you are thinking....what the heck is she photographing in some strange romantic candle lit way, medicine from the pharmacy. Well, I am just...I guess there is no other way to say it other than...tickled pink, about my visit to the pharmacy today.

I stopped by a pharmacy near where my husband works, several miles from my town while doing errands in hopes to pick up what is basically a supplement. (OK so digestive enzymes, but I highly recommend them to anyone especially someone with allergies and immune problems)

After showing the pharmacist a bottle of the supplement I normally take she sadly replied that they did not have this item, but she could order it for later that night. (This is a cool thing that I don't think we have in the US....I can't say we don't as I have lived my adult life in Europe BUT I can not remember EVER being told by a pharmacy in the US that they would find the medicine if it wasn't in stock...and in only a few hours)

Reading my face the woman said..OR we could just have it brought to your house. In shock I asked, how much more would that cost...the woman furrowed her brow and said my three favorite words..."IT IS FREE".

My reply "WHAT!! Not possible!"

Then as I finished paying with my mouth agape....I started to stumble to the door....the woman called after me. "Don't you want your gift?" I love this about most German Pharmacies....besides the fact that they are actually able to HELP you when you wander in off the street with a cold or a rash....they like to give you free things. Nothing huge mind you, just a nice little tissue holder with their name on it or some vitamin gummy bears....just a little "Thank you". Today, I got this little Fall votive. A little nothing that brought a smile to this face.

So tonight just as I finished dinner...a smiling man delivered my digestive enzymes...just in the nick of time.

Discovering a New Wander...

A Walk in a Wet Fall Forest....

First Glühwein of the season....

And BOY it was sure necessary! After a long hike in the gorgeous yet cool Odenwald we stopped by the very chilly Heidleberg Volksfest. The thermometer in the car read 40'! I am not sure if the cold temperatures kept people away but there was a shockingly small amount of people at the fest.

It was a nice excuse for me to grab a toasty glühwein, some fragrant and warm spiced nuts and enjoy shooting festival night shots with out being molested by crowds. What a treat that was!

If you happen to be in NYC this weekend...

My photos that I submitted to the "World in Focus" competition held by National Geographic will be on display at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in NYC.

This by no means I have won anything, but I am just proud I entered.....and my photos are getting exposure.

Due to the fact that I am in Germany I will not be in attendance, but if you are able to attend here is how you find my photos:

column# 5 and row#7 on panel 6
column# 6 and row#7 on panel 6
column# 7 and row#7 on panel 6
column# 35 and row#25 on panel# 6
column# 8 and row#7 on panel 6
column# 35 and row#26 on panel# 6
column# 35 and row#27 on panel# 6
column# 9 and row#7 on panel 6
column# 10 and row#7 on panel 6
column# 35 and row#28 on panel# 6
column# 11 and row#7 on panel 6
column# 35 and row#29 on panel# 6
column# 12 and row#7 on panel 6
column# 13 and row#7 on panel 6
column# 14 and row#7 on panel 6

The winners will be announced that day.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me weed through my photos to arrive at my decisions for submission.

Laura

Edenkobener Wein- und Kastanienmarkt...Wine and Chestnut market

This festival...high in the hills at a Roman villa surrounded by vineyards...was a fun experience. It was in celebration of the chestnut and they had the most wonderful breads and cakes made with chestnut...and of course the wine of the season....New wine.

As we arrived we started to see cars parked all along the many paths and roadways well away from the Villa Ludwigshöhe where the fest was being held. Being adaptable...we found a spot along a path in a vineyard to park...changed our shoes and we were off.

We weren't sure how exactly to get to the fest, but once we saw the lines of hikers all taking paths up the hill...we followed along. Walking through a densely planted wood of Chestnut trees you could see groups of people with sticks poking around on the ground to find the nuts that had fallen. After a delicious cake and coffee sitting on the terrace of the Roman Villa surrounded by an amazing view, we too joined in on the search for nuts.

Clover found the whole event curious as he is a nut eater and a forager but is normally being yelled at for eating things on the ground. We feel he would make a great truffle hound IF you could teach him not to eat what he found.

We met a nice group of people on our way back to the car...bottle of new wine in one hand and chestnuts in our other.