Geocaching in Dusseldorf...

We did a little bit more shopping on our last day in Dusseldorf, but spent most of the day geocaching. This was a clever cache, hidden in a small box behind a modern sculpture in the front yard of this house.

More Christmas Markets in Cologne..

It took just a little over an hour  the next day to get to Cologne to check out their many Christmas Markets.

I preferred the markets in Cologne to those in Dusseldorf. They were especially lovely at night. I was happy to find a sterling silver ring made out of an antique spoon.

On a cold winter’s day, it was nice that there were many options of warm drinks. Each market had its own mug; we paid a deposit that was refunded when we returned the mug. At one, we had warm egg nog, which was very strange. This burning drink was wine, rum and sugar, which was pretty, but not as tasty as mulled wine itself. The strangest thing we saw was definitely this manger scene.

Glassblowing in Dusseldorf...

Jimmy was especially fascinated by the market that had craftsman at work including this glassblower who uses a cell phone while molding hot glass.

A professional photographer spotted Ashlynn and Jimmy watching the glassblower and asked for permission to photograph them.

Here’s the final photo. I’m not crazy about their expressions, but it would still be cool if it were included in next year’s promotional materials for the market.

Dusseldorf Christmas Market...

Since we weren’t going on a big trip over Christmas break, we decided to go to some Christmas Markets in Germany. I found a really good deal at a hotel in Dusseldorf, so we hopped some trains and stayed two nights. We spent the first afternoon wandering through the multiple markets.

Not Your Average Gingerbread House...

It took several days, but the girls had a great time making a homemade gingerbread house. Rather than just make a standard house, they designed a chateau.

It turned out awesome! I was especially impressed with the candy windows and clock.

Getting into the Holiday Spirit...

As usual, our family celebrates multiple holidays in December. I thought the girls had outgrown having Sinterklaas visit, but Ashlynn said they’d never outgrow wanting chocolate letters in their wooden clogs. Luckily they also haven’t outgrown enjoying decorating the tree. We celebrated the first night of Hanukkah by having Sally and family over for dinner.

Speech and Acting Tournament in Brussels...

While we were in Tallinn, the girls had their own adventures. Ashlynn went to see Wicked in Dutch for a friend’s birthday, then spent the rest of the weekend at Sally’s. Meanwhile, Veronica spent two nights in Brussels to participate in NESDA, the New European Speech, Debate and Acting Tournament. She was thrilled to be among the ten students chosen from our school to participate. They took the train down after school and split up to stay at students’ homes from the host school, International School of Brussels. She participated in three disciplines: duet acting (a British comedy bit--this is the original starting at 4:30), original oratory (she wrote a speech about the Shakespeare Conspiracy) and oral interpretation (she read a passage from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close). She and Maaike made it into the finals for their duet, but didn’t come home with an award. All-in-all, a great experience and she’s already hoping to do it again next year.

Our School Team