Guten Tag!

A few weeks ago Dan and I went skiing in Germany with some friends from Harrogate.  I'm happy to report that we had a great time and no one broke any bones!

We stayed in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria in southern Germany--about an hour from Munich.  The views were absolutely stunning!  Neither Dan nor I are experienced skiers and we found the mountain a little challenging for beginners.  Nevertheless, we had a great time.

  

A bunch of us went sledding in Austria the first night.  I didn't know what to expect when I signed up for this excursion, but it wasn't this.  We sledded down a regular ski run in pitch black on tiny plastic sleds.  It was cold and scary...but definitely an experience.

Susan is saying what we're all feeling

What made sledding a lot more fun were the pit stops at the top and middle of the mountain.  We stopped in for some schnapps and brats and were treated to live music.

We were told in advance that if it's a clear day we need to drop everything and go to the top of Zugspitze.  I'm so glad we listened!  It was absolutely gorgeous at the top. It's the tallest mountain in Germany and you can see the German, Austrian and Swiss Alps.  We even crossed the border into Austria at the top.  It was very neat.

View from the top of Zugspitze

Three of us went to see the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles. Neuschwanstein was the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle.  The castle originally belonged to Ludwig II but he died before it was finished.  The parts that are finished are gorgeous though!  Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the castles.

Hohenschwangau Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle

It was snowing pretty heavily while we were touring the castles.  I loved it.

We also took a day trip to Innsbruck, Austria.  I skied for half the day and toured for the other half.  This town is really beautiful.  I loved seeing the colorful buildings on the river and eating the delicious strudels.

Innsbruck, Austria

 

We visited a schnapps store that had more than a hundred varieties!  We brought home the apple strudel flavor.  Can't wait to try it out.

Schnapps

I didn't know it when we booked our trip, but we were in Germany over Carnival.  Bavaria is an especially Catholic part of Germany, so this pre-lent festival is celebrated to the fullest. People were dancing and drinking and dressing-up.  We got into the spirit at dinner when a gang of costumed men barged in and started dancing with the diners.

Dancing with the masked man

We were also lucky enough to stumble into a huge Carnival festival in Munich.  Our flight didn't leave until late evening so we planned on spending the day touring the city.  We kind of did that...

Hofbrauhaus 

Delicious donut

Carnival in the Marienplatz

Everyone was in costume--from tiny babies to 80-year-olds. It was really impressive how inclusive this party was.  

Vendors were selling bags of confetti for 1 Euro.  How could I pass that up?

I had the best time throwing my confetti around.  There were lots of confetti fights, including this one:

Yup, I am in a confetti fight with a little girl.  And I'm pretty sure she won.

P.S.

Dan says the last post about pasties didn't make it clear that he made the one pictured. He said it looks too professional :). So, just to clarify, Dan made a delicious meat pasty that looks as good as it tasted.

Cornish Pasty

Until I moved to England I had never heard of a Cornish pasty (pronounced like past-E); I had no idea what I was missing.  Pasties are basically a cross between a portable pot-pie and a calzone minus the sauce.  It's a pie dough that is filled with meats, veggies or cheese and then crimped closed.  They are delicious and Dan learned how to make them.*  Yay!  I can't wait to experiment with all sorts of fillings.

Ribeye, onion, potato and swede pasty

* Technically, these are Cornish-style pasties rather than actual Cornish pasties.  From the Cornish Pasty Association website:

The Cornish Pasty Association (CPA) is celebrating after receiving Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status for its world famous pasty. The decision from the European Commission means that from now only Cornish pasties made in Cornwall and following the traditional recipe can be called ‘Cornish pasties’.

Purim Celebration

Tomorrow night is the beginning of a Jewish holiday called Purim.  It's a fun holiday that celebrates the Jewish people overcoming an enemy's plans of extermination. Traditionally it involves a lot of drinking, dressing up in costumes and cookies called Hamentaschen. (See more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim).

 

Dan and I turned this week's Monday night dinner into a Purim party.  I made a ton of hamentaschen and Dan made pizzas from scratch.  Yum!

Making hamentaschen

I tried out some new fillings this year, mainly because the ones I used back home aren't sold in the UK.  The most traditional filling is poppy seeds, which you normally buy in a can.  I made my own this year though and it actually turned out pretty well.

I also used strawberry jam, chocolate, cherry pie filling, and apple pie filling.  I have to say that even though it is totally not traditional, I loved the apple pie filling!  I might have to do that every year now!

Strawberry jam and cherry pie fillings

Apple pie filling

 

Dan's pizzas were a big hit.  We did cheese and basil; mushroom and olive; and potato.  They were crispy and cheesy and delicious.

 

It was a really fun night!

 

 

Second Abel and Cole Box

I got my second organic fruit and veggie delivery yesterday and I love it just as much as I loved the first one.  This is so fun!

I got leeks, chard, oranges, grapefruit, apples, carrots, red cabbage and potatoes.  I already have used a couple of the ingredients to make dinner and cookies :)

As a new customer, I also got a welcome gift of fresh milk and olive oil.  I love getting things for free.  I haven't tried the milk yet, but I'm betting it will go great in my hot chocolate this weekend.  

Surprise!

We've been having some amazing weather lately.  I definitely feel like we've turned a corner and spring is on the way.  First there was the start of lambing season (!!), then the flowers started popping up everywhere and now it's getting noticeably lighter in the mornings and staying lighter later.  Hooray!

I was working out the other morning and looking out on to my garden (what a view!) and I noticed some bubbles at the top of the pond.  Dan and I went out to investigate and were shocked to find a live koi and a couple of frogs!!  Actually, it was pretty embarrassing for the frogs who were clearly in the middle of something...if you know what I mean.

We've lived in this house for more than four months and I had no idea anything lived in that pond.  Good thing the fish eat the vegetation and do not rely on me to feed them.  Apparently at least one fish has been living under the mud beneath the ice all winter.  Who knew?

What I thought were air bubbles, by the way, were actually hundreds of frog eggs...eew!  I am excited for them to turn into tadpoles though.  I used to love tadpoles as a kid.  Most of the eggs won't make it, which is a good thing.  I'd rather not have hundreds of frogs hopping around everywhere.

They look like air bubbles...

...but they're frog eggs

I'll keep you posted on any more spring developments!

Living Room Poster

I've been meaning to show you this awesome poster Dan and I picked up in Durham.  Several weeks ago we took a weekend trip to Richmond Castle and County Durham--both of which are only a couple hours away from us.

While in Durham we stumbled upon this fantastic little restaurant called Oldfields.  The restaurant focuses on using local farm-sourced seasonal produce, and they even show you pictures of the actual farmers, fishermen and bakers they use.  It's a pretty cool premise and the food was delicious.  But what I loved most was their logo.

It's a regional-food word map the United Kingdom and Ireland!  I live in the Yorkshire Pudding area :)

I love this poster because Dan and I are big foodies who love to travel.  This is the perfect mix of both!