Weihnachtsmarkt / Christmas Market in Leipzig

An official entrance to the Christmas market at the old market square.

A light pyramid - an East German Christmas tradition - next to the Nikolai Church.

The clock tower of the old (15th century) city hall in Christmas mood.

Compared to the weekend, this is no crowd....



Merry Christmas to all! It has already started! On Monday the Christmas Market in Leipzig - and in most other German cities - opened. This is one of my favorite aspects of living here. Stands all over the city centre offer hot spiced wine, crepes, waffels with various yummy sauces, doughnuts, sugar-coated roasted almonds, roasted chestnuts, German sausages, coffee, tea, egg gnog, flame-roasted salmon, mushroom pans, garlic bread, and other treats. And you can buy all sorts of candles, trinkets, jewelry, toys, stuffed animals, candies, breads, jellied fruits, socks, house shoes, scarves, etc. I met two friends Thursday evening, and we walked through the maze for two hours and still didn't see it all. Temps were close to freezing, so I was bundled up from head to foot, and after a hot spiced wine, I was warm all over.

Since Leipzig is supposed to have one of the best Christmas markets in Germany, the weekend is the worst time to go see it; tourist come in droves, and it is wall-to-wall people all over the city centre. You have no hope of getting anywhere fast - just move with the literally shoulder shoulder mass. I will never do that again!

My time is the weekday, since I am in the city center every day anyway. But it is too expensive! 2.50 for a hot spiced wine, 4 Euros for a mushroom pan, 8 Euros for a piece of a hot flame cooked salmon! Last evening I had the one wine, a mushroom pan, and cheese crepes, and it all cost me 10 Euros together - all just snacks.

Such a pity that we don't have such markets in the states. Here it is really cold, sometimes it snows, and medieval city centres give you the backdrop for a winder wonderland and a dreamy Christmas market.

Other famous Christmas markets in Germany: the Striezelmarkt in Dresden, the Nürnberg Christkindlmarkt, and numerous smaller ones whose city centres give them a matchless charm.

I hope you have your ways of enjoying this season of the year. But what is this season for? More on that later....

You cannot give up your own life, but you must first really know what it is, to keep it.

Place: Berlin, in front of the old library of the Humbolt University. Person: Me looking too serious.

Medical progress blesses us and also puts us before decisions spared earlier generations. The elderly now stay elderly much longer, creating much longer time spans in which they need various quality and quantity of assistance to keep their quality of life. The next of kin bear the moral imperative to assure the elderly next of kin maintain their quality of life. Some who have the money would simply throw dollars their way and go on with their young dynamic life, knowing that the facilities and care they bankroll will keep mom or dad safe and as healthy as possible. But can we satisfy the moral imperative with money alone?

When you were a toddler, did your parents simply pay someone to feed you (i.e. a wet nurse), to change your diapers, and to occupy you, so that mom and dad could work, socialize, play, pursue hobbies and “get the most out of life”? Or were you parents usually there at home, even when “nothing” was happening at home or when they could have done “more interesting things” elsewhere?

And, who said helping the elderly next of kin keep their quality of life was boring, a burden, or uncomfortable? Does our own quality of life revolve around living on a plush satin-cushioned pillow suckling Swiss chocolate as flickering candle light and incense underscore the ambiance our carefully selected film or music provide?

Yes, the satin pillow illuminated by candle light belongs to life, just as changing diapers at 2 am. does, whether the diapers are on a toddler or an octogenarian. And we fathom the deeper truths and significance of life not only by reading great authors and reflecting on their words, but also by struggling with and helping others. We live life by doing it, not only by reading about it or watching it.

So much of our western lifestyle at the beginning of this century seems to revolve around experiencing things – being “rolled over” by sensory or emotional waves, getting goose bumps and jitters during the latest adventure vacation, or zoning out in the country. So where is the jitter and excitement of changing diapers, helping someone go shopping, or dusting and raking for someone who can’t do these things anymore?

I think we find ourselves when we are bored, when we are doing tasks “anyone” can accomplish. When we identify with the unspectacular dilemma others may – through no guilt of their own – find themselves in, we meet ourselves face to face.

And I have time for this insight now, because I cursed the cold constant rain outside, keeping me from doing anything but sitting on my couch, drinking tea from Nepal, and watching the candle flicker as I think.

How about pouring a cup or tea from anywhere, light a candle, and tell me what you think?

Wishing you a happy post-Thanksgiving weekend,

Your Euromark

Hospitals, Friends, and Winter...

The most beautiful woman in the world: my mother!

Scott (and I taking the pic) on the high speed train to Dresden.

Florian with his typical smile.... so inviting...

Hi there… Do you remember me? These days I sometimes wonder if I remember me. Shortly after my last blog entry my mother became rather ill – pneumonia, a urinary tract infection, and a few other things to boot. After an early morning in the local ER she spent about 5 days in the hospital and then a little over a month in a skilled nursing center getting her strength and weight back up to par. Thursday, just a few days ago, she finally went back home to stay.
Yes, she is getting older, and I have to get wiser fast. I was seriously considering a quick unscheduled flight to Dallas to see with my own eyes what was happening, but things stabilized enough to allow me to follow the events via daily telephone calls. And, our family has some priceless friends who give me new insight into God’s love and care for us. Randy, a friend of mine from Abilene, and Wilma, a former neighbor on my mother’s street, have shown us how the Father takes care of us through his angels.
During my next visit to Dallas in February I will look things over carefully to see if I need to begin making plans to permanently relocate to be close enough to my mother to help her on a regular basis.

And so my life in central Europe takes on a new hue – am I in the middle or at the end of a chapter of my life here in Germany?

During this upheaval a friend from Texas visited me. Scott, from Austin, spent a week with me. I realized how I have lost touch with everyday life in Texas after almost 5 years. Scott helped me see a perspective for returning to Texas, if that is my fate next year.
Scott discovered Leipzig with me, eating cake and tortes every day and traveling to Dresden to visit the Green Vault – the treasure chest of August the Strong – the King of Saxony who amassed incredible collections of every kind of priceless articles. His visit was too short.
Last Wednesday Scott flew back, and I had until Saturday to prepare for Florian – from Lübeck – and his weekend visit. With both Florian and Scott I was in the Museum der bildenenden Künste – Museum of Educational Arts – a very progressive museum of modern art.

Florian’s train left a few hours ago, so now I sit here looking out the window at the soupy gray sky and longing for some sun. Winter has already arrived in Leipzig. As Gabor, a friend, and I were putting my winter tires on my car Thursday, it started sleeting very heavily. Within a few minutes everything was white. Highs are now only about 40 degrees – 4 Celsius – every day. And this drab gray sky so dull that you can’t even make out the clouds – I am already tired of it.
But Christmas is coming, so the Christmas market will provide diversion from the cold. And what do you do to forget the cold in Winter – or do you even have real winter where you live? Lucky you….. and have a good Thanksgiving week too!