Life: Idiotropic

Today was the first day of the Aachener Weihnachtsmarkt, so we had planned on getting up early and heading down to Aachen in time for it to open at 11. We would have been there early, but we needed ice for the two defrosting turkeys in the slachthaus. Ice wouldn't have been a problem a couple years ago. I would have gone the 2 minutes from my home to the 7-11 on the corner for a couple bags of ice. Here - not so easy. Germans don't use ice - at least not whole bags of it. They don't drink coke cold and never put ice cubes in drinks. Milk isn't refrigerated nor eggs. It's just different here.

Knowing it would be a challenge, I went to the expert, my neighbor Tinny. Showing her my filled ice cube tray as a backup in case my German skills didn't work, I asked her if there was a place in town that sold ice cubes. She said no, but mentioned Aldi. So, to Aldi we went looking for ice. The lady looked at me like I was crazy. A bag of ice??? Neeee. Ok, so I went to the Rewe - a pretty good sized grocery store. This lady said they sold the trays and I could make it myself. I asked if there were any places around to buy "eis wurfel." Ne. She was probably shaking her head at the crazy American as I walked off. Truly, I must be nuts to so desperately want a huge bag of ice. As tiny as their toy refrigerators are, I'm truly surprised that ice isn't more common. If I had a refrigerator German sized, I'd have a stack of ice filled coolers in the garage 24/7.

The Natex grocery on base was sold out of ice. By then, it was no surprise why.

So, we ran home, put bags of frozen chicken over the turkeys in the cooler, then left - finally - for Aachen.

The market was the same as it had been last year and probably is every year, winding its way around the Rathaus and down to the Dom. The vendors were the same with the same things and in the same locations, so it was really easy for me to get my bearings and get around. The linens were pretty and there were some very nice ornaments. We looked at jewelry, decorations, wooden cookie presses, glass, wool hats, candy, toys, and a bunch of other things. It was the best market day for me so far since there were very few people there yet and we could walk right up to any vendor and see everything. The weather was perfect and it just felt great to be there. Elise rode a little carousel and I rode with her. She was in a great mood which has been quite a commodity these days since she's reached 2 1/2 years and the truly terribles.

When we got hungry we found the 1/2 meter bratwurst booth and each got a krakauer on a brotchen. The krakauer were shorter... the thin white bratwurst truly was an entire 1/2 meter long - a sight that made a group of high school boys giggle.

Since I had tourists, we had to go to the Dom. I'm not tired of it yet and the agreement was that it is definitely better than the Koln Dom - more special and unique. The tiny tiles set over the entire ceiling and upper walls in intricate mosaics are absolutely mind boggling in their detail and beauty.

This man played the accordion at a church near the Dom. My camera's timer got set on accident, so I kept trying to take a picture and then it wouldn't take, but he just kept looking over and smiling. The printen window near us impressed Jeff. Of all the beautiful Aachen windows, the printen shops do the best job with their elaborate displays of stacked gingerbread, Santa Clauses, and big red balls. It looks like Christmas in those shops all year 'round.

A customary stop at Starbucks finished off the fun portion of our day. And you just can't beat that - shopping and coffee in Aachen. It's always great. After the fun portion? Baking pies... cleaning, cooking... for tomorrow!