Life: Idiotropic

Market day.  Little wheeled trolley in hand, I still have not quite mastered the art of buying and layering the fruits and vegetables so that they won't squish at all in the transport, but judging from the number of wheels at the market, my little orange trolley is the way to go and avoids the back breaking work of carrying a woven shopping basket - the local alternative and preference among Aachener Germans.

A bit crowded today.  I still can't get over the clothing there.  Beautiful things.  Designer things.  I can buy a fur coat at this weekly market or a designer dress at a deep discount of 150 Euros.

Me... I'll stick with the bargain.

Nectarines at 1 Euro/kilo.  Bananas at 90 cents/kilo.  Darling little pears, huge plums, deep red bell peppers.... it's a culinary treasure hunt.

Coffee with friends and a bit more insight into the upcoming holidays.  Lunch with a friend at a new restaurant that serves Spanish food with flavor.  Today I'm spoiled.  Spain is good.

Note to self:  If your friend is too tired from Cava to drive, then she's probably too tired to give proper directions.   Love my friends.  And happy to pick up this one and drive all over Segunt.  One of these days I'll be up til 5 blogging and it will be her turn to drive me!

I was introduced to a new market today... well, new to me.  I really like Puzol's Tuesday market, but it's a bit small and the already narrow streets get overly congested by mid morning with people pulling and pushing little trolley carts this way and that.

The market at Port de Segunt gets as many crowds and easily more, but it's more openly laid out in a market square instead of residential streets and even utilizes a market building in the center for meats and fish.

The clothes were even cute!!!

Of course, I didn't take any photos, but I did find some great produce including fresh figs for Saturdays brie and it's easy to say that I'll be back... may be even weekly.

Today was the first day of the Monschauer Christmas market, so a friend and I headed down there for a day. Monschau is only an hour away, but it's in the Eiffel forest region, so the weather is dramatically different. Our snow has been gone for days, but these fields are completely covered. The bit left in the valley in Monschau just made the picturesque town just that much more beautiful.

Monschau is small so it doesn't have the best Christmas market out there in terms of stuff to buy, but it is one of the more picturesque. It just feels good to walk down the narrow cobbled streets between crooked old half timbered houses that have been there for centuries. Each house is slightly different. Some almost look twisted leaning in not one, but two directions. Everyone has decorations out and if you're lucky, you'll catch a whiff of fresh printen wafting out of a bakery window. Delicious!

One of the stands had a few traditional German wooden decorations, so I got a few little things for a Christmas party coming up and stopped in the year round Christmas store for a few small decorations. It's hard to find things that are special here without paying a fortune though. So many things are either imported from other places (they love Dept 56 stuff) or made in China. Even many traditional German things are made in China now, so it's hard to know what you're getting. And if it says "Made in Germany," then the price is quadrupled.

Monschau is good for food... I enjoyed tasting a venison sausage, some elderberry liqueur, several different licorice bonbons, a printen cookie, and several other liqueurs including hot plum and champagne truffle. All delicious. The air was a lot colder than I was prepared for, but a mug of hot chocolate with amaretto kept me warm while I shopped.

Ran into a bus load of Canadians from England who were on a Christmas market tour and a German man from Monschau with a near perfect British accent. Talked to a lot of people and did some people watching as well. My favorites were the two chefs with the brightly colored mini-aprons chatting and smoking in front of their booth and the lady with 60's style glasses working at the roasted chestnut stand.

I got some beautiful photos... check them out!
Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71312&l=a92e5&id=674507268

Some experiences are best savored in the company of a good friend, so this morning, leaving Kirk and the girls (fabulous travel companions, but a cumbersome lot) behind to enjoy a lazy morning, Mom and I took off to see a neighborhood market I'd heard about from none other than the elementary school principal.

Our Saturday morning was brisk, but clear and we'd been given carte blanch from Kirk who told us to enjoy the time and not worry about sticking to a schedule. Perfect. From our living room window we could see the meat vendor set up -- the first of a line of awnings that stretched for blocks down the sidewalk on Rue de la Glaciere. Not to miss anything, we went there first. Among the meats sat a large pan steaming hot from the heat below heaped high with sauerkraut with strips of bacon and a few sausages steaming on top. The cheese sellers were enough to convince me to move to Paris forever. Oh, you name the cheese, it was there - well, at least the good ones. And cheeses with nuts and others with herbs and some with bits of dried fruit. A day alone could have easily been spend smelling, photographing, and tasting each little piece of beautiful cheese so perfectly formed, it was art. The fruit and vegetables were beautiful too - I think markets just make things look nice.

Really, I love markets. It's not the shopping as I rarely purchase much, but markets in the places I've been seem to be the heartbeat of a place. It's local. It's day to day life. And there, you can learn a little more about the culture of the people who live there.

The Christmas trees were not sold as we've seen them ready to be put into a stand - but here, they're already in a stand of sorts. A log is cut in half lengthwise so that the bottom is flat and the top is the arched half of the stump. Then a hole in the center is cut to the width of the tree trunk which is then put into the stump stand. It is simple, natural, and beautiful. Our smile of the morning was watching an elderly lady who had purchased a small tree try to put it into her small wheeled shopping bag. She and the seller tried for several minutes, but finally gave up and just strapped it to the outside.

I always enjoy the olive and dried fruit vendors. This one had beautiful baklava and figs still on their branches - something that I'd never seen before. The flowers were beautiful too. So, I opted for a nice floral basket with a small flocked pine, some holly, and hyasinth bulbs as a substitute for a tree since we were staying in an apartment for the holiday. (and yes, mom, some of the plants are still alive 7 weeks later - though not by much!)

On the way back towards the apartment where we had to stop to drop off my plant, we passed a very thin, but very friendly man wearing a Santa Claus suit at the market and selling inexpensive toys. He asked us where we were from, then stood talking to us for a few minutes telling us how much he loved Americans and America. It was nice. So often we only hear the negative. It really felt good to hear the positive... but then, that's what I've gotten most in France. The French people really are very warm overall.

From this market we took the green line from La Glaciere to Place d' Italia where we saw quite a few homeless still sleeping on the metro benches as we waited for our train even though it was almost 10. We transferred there to the pink line and got off at Place Monge. A short walk and we were on the infamous Rue Mouffetard. Famous for it's market, this street is one of the oldest in Paris - part of the original Roman road via Lyon. It's narrow (wouldn't want to drive it, but people do drive on the upper half - the bottom is a pedestrian only zone) at only 18 feet wide, but full of character.


The first thing I noticed was not one, but two fondue restaurants sitting opposite each other -both very inviting. Not knowing which direction to go, we first walked up the street a ways looking inside many cute boutiques picking up things and saying, "we'll come back here later when we stop for lunch." Bubbles are in. Short swing coats with bubbled sleeves, bubbled collars, and bubbled bottoms. In all colors, the warm wool coats came in mid lengths and short. Tops did the same - flaring out and bubbling. Cute. It was all I could do not to buy a few. The prices (if you didn't think too hard on the Euro conversion rate) were really quite reasonable. In fact, if we lived there and got paid in local currency, I think I'd shop there for clothes quite frequently. (Clothes and cheese, chocolate and cheese, a duck and cheese...)

Every facade talked. I mean, those buildings didn't just sit there. You couldn't walk past them without noticing them, taking in the details, and pausing, almost as if waiting for the building to say something. Sometimes I wish these buildings were set up like children's museum exhibits with a large button on the side so I could run up and push it and wait for the commentary to run... "... in 1234 a flamboyant French hat maker married the butcher's daughter and moved to this home where he expanded his business to make headware for the butcher's livestalk during the big freeze of '35..." Ok... I'm sure the building would say something better. It's late and my imagination is pretty shot at this hour. Besides, history is almost always more phenomenal and tawdry.

When the buildings started to look too normal, we turned around and went the other direction figuring that the market would be somewhere more interesting. That, and we, being women, stopped and asked directions from a young and quite handsome Frenchman who, to our great fortune, spoke English beautifully and was very friendly and willing to help.

The market at the Rue Mouffetard is not the traditional market in the sense that things are not brought to that location in a temporary setting. Unlike the market in Sittard and other markets whose large centralized squares are empty spaces on non-market days with vendors setting themselves up with folding tables and temporary awnings one or two special days each week, on this street, the shops established there allow themselves to spill out onto the busy street creating a sort of open market for the locals who shop there and the tourists who come to gawk at the chocolates, cheeses, and hanging ducks. Only at the very end, in front of old church, can you find just a couple produce stands set up on rickety tables and awnings with no permanent structure to shelter them.

So, it begins, in all it's glorious deliciousness, with the cheese shop. Can you tell I'm totally entranced by good cheese? And I don't even eat that much cheese! But this is special and oh, so tempting! Goat cheeses everywhere and bries and camenberts... nuts and fruits and peppers... oh my! The fois gras shop stood across the street with a glossy poster of a goosely gaggle on the window. I get it, but really. I don't want a photo of a beautiful cow batting it's big beautiful eyes on my ground beef package, so a photo of a goose running around a field doesn't help sell the idea of goose liver pate which is too sweet and rich for my taste anyway.

The next was the wine shop where we lingered a bit... mom shopping and me just people watching. Eventually I did have to break down and taste the champagne. Mmmmm... nothing to complain about there. So far I have yet to taste a bad French wine while in France. Once customer had tied her little dog there and the boys who were working there kept talking to him and watching out for him. It was very sweet. Saw some Spanish tourists tasting wines too - those Spanish are everywhere! (In London there was a day I heard Spanish more than English!)

The fish shop was fun - colorful and exotic. Two chocolate shops got my attention though I didn't actually buy anything (what is wrong with me????). Now I can't for the life of me figure out why I didn't even get a small truffle to sample. It all looked amazingly delicious and the girls working in the shop were friendly and helpful. Christmas time in France and I didn't buy chocolate... really. I must get my head examined.

The most shocking and interesting shops were the meat shops where whole geese, ducks, and roosters hung above the counters with their feathered heads still quite attached. I took a photo of one particular batch, then, noticing me, the man behind the counter took the duck's head and turned it up to look at me for another photo, which I should have taken, but didn't. It was a funny moment though - a glimpse of the French humor which we actually saw quite a bit of this trip. And, it eased my bit of worry that I was bothering these people with my obnoxious picture taking. I suppose they are used to it and probably get as many giggles from us silly tourists taking pictures of ducks and cheese as we do looking at those things. I mean really... I would have to laugh if someone walked into a Walmart back home and started taking pictures of the deli counter. It would be odd.


Anyway... one shop had enormous rabbits too - truly. Giant rabbits the size of medium dogs hanging by the feet still furry and cute. (And not nearly as morbid as the fully skinned rabbits in Spain recognizable only by their large teeth)

At the end of the market portion of the Rue, a very small square filled with fruit and vegetable vendors sat in front of this pretty little white church which stands now simple and peaceful despite it's rather odd history. Older than the Parisian Notre Dame, it was the scene of some hysteria in the 1700's. Across from this church is an amazing building with an intricately painted facade.

When exhausted by marketing, we walked back up to one of the little fondue places that we'd stopped at before. There were many that looked good, but this one had a cow outside that made us pause to talk to the staff the first time we walked by there asking them if they were open. They were so friendly that we went back.

We both had fondue thick and greasy, stringy and full of flavor, coating our buttery potatoes, slices of Ardenne ham (sliced super thin like prosciutto), and chunky bread. Chased down with good French wine. Ahhh. Mmmmm. Conversation halted for a moment - a clear sign that the food was not served to be discussed, but eaten.








For dessert, I enjoyed a dense, and quite intense, creme brulee and a cappuccino
I took a couple photos inside while we were there - not a lot, but enough to remember the place with it's vintage advertisements on the walls and the red stoneware fondue pots on every table.. One of the men working there led me to the back of the restaurant before I left to show me the courtyard there decorated with Christmas trees and potted plants.

At the end of our lunch, we slooooooowly walked back the the Metro line that would take us back to Glaciere, stopping in each and every inviting shop on our way, touching this fabric and that, trying on hats, and dreaming of our return to Mouffetard and all that we'd get there.

Looking back on our colorful morning at the markets, I must show you these two photos... one, a vintage style advert for a bowling alley took me quite by surprise. It's not something I'd expect to see here of all places, but upon seeing this, I did turn my head to the right to see, tucked in the back of a indoor center, another sign for the bowling alley inside.

The other delight was closer to the church when I was coming out of an alley with the most beautiful flower shop hidden inside... in front of me was le Marche Franprix. Not a store that stood out in anyway except for the three gentlemen sitting on the steps in front of it. One played an accordian and as we were walking away, the other two began to sing. It was a simple thing, but very beautiful - three friends enjoying a Saturday afternoon playing music in their neighborhood.

It's 6pm on Saturday evening - the first day of December as I've been told about 20 times by Arianna already today. Yesterday Luci brought home a 31-day paper chain with blue and yellow rings for the 8 days of Hanukkah and a white ring for Christmas day. The others were red and green. Elise comes home singing holiday songs in German every day now. All the girls are twinkly and excited. It's in the air. It's in the bakery windows. And tonight, it was at the Christmas market.

This morning I met some friends for coffee at Bagels and Beans near the Sittard markt. It was market day (all Thursdays), so I walked around the market a bit too to pick up a few things. Really, the markets are the BEST places to get produce and a lot of other things. I think Sittard probably has the best fish and some of the most wonderful cheeses.

So, today, I got 4 quarts of strawberries for only 3 Euro (not each, total price), 4 pineapples for 2 Euro, 12 apples for 2 Euro, and two quarts of seedless grapes for only 3 Euro! I love buying produce at the market. It's always beautiful and so much less expensive than anywhere else. I also got 5 lavender plants in 5" pots for only 5 Euros total. What a deal!

This morning I took a couple of ladies who have just moved here recently to Sittard. They are both in that new stage, getting moved into their houses and not quite comfortable driving around the area yet, so I showed them a few things. We parked near the market where I park three days a week for ballet and walked down Putstraat directly to Bagels and Beans for a nice visit with coffee, bagels, and date pie. It was fabulous as always. Every one that I take there goes back and Lillian, the owner, is very nice.

After that we walked around the market. I needed to get cheese, so we found my favorite cheese guy and stood in line. The pesto gouda I get is absolutely amazing. I love it. Elise kept eating the samples of Gaas Kaas - the cheese made from the first milking of last summer - in June of 2006. It was a bit oranger than most Gouda's and very good. We also picked up a regular Oude Gouda and a wheel of Camembert - my new favorite since Paris. My friends wanted to look at purses, so we stopped and the purse seller gave Elise and her friend marshmallow sticks. Marshmallows are very popular in the Netherlands. They are not white and squared off like ours, but in a rainbow of pastel colors and in different shapes and sizes. Some are dipped in colored sugars. Some are twisted together. Some are strung on sticks like kabobs. These were pink and yellow twists and the girls ate them up very quickly. Candy is passed out a lot more here than in the States. People are always giving candy and chocolates to children.

As we were leaving passing by the back of the fabric vendors, we saw a sweet Basset Hound. And, as soon as we saw her, she saw us, stopped in her tracks, then ambled to the very edge of the platform and leaned her nose so far out that I worried she was going to fall down. We pet her for a few minutes. Elise wasn't scared a bit even when the dog sniffed her face.

Next on our tour was the Rousseau chocolate shop in Sittard on Langs De Heij. Once again I took my tourists through the factory, talked to the man who owns and runs it, watched the people make the Easter chocolates and write on large tablets with white chocolate. The lady writing asked if we'd like a taste and squirted out a generous ribbon of creamy white chocolate onto each of our fingers. Elise got her usual chocolate "lolly," and my friends shopped and sampled their goodies in the car on the way home Mmmmm-ing all the way.

From there we did the BisBis - the Dutch junk store/Goodwill type place. I found an antique iron for 5 Euros that is full of personality and an old sled. What a deal! Today both ladies called wanting directions both to the chocolate shop and the thrift shop so they can go back.

So, that was our morning. Just as we were leaving the market, the first, tiniest flakes of almost imperceptible snow came floating down. When we got home, a light white dusting lay all over the fields. It was our first snow.

That afternoon we had our first swim lessons - ever for two.

Arianna and Luci started for the first time ever and both did very well. Arianna, with no fear or trepidation, went right in and swam with Chris. Luci played in the little pool for ten minutes refusing to swim, but slowly, she warmed up to Stephanie, and once Stephanie allowed her to dump a bucket of water over her head, she was in. Luci swam well also and both girls played afterwards in the little pool. Elise played the entire time. She is very happy in the water. Tiara swam too. I think she's happy to be back in the water again.

There is a difference between being an American civilian and being part of the American military when you’re overseas and although I’m a civilian, I’m here with my military husband, so unlike most of the other NATO nations here who rely heavily on their consulates, we only use our consulate for birth certificates and passport issues and most of us never step foot in one.

It was productive and interesting and I was honored, really, to be included.

So, that was my morning, then I ran home, changed, got Elise together, and drove to Aachen to meet the Kohlenberger’s for the day. Kirk was busy. Arianna and Luci were in school and had after-school arrangements made. Tiara was still home recovering from the chicken pox (better, but not ready to face her class with marks on her face). It was a nice outing with friends and with only one child to tote along.

Another photo opportunity – Elise rode the carousel.

We ate traditional market food – bratwurst that’s way too long for the brotchen that holds it, a waffle for Elise, and dampfnudeln for me. Dampfnudeln is a large white gooey dumpling covered in hot cherries and vanilla sauce. I’d never had one before, so this was a new experience and it was messy, but good. The market wasn’t horribly crowded and since I had absolutely nothing to buy, it was easy to just enjoy the ambience stress-free. We wandered down into the main shopping area too and saw some areas I hadn’t seen before – nice large pedestrian only shopping areas that I’ll return to for the January sales.

I wasn't out that late, but by 4 it's getting dark here, so there was an opportunity to get the night shots of the market. It really is beautiful with the rathaus in the background. The giant cookie boy is a printen - the cookie that Aachen is known for, the cookie that adorns it's windows all year round.

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!