Friday 18 December 2009

What A Difference A Week Makes

Sonata :

This time last week I was getting off the bus in Bremen , a city in its full Christmas glory .

Stalls full of stars


Stalls full of shiny red apples , big as a baby's head

Red tree ornaments , like these displayed so beautifully in a wonderful three-storey , beamed shop in the oldest part of town . A shop solely devoted to Christmas in all its gold , silver and red glitter and gleam .

All manner of delicacies were sampled . Appel Strudel and wild boar , goose and Gluhwein , baked mushrooms under a bubbly cheese blanket , baked potatoes and sour cream ( so retro ! ) and spicy fried potatoes ( so fattening ! ) . A Sunday morning breakfast buffet in a little cafe , full of young families and ancient old ladies , all cheerfully eating their way through smoked salmon , cheeses , hams and sausage before moving onto scrambled eggs , rice pudding , yoghurts and plates of melon , pineapple or kiwi fruit . I counted seven different sorts of bread and apparently missed the "Kellogs ". All for 5 Euros 95. a head ....all at a Tchibo near you ....if you live in Germany , that is .
Not to mention medieval mulled fruit wines


though not , unfortunately , the beautifully named Dragonfire wine .
We all enjoyed every calorie-laden colourful moment .
But this week it's snowing


It's dark


and the only flash of colour to be seen is the occasional loony cyclist
Not me though ....I'm tucked up at home , eating a slightly less medieval pizza and happily contemplating two weeks off .

3 comments:

Tania said...

What with all that tucked up, pizza eating, snowed in thing going on, doesn't it feel like Christmas is coming?

(We just came back from swimming at the local pool = not that Christmassy, even when you've grown up with the warm version!)

Marcheline said...

When you mention apples as big as a baby's head, is it wrong to picture someone buffing up a baby's head on their shirt cuff, getting ready to take a huge bite?

Anonymous said...

How festive! Have a wonderful Christmas, I'm off to Rouen and grandsons for a few days, see you soon! Penny x