Marathon Baking

When I was a child our kitchen smelled of Christmas biscuits from November until the end of December. Many biscuits were eaten during the long evening hours when special arrangements were made for the graves in winter and more for all the lovely advent decorations. Those were the weeks when working hours hardly stopped before midnight! 

For Christmas itself all the staff, neighbours, friends and family got "a sweet plate" with homemade biscuits - and those had to be hidden well!!!!

Later, when my great-aunt and grandma had left the kitchen to my Mum, I took over baking. Cakes during the year and loads of biscuits for December.

 (December 1983)


These days we have few extra working hours and none at night any longer - still we love eating homemade biscuits at this time of the year. As December is always very busy we usually start during the auntumn (school) holidays. Our youngest daughter and I started at the beginning of November this year and filled some tins:

Yesterday I found some more tempting recipes and we did some more with the final favorite cookies today. Now all tins are filled - although the first are not full any longer. 

 

November Spring

Although summer had not many perfect days, fall is spoiling us with plenty of sunshine. Nature is beautiful, light is mystical and we still don't need winter coats. 

Yesterday most florists and garden centers had their exhibition for pre-Xmas decorations - and we made a cycle trip to visit one that usually is not on our path. Well, the trip was great, but my expectations are rather high and this nursery didn't meet them. 

Have a look at my standard from home from last year and decide for yourself:

Travelling for Fairy Music

At the first weekend of November I travelled once more to Franconia to enjoy a wonderful concert in Lichtenberg. The band "Elfenthal" (Fairy valley) plays Early Music, collected by former kings of Europe. Beside flutes, a harp, a viola da gamba and drums, several voices are special for this kind of music. The founder of the band, Maite Itoiz and John Kelly, always manage to lure me into a secret forest where I feel like listening to real fairies. 

Maite with her harp.

Jose Luis & Zuberoa

Gudrun Fuss

 John Kelly

Elfenthal

If you're interested, you can listen to 3 songs I recorded during the concert.

Videos of Elfenthal

Last Day of our Holiday (English & Deutsch)

English

Before we travelled home, we spend our last day in Friedrichshafen, the hometown of the Zeppelin. I climbed up the look-out tower at the harbour. Since our last visit, many people left "locks of love" at the iron bars on the top. We did some souvenir shopping and enjoyed relaxing at the promenade, watching the sparrows and the clouds over the lake. The weather was almost like autumn and that made leaving a little bit more easy.

Deutsch

Bevor wir nach Hause fuhren, verbrachten wir noch einen Tag in Friedrichshafen, der Heimat des Zeppelins. Ich kletterte auch wieder auf den Aussichtsturm am Hafen. Seit unserem letzten Besuch dort haben viele Pärchen dort oben Liebes-Schlösser angebracht. Wir kaufen noch ein paar Mitbringsel und genossen die Promenade, wo wir den Spatzen und den Wolken über dem See zusahen. Das Wetter wurde langsam herbstlich und machte den Abschied etwas leichter. 

Cycling to Ravensburg (English & Deutsch)

English

From Friedrichshafen at the Lake of Constance we made one more cycle trip inland to Ravensburg, the home town of card board puzzles and games. 

This time we had a good map, but not a cycle map. Following the signs to Ravensburg was a little adventure, as there were no cycle paths, but country roads and signs for ramblers rather than cyclists. It was nice, cycling along the thousands of apple trees under a blue sky. 

Five years ago I had been to Ravensburg when there was a medieval festival. This year the town looked strange with cars instead of stalls. But I recognized some places.

Unfortunately the weather changed while we had a break in town. On the way back we got really soaked by rain for the first - and only - time during our holiday. At least it was still warm rain and we had no lugage with us - cycling to a cosy home and nice dinner.

Deutsch

Von Friedrichshafen am Bodensee machten wir noch eine Tagestour mit den Rädern nach Ravensburg - die Heimat der Puzzle und Spiele.

Dieses Mal hatten wir eine gute Straßenkarte, aber keine direkte Radkarte. Der Ausschilderung nach Ravensburg zu folgen war ein kleines Abenteuer, denn es waren keine Radwege, sondern Landstraßen und Schilder, die plötzlich zu Wanderwegen wurden. Trotzdem war es schön, an den tausenden von Apfelbäumen unter blauem Himmel vorbei zu radeln.

Vor 5 Jahren war ich zum Mittelalterfest in Ravensburg. Dieses Jahr sah die Stadt völlig fremd aus mit vielen Autos anstatt von Ständen. Einige Ecken habe ich wieder erkannt.

Leider änderte sich das Wetter während wir eine Pause in der Stadt machten. Auf dem Rückweg wurden wir zum ersten - und einzigen - Mal richtig vom Regen durchnäßt. Immerhin war es noch warmer Regen und wir hatten kein Gepäck dabei - auf dem Weg zu einem gemütlichen Heim und leckerem Abendessen.

 This corner from 2009 looked like below this year.

Break in Ravensburg.

Visit to the Stone Age (English & Deutsch)

English

On our last day along the Lake of Constance we passed the flower island Mainau and cycled as far as Wallhausen to take a short cut across the lake once again to avoid more steep roads. The boat takes about 15 minutes to Überlingen on the other side - and obviously many inhabitants take it to go shopping in the bigger town and the market there on Saturdays.

On the boat we talked to an 80 year old lady, who still swims in the lake every day as long as the water is warm enough, as it still was in September. She told us to take some wine samples at the market after arriving at the harbour. Of course I couldn't resist doing a little "work", by finding out how the wines of that area taste.

The next stop was Unteruhldingen, where I took a guided tour through a pile dwelling looking like in the Stone Age and Bronze Age. It was very interesting and I admire the people living in those times.

In Meersburg we only stopped for some photos and then cycled on passed Hagenau and Immenstaad, where plenty of tourists enjoyed the wonderful day at the shore and often blocked the cycle path. If it was like this after the season, I'd rather don't want to cycle there in summer!

In Friedrichshafen we were expected by my aunty and uncle and spoiled for two more days.

Deutsch

An unserem letzten Tag entlang des Sees radelten wir an der Insel Mainau entlang bis Wallhausen, um wieder eine Abkürzung über den See zu nehmen und etliche Kilometer Steilküste zu vermeiden. Das Boot braucht dort ca. 15 Minuten bis Überlingen und offensichtlich nutzen viele Einwohner es, um Samstags in der größeren Stadt und dem Markt einzukaufen.

Auf dem Boot unterhielten wir uns mit einer sehr rüstigen 80-Jährigen, die täglich im See schwimmt, solange das Wasser noch warm genug ist - z. B. im September. Sie empfahl uns eine Weinprobe am Markt, gleich am Hafen in Überlingen. Das ließ ich mir nicht 2 x sagen und "arbeitete" ein wenig, um die Weine der Gegend zu testen.

Der nächste Halt war in Unteruhldingen, wo ich an einer Führung durch die Pfahlbauten, die der Steinzeit und Bronzezeit nachempfunden sind, teilnahm. Es war sehr interessant und ich bewundere die Leute, die damals lebten.

In Meersburg hielten wir nur für ein paar Fotos an und dann ging es weiter durch Hagenau und Immenstaad, wo viele Touristen das schöne Wetter ausnutzten und den Radweg blockierten. Wenn es nach der Saison schon so voll ist, möchte ich im Sommer dort nicht radeln!

In Friedrichshafen wurden wir von Tantchen und Onkel erwartet und noch 2 Tage verwöhnt.