Blue Sky and Snow

Blue sky and crunchy snow make for pretty pictures.

Crafting Christmas

Cosy Christmas crafting in the kitchen!  Joanne’s kitchen.

It’s an annual event now (see this post from last December).  Twelve of us gathered with scissors and threads.

The braids are part of the haul I brought back from India.  The oh-so-cute little stocking was made by Melanie.

Picniking in the Snow

Déjà Vu

Just a few short months since the snow last melted.

Time to welcome it back.

Christmas Market: Munich

Last weekend, Haworth; this weekend, Munich.

This traditional Christmas market is on a very different scale to the one at home.  It’s actually several different markets, scattered about the streets and squares of the city centre.  Closed to traffic, there’s a surprisingly calm yet super-festive atmosphere.

The street food smells – and tastes – spectacularly good.  Glühwein and punch are served in china mugs shaped like boots; fruit and nuts and candies come in paper cones.  I’m eating hot chestnuts and fresh dates and Kaiserschmarrn and pumpkin seeds flavoured with vanilla and cinnamon.  The sausages for sale could stretch to the moon.

The ground is covered with the lightest dusting of snow and the cobbles are slippery with ice.  On the stroke of each hour – and several times in between – chimes ring out from the tower of Alter Peter; and the figures high on the facade of the Rathaus turn clockwork circles.

In the Marienplatz, the tallest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen (almost 100 feet high) is sparkling with thousands of tiny lights.  As dusk falls, a choir on the town hall balcony begins to sing carols into the frostbitten night.  I watch my breath freeze, as the music swirls up and around the beautiful old architecture, up to the star-crazed sky.

I can totally understand why Munich is regularly rated one of the best places in the world to live.  Right at this moment, I want to live here, too.

P.S.  Today I’m taking part in Mosaic Monday, hosted by Mary at Little Red House.  Why not pop on over and take a look at some of the other lovely mosaics you’ll find links to there?