Frankfurt am Main

We've been living in Frankfurt for a couple of weeks now. Aside from a few Facebook status updates, l haven’t actually blogged about it. Unfortunately this is the only way a few of my followers, who aren't on Facebook, can keep up on our adventure. To you I apologize.

There are probably a few reasons for this:

-coming down off of our high from our trip to Cambodia,

-settling in & figuring out what’s where in a new city

-weather is yuck, so I sit inside and read or surf the net…

….but I think those are just excuses. The real reason, is that I’m really, really missing Berlin. T and I were discussing this during her birthday visit with us last weekend. She told me it was obvious that I don’t like Frankfurt very much. Then she said “…get over it, you’re in Frankfurt now Mom.” Kids. Got to love ‘em. 

BTW...it was nice having her and Johnathan come for her birthday, I blew up some balloons, had Sacher Torte (with funky sparklers), pretty napkins...been too long since I've done something like that.

My baby girl. A grown woman.

Honestly though, the adjustment to Frankfurt has been harder than I thought it would be. I've been trying. Really. But, then I remember that we’ll probably only be here until the end of March, so why bother. So it goes in a circle.

Frankfurt am Main (because there is another Frankfurt in Germany, and because it straddles the Main river) is a very different city from Berlin. To be honest, there is no real comparison between Berlin and Frankfurt, they are just worlds apart. One is an amazing city full of culture, history and bustling with activity …and the other is not nearly as exciting. Erwin says it's soulless. Perhaps fitting for the birthplace of the author of Faust who sold his soul to the devil.

Frankfurt is business and money, Germany's financial centre for centuries. No-nonsense. Button down. Sometimes referred to as Mainhatten, although it’s probably about 100 high-rises short of its American namesake. It is one of the few cities in Europe and the only city in Germany that allows high-rises to be built in its downtown area. It even has its own twin towers, the head offices of Deutsche Bank nicknamed debit & credit.

It is home to a number of major banks and brokerages including the headquarters for the European Central Bank.

There are statues of the two symbolic beasts of finance, the bear and the bull, in front of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, one of the largest in the world. Serious business here.

I read in the Welcome Book, yes book, that we were given when we registered as residents, that one in three residents of this city does not have a German passport. So I guess that makes it a multi-national city as well. Berlin had tourists all the time everywhere clogging up the streets.Frankfurt hardly any. They have guys/gals in suits with phones attached to their ears clogging up the streets. It seems people go to Berlin to play and to Frankfurt to work. Maybe that’s it.

We've explored the sights a little, but there’s not a whole lot of them. And like I said above, after two weeks in the tropics, coming back to temps hovering around zero have kept me in. From what we've been led to believe Spring is late here this year, even the locals are complaining about it. But the fact that a season called Spring even exists here is fantastic. (That’s a joke that only my Newf friends will appreciate.) When I have gone for walks it’s obvious to see that Spring is indeed just around the corner. Trees have buds, and flowers are poking up…the sun feels warmer.

I've made it through a winter without having to shovel snow, scrap a window, or plug in a car. Life is good.

Christmas in Germany

Celebrating Christmas together as a family in Berlin has been a dream of Erwin and mine since our first visit to Berlin during the first week of December in 2002. We fell in love with the city and the familiarity of many of the Christmas sights and sounds that we remembered from our early childhood. We knew that we just had to one day share this with our kids, show them how Germans “do” Christmas. That year has finally come.

Germany does Christmas right.

I know that is a bold assertion, and being German I may be biased, but it just feels right. Even though I was born and raised in Canada, my parents maintained many of the traditions that they grew up with in Germany, passed them on their children and grandchildren. Erwin’s family celebrated a unique blend of Canadian (from his mom) and German (from his dad.)

In North America, we get steamrollered by the season long before anyone wants it to begin. In Germany the Christmas season officially begins with the opening of the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) in early December. There are dozens of them throughout Berlin, probably thousands throughout Germany and the countries that border it. It is the place to buy exquisite handmade crafts and ornaments, or try the local seasonal delicacies, or just mix and mingle and people watch. Christmas markets are best seen at night. It causes the makeshift wooden stalls adorned with lights and garlands to look enchanted and adds to the magic of Christmas.

The first thing you notice is that, despite a lot of North American influence, it still maintains a semblance of “the reason for the season.” Saying “Frohe Weihnachten” (Merry Christmas), isn’t considered politically incorrect. Somehow it all seems less commercial too. From the toned down decorations (no plastic Rudolph’s and neon garlands etc.), to the use of the advent wreath to celebrate the four Sundays before Christmas, to the windows draped in greenery with glass ornaments shimmering in moonlight. Look up and there’s always a towering fir tree covered in sparkling lights. Speaking of trees, real candles on real tress is still the way to go here. I’m not joking. I bought a package of the holders and the candles that go with them for use on our tree at home next Christmas (don’t tell our insurance agent.)

The smell of Christmas is a combination of incense from the Raüchermänner (an incense cone placed inside a wooden figure which billows out perfumed coils of smoke) and the peppery-cinnamon smell of Glühwein (mulled wine, a mug of which you can walk around freely with) mixed with the aroma of Lebkuchen (gingerbread) baking. Traditional treats include Marzipanstollen (Germany’s answer to fruitcake, and people actually like it), Gebranntemandeln (cinnamon toasted almonds), Dominosteine (bite sized squares layered with gingerbread, almond paste and currant jam, covered in chocolate, yummm my fav.) and of course goose for Christmas dinner instead of turkey.

No stockings are hung by the chimney with care, however, there still is hope that St. Nicholas soon will be there. Except…. his arrival is eagerly anticipated on Christmas Eve… after it gets dark out. He comes to the door and knocks asking to be let in. He enters with a sack slung over his shoulder and distributes gifts if you've been good…or nothing if you've been bad. Santa, or der Weihnachtesmann, even looks different here, less jolly old St. Nick and more old-world charm or even a little scary at times.

As for dreaming of a white Christmas…this year that’s probably all it will be, a dream. Although we've had some snow here it’s mostly gone or turned to icy slush. I’m ok with that, it just means will have to be careful as we walk to the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) for Christmas Eve service, or take one last look around the sights of Christmas in Germany as a family.

Frohe Weihnachten from Sylvia and Erwin

7 More Sleeps

The count-down has begun and in seven more sleeps our new year begins. At the moment we’re in "hurry up and wait" mode. Most of the preparations for living a year abroad have been accomplished, details finalized, and check-lists completed. But you can’t plan for every contingency, so at some point my a-type self has to trust that we’ve done the best we can to prepare and let-go.
I look at the experience that awaits us with a mixture of trepidation and excitement.


What will this year bring? 
What’s in store? 
How will it change me/us? 


Because it will, travel always does. Having lived in five different provinces, having a different address, if even for a little while, is not new. Been there, done that. But this is kinda sorta different. It’s more than a vacation but less than moving and I don’t quite know what to do with that.

The more I’ve read and researched places to visit and activities to do the more I’ve found. Of course. That’s the nature of google and hyper-links. So I’ve made some notes in my Berlin Moleskine, memorized our address there, and am brushing up on my rusty German. What’s left then is take it as it comes and savour it; just let it happen. Those who know me well know that that is hard for me. 


This week last minute things will get done, a final hike around the cliffs with my good friend M, a final cuddles with my kitties, while hubby ties up loose ends in the office….and waiting. Then off we go…in seven more sleeps.