Sinterklaas arrived in Amsterdam this week. This is a really special event for all the children to experience. Arriving from Spain, Sinterklaas sails by a steam boat to the Netherlands in November. He is joined by his many helpers, Zwarte Pieten (Black Petes). Children put their shoes next to the fireplace, chimney, stove or fireplace with a carrot or some water or hay for Sinterklaas's white horse, Americo. At night Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Pieten replace this with some small presents and sweets!
On Sinterklaasavond, December 5th, the official holiday is celebrated. At this time children receive presents and family members give each other gifts that are creative, personal, and usually a funny/ironic poem.
The origin of Black Pete's character is not known, however many speculations have been made. Some believe that Black Pete is a symbol of the medieval Christian idea of evil, when black was often associated with evil. Others believe it is more probable that Black Pete is Saint Nicholas' Moorish servant, but with the absence of any historical proof, there is no way of knowing exactly what Black Pete represents.
After Sinterklaas's arrival, we celebrated no fewer than 3 Thanksgiving's with our wonderful expat friends! First up, Katie and Ryan had us over for their pre-Thanksgiving. It's been a tradition of theirs to have a big feast of non-traditional foods (chili and mac-n-cheese) on the Saturday before.
Later that week, we stopped by Courtney and Michael's on actual Thanksgiving Day. Such a lovely dinner and celebration and great company! And finally our last big feast and Ruth and Brent's on the following Saturday. There we had such a blast drinking pumpkin spiced martinis, moscow mules, and watching good old American football - not to mention the Macy's parade - and ate a delicious feast! Teia seemed to have enjoyed her first Thanksgiving by napping the day away!
Apple Cup was a bit of an eye sore this year. We had a gathering at our place to watch the game (final score 28-25 WSU). A skype call from Kirk's brother, sister-in-law and mom to rub it in finalized our great weekend!
The next week Kirk went to Moscow for some meetings with Nike. While he was there the city had their first snow of the year - about a foot or so - which made the already dismal traffic pretty unmanageable. He did still manage to get out and see some sites though...and the snow made the city beautiful in parts.
A couple days later it was that time of year again - time to spend some time in Germany for the Christmas Markets. We started off the weekend with a road trip to Hamburg with the Haley's, with quick stop on the way in Munster, Germany. Gluhwein and a bratwurst were immediately consumed and a nice walk around the market gave us a pleasant little break from the long drive.
We arrived in Hamburg shortly after and were met by the Rohrer's and Mobley's. Fun facts about Hamburg, it is the 2nd largest city in Germany, the port is the 2nd largest in Europe, there are over 2300 bridges (more than any other city including Amsterdam and Venice). The term hamburger originated in Hamburg. The Beatles lived in Hamburg for a few years and during this time the group's reputation boomed. Finally, the city is a home to around 1,500 millionaires!
We sipped more yummy gluhwein and prosecco and snacked on crepes, reibekuchen, mushrooms in garlic sauce, and a new tasty eats the.....homemade bread baked with cheese and ham topped with sour cream and chives. On the not-to-be-repeated list was a gross hot drink Kirk had called Grog.
Next stop, the Hofbrauhaus! We each ordered large beers and sausages and potatoes. A good way to finish a day of buying ornaments, smokers, nutcrackers and eating!!!
As we were leaving Hamburg Teia laughed for the first time! Not sure what we enjoyed more- her laughing or that we experienced it all together! So sweet! Last stop on our way out of Germany, Bremen. We swung thru one last Christmas market this time getting some hot chocolate, pretzels, and many other bites!
Now we are home in Seattle - visiting family and friends! Seasons Greetings everyone!!!
