Christmas is here again

One of the coolest parts of being over in Europe this time of year is the Christmas Markets. I mentioned these last year, but essentially they are just tons of little booths with lots of Christmas-y/gifty things (most of which fall on the wrong side of tacky), laced with almost as many booths serving gluwein (hot mulled wine) to keep you warm and various winter treats to keep you full.

Well the booths do get old quick but the wine and food do not, and this year as a special treat to spice things up we made the 2.5 hour trek to Strasbourg in France to spend a weekend and see what they have to offer in Christmas Market fare.

Now I am sure I do not have to remind anyone that the main part of Strasbourg is its cathedral:

which of course was the tallest building in the world from 1625-1874, or that Strasbourg was a stronghold of growing Lutheranism in the 1500’s. And despite its location between two neighboring countries that have had a few differences over the years, it is certainly has remained quite a picturesque city (and one of the 4 great European canal cities, to which I have now been to 3! oh boy):

And while it is hard to tell, it was a bit nippy standing outside, so I took to the traditional methods to stay warm:

(yes that is basically a pint of wine), and to nourish myself with light snacks:

And in the end, the ratio of glasses of gluwein drank to presents purchased was somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 to 0, and a wonderful time was had by all! Not only that, but it did a perfect job of getting us in the Christmas spirit in time to head back to Seattle!

Joyeux Noel!

The Big 30

Well I am almost 1 month late posting this and thus 1 month further into my golden years, but I recently joined a select group of people living in their 30’s. Luckily this year I had a small gathering of international dignitaries to stand in for my friends and family back in Seattle.


That is right, Ireland, Belgium/African Congo, Belgium/Turkey, France, and Ireland (again) all came by the new pad to wish this American all the best and enjoy one of the best things ever…raclette!

Honestly not much is different, except for the rapidly multiplying number of gray hairs that have to be dealt with and the increased gas-iness (thanks for the warning Steve). All in all, I would give this birthday my seal of approval.

Cheers!

Amsterdam, what can you say....

that hasn't already been said before. While this wasn't my first trip to this adult Disneyland, nor a trip to see a great Dave Matthews show, it was just as good. Well almost as good, the Dave show was pretty cool.

Anyway, this time Timmy and I were accompanied by a buddy from London, and of course Timmy's good luck hat (which made it's first appearance here during the Russia trip).

But we also got an even more special guest on Saturday afternoon who classed up our 3 Stooges crew considerably.

In the end there was nothing to special or significant about this visit, other than Amsterdam is definitely growing on me. Such a beautiful city, and the people have such a cool philosophy on life, that each time I have gone I have liked it more. Hey, this trip we didn't even make a trip to the Red Light District as far as I can remember!

I can't wait until Round 4.

Cheers!