Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

K and I are at my parents' place to celebrate with my family. We are traditionally having our Christmas Dinner tonight, on Holy Eve (as pretty much everybody is doing in Germany), and then later on we are going to unpack our presents. My sister, her husband and my nephew will be here as well, plus my parents, K and me; so we'll have a full house.

There are two Christmas holidays in Germany; well, two and a half to be precise. The day of Holy Eve is half a holiday, starting at 2 p.m., and then the 25th and the 26th are holidays as well. Shops and offices are closed, restaurants, pubs and cafés are open though. The first Christmas holiday (25th) is - in my family - traditional more of a family day. We are having Wiener Schnitzel for dinner, and in the last few years I was the dessert maker. Last year we had a Lebkuchen-Tiramisu, and this year it's going to be Panna Cotta with Passionfruit sauce. The second holiday is less of a family day, and there's no big meal. Usually, my dad buys some Irish smoked salmon shortly before Christmas (he knows a guy in Ireland who sends him the salmon), so we're having that on the 26th.

I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas time! Enjoy the holidays, and in case I'm not back before New Year's, have a Happy 2007!

Yours,
Dorothee