Frohe Weihnachten!

Hello from Germany. We´re having a cozy Christmas here at my inlaws´ house. Last night we decorated the tree and opened prezzies. These are Christmas Eve traditions in Germany. Another interesting bit of cultural trivia - Santa keeps a rather low profile here. He brings oranges and chocolates on St. Nikolaus Day (Dec. 6), while Kristkindl (baby Jesus) delivers the real booty on Christmas eve.

All in all, we´ve been taking it pretty easy here - lots of reading, napping and eating. Our big outing was to the Nürnberg Christmas market last Thursday. Apparently it´s world famous. I saw advertisments for it in Zürich.

To be honest, after the Zürich Christmas market, I wasn´t expecting much. They had some really odd things for sale in Zürich. Barretts made out of giant plastic insects, anyone?

But the Nürnberg market was actually pretty fantastic. The toys, candy and decorations were really fun and kinda vintage-y - the biggest assortment of tiny dollhouse furnishings I´ve ever seen, old-timey picture books, meter-long hot dogs, little people made out of dried plums.

We got our fill of Gluhwein (mulled wine), served in little ceramic Santa boots, and Nürnberger sausages. In Nürnberg, you can either order "drei im weckla," three in a bun, or double the order with "sechs auf kraut," which is always fun to say.

OK, I think another nap is calling...

California dreamin'

We've been back in Zurich for only a week, and we're leaving again in a couple days for our next trip - Christmas in Germany, followed by a wedding in Newcastle, England and New Years in London. I guess we haven't slowed down too much in the travel dept., which is how we like it.

But California and Arizona are still very much on the mind. Here are some snaps from the trip...

A few of my favorite things

We're leaving for Zurich in the morning. These last couple of weeks flew by. It must be because they were so damn fun! Here are a few of my favorite parts...

Riding through the Arizona desert today on the back of my Dad's Harley. The desert is a beautiful thing. And riding on a motorcycle always transports me back to being six or seven and riding around, clinging to my Dad. The roar of the motor and the wind in your face is exhilirating. Thanks Dad!

Hooping, for fun and fitness. That's it. I'm hooked on hooping. (Thanks, Claud!) I want to be a master. I'm hoping my new Hoopnotica DVD will show me the way. And Santa, please bring me a hoop for Christmas.

Thanksgiving in Decemeber - My mom cooked a turkey and all the fixins yesterday since we were on a plane for most of Thanksgiving this year and ate grilled cheese sandwiches that night. Thanks Mom, it was delish!

Ruth Asawa - This Bay Area artist's wire sculptures are so beautiful I almost cried looking at them. They almost look alive, like creatures from the deep sea. The de Young Museum has a stunning exhibition that runs through Jan. 28.


Movies, movies, and more movies. I've been getting my flick fix over here. The Departed is the best movie I've seen all year. Leonardo DiCaprio is fantastic and the whole cast is amazing - Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen. But Leo is the man.

Spices - I was so excited at dim sum last Sunday I spilled the spicey red pepper sauce all over the table. Doh!

I'm a stranger here myself

Hello from Scottsdale, Arizona. I've been in the U.S. now for two weeks. In some ways it's like I never left. But then there are moments when I know I've been away a long time.

At the grocery store, for instance, it feels so weird to toss produce into my shopping basket without weighing it. On my first trip down the produce aisle here I kept looking for the scales. It feels like something's missing. It's too easy.

There are other things too. Sundays here seem so busy. The shops should be closed and the city should be quiet on Sunday. But, no, all the malls and stores are bustling with Christmas shoppers. I always complained about Sundays in Europe, but I guess I'm used to it now. It seems right that there's a day of downtime. Take a breather, people!

It's also taken me a while to speak English guilt-free with strangers and not instantly try to formulate what I need to say in German when I walk into a store. But I fear my German is in rapid decline. I schleped by German workbooks over here and haven't so much as glanced at them.

I also fear I've become a public transportation snob. I got around San Francisco pretty well on MUNI and BART but they aren't nearly as user-friendly as the trams in Zurich. My biggest beef is that they don't post route maps in the buses and at many stops. And there are no schedules or maps you can pick up and take with you. Hello! This is pretty basic stuff. But I will give MUNI this - the fares are simple. Pay $1.50 and you can ride MUNI non-stop for a few hours - not that I'd reccommend that.