Germany loves Tiffany

Tiffany and I met on the first day of freshman orientation at Carson-Newman College. From opposite ends of a room full of girls, we learned that we were both from Chattanooga. Instant friendship. So attached were we that our names were confused until our junior year.

Ten years later: she is the au pair for Dave's supervisor's family back in England. And, she is a quick flight away from us. She graced us with her presence last week.

We began her visit with a Thanksgiving celebration. We are so grateful to have met Kelli and David, two Americans, here in Germany. They had us over for a traditional meal. We had so much food and so much fun.





One of our activities was a visit to an ancient cloister called Bebenhausen on the edge of Tübingen. We were particularly impressed with the monks' living quarters.


Tiffany has a way of bringing out the bravery in me. We opened way too many closed doors, including ones that turned out to be cleaning closets.


We took a quick bus trip over the border to Strassbourg, France, on the day when they commenced their annual Christmas Market. It was lovely. Here is a view of the gothic cathedral, Notre Dame. We climbed the stairs to reach the top, 66 meters above the city.


While in France, Tiffany had onion soup. This was a big event.

Here we are posing amidst the Christmas crowds. Notice the ancient buildings around us.

In France, the bakeries house works of art.


On to Nürnberg. Nürnberg, Germany, boasts the greatest German Christmas Market ("Weihnachtsmarkt"). After our four hour journey there, we found a medieval sausage restaurant. They only serve the basics: sausage (and lots of it), bread, potato salad and sauerkraut. Welcome to Germany, folks. Isn't it grand?





A sobering few hours were spent at the Dokumentationzentrum, a museum built at the site of a colosseum for Nazi rallies (Hitler claimed Nuremberg as the seat of Nazi propaganda). We slowly made our way through the museum, tracing Hitler's rise to power. We saw the increasingly disturbing images of Hitler's wanton destruction of innocent human beings. And, we sat in the courtroom of the Nürnberg trials, listening to men of power denying any knowledge of such atrocities. After the tour, we walked out onto a platform overlooking the colosseum itself. Each brick was constructed from the hands of prisoners in concentration camps. The picture of the colosseum is taken after dark.


We enjoyed the Christmas Market when the sun went down. Hundreds of stalls lined the streets selling Christmas decorations, Glühwein (hot, spiced wine - a real tradition), sausage and handcrafted gifts galore.


We spent a lot of time in Tübingen, of course. The highlight was the "Schokolade Fest," where eighty chocolate vendors bring their best to us. Yes, eighty stalls filled to the brim with homemade chocolate.


Thanks, Tiff, for coming. Julia, Dave and Germany love you.