Something about Christmastime

It appears to be winter now, at least to me. Snow= winter. It snowed earlier this week and hasn't entirely melted, which is foreign to me. Back home, it lasts a day. Two tops. The kids even played on a sled. I don't think I've ever actually seen a sled before, let alone one in use... It's also supposed to snow two to four inches tomorrow. At least it's pretty, right? Fitting for Christmas.
I got to go to the Weihnachtsmarkt once again. Thing is, I had to wait all freaking day. They said we were going in the afternoon. We left shortly before six, and it was dark out. What the heck. So much for Christmas shopping... Maybe I'm supposed to learn patience here.
Christmas here... lots more chocolate, advent calendars, snow... it's pretty magical. At the Weihnachtsmarkts they have these cool nativity things called Pyramide. And it's typical to have a mini version in your home. They are beautiful! This pic was stolen from the internet, obviously. I love that it's acceptable here to have a huge nativity in the middle of town. I can't wait to see the Adventskranz tomorrow. It's a wreath with four candles, one for every week of Advent. Tomorrow we'll light two candles. I wasn't here last week to see the first one lit. Thursday was Nikolaustag- the children clean a pair of shoes and place them outside the front door for Nikolaus to put treats in. The Adventkalenders make it easier to wait for actual Christmas and the presents. I mean, a countdown with chocolate? Best Idea Ever!
I have a bit of a cough, and last weekend's choir practices and concerts certainly didn't help matters. It better be gone by this weekend because have a big concert in Kiel. People are actually paying to hear us. By the way, don't eat peanut butter if you have a dry throat and are trying to avoid coughing. It's a bit counterproductive.
On the bright side, I'm almost done with Harry Potter und der Orden des Phönix. I'm on page 912 out of 1021, so I might just finish it before Monday. I don't think I'll reach my goal of finishing the whole series by Christmas, though. Ok, I won't. But five books is pretty good.
Can I just say how thankful I am for Skype? Today I got to talk to my old roommate who will be following in my footsteps as an Au Pair in 11 days. I'm so excited for her to come over here, even though she'll be all the way in Berlin! And I have appointments to skype with two of my dearest friends as wells as my family tomorrow.
OH, and I get to see The Hobbit on the 12th. Be jealous, my American friends.