Eindhoven

It turns out that the early bird that I used to be, has turned into a night owl ... hence the post that has been written in the wee hours of the morning!

Here are some photographs of the week that I spent with family in the Netherlands. And before you even think the question that I have been asked numerous times: no, I haven't been to Amsterdam... yet. Not to worry though, Amsterdam is on the to-do list!

First up, a few Dutch traditions in December. Chocolate is hung on Christmas trees and each child receives a chocolate in the form of the first letter of his/her name. In this instance I was more than happy to be classified as a non-adult!

Edible decorations, also known as Kerstkransjes, and my very own chocolate letter:

Whenever the weather was good, we grabbed the chance and went for a walk or a bicycle ride. The cool thing about the Netherlands is that it is so flat! You never need to pedal uphill!

Windmill

We had good food and good company, but one of the most memorable moments was waking up to a world covered with white stuff: SNOW!!!

My first view of snow ever!

Before

After

The first snowman that I have ever built, although I think it looks more like an alien. 

Ice is super cool to photograph, but after 30 minutes in the freezing morning air my camera decided that it had, had enough and just stopped working. Luckily it was only temporary!

My friend , Suzaan, and I having fun in the sunshine and snow!



We both work in France and decided to meet up in the Netherlands before flying off to Italy for a week. What a wonderful trip that turned out to be! But that is a whole other post on it's own...

Strasbourg!

The view of Strasbourg from the viewing level of the cathedral

After hours of sifting through numerous photos to delete the blurry, 'what-on-earth-was-that?' accidents and edit the leftovers, I can finally and proudly present to you Strasbourg! This was the first destination on my Christmas holiday trip. Yes, I know that Christmas has already become a distant memory as the hustle and bustle of life has been set back in motion, but this will be one of the last Christmas posts. So, without further ado, here is Strasbourg...

Lights

Strasbourg is the capital of the Alsace region in France, on the border of Germany. It can also be seen as the capital of Europe, due to several European institutions that are based in this beautiful city. And lastly ... drum roll ... Strasbourg claims to be the capital of Christmas.

From the end of November to the beginning of January, Strasbourg comes alive with it's famous Christmas markets. The first of these markets, Christkindelsmärik, was held in the year 1570 and the tradition has carried on over time until today. Every part of the city is decorated and lights blink and twinkle from every street, square and construction crane. Unfortunately I have no visual evidence of the wonderfully decorated construction cranes, so you will just have to take my word for it. The Great Christmas tree, which is about 30 metres tall, was one of the most impressive sights in Strasbourg. It was drizzling when I got there, but that just added to the effect as the lights reflected off of the wet paving. 

One of the Christmas markets

On the first day I rented a bicycle. At first it was more of a hassle than anything else. In order to take a photo I had to park the bicycle, haul out my camera, take the picture, put the camera back in the backpack and then be on my away again. To add to that, the streets in the centre of the city were filled with tourists, and I am not a fan of crowds! My solution? I decided to go visit the Parc de l'Orangerie. It is a lovely place to just relax and enjoy the scenery and I definitely would have spent more time there had it been warmer. The zoo was also a pleasant surprise.

What I would have looked like as an Eskimo

Beautiful scenery, even though it's winter

Storks at the zoo

If you walk around Strasbourg you quickly notice all the stork souvenirs. Storks are protected in the Alsace region due to their declining numbers about 40 years ago. The zoo in the Parc de l'Orangerie has a reproduction program for storks, and here you can see them up close.

The next day I went to an area in the city called Petite-France. Here you find the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg and the half-timbered style houses. The crooked, leaning houses,the cobbled streets and the canals all add to the charming atmosphere.

Half-timbered house 

Kammerzell House - one of the most
well-preserved medieval buildings

The cathedral has a pink hue because of the sandstone that was used to construct it, and it was the tallest building in the world from 1647-1874. From the observation level you can see as far as 30 km. Inside the cathedral there is an astronomical clock that was built in 1838-1843. Besides showing the time the clock also displays astronomical information. Everyday at half past twelve the clock strikes noon (it's over 170 years old, so cut it some slack) and a procession of little figures commences. I had expected more after seeing crowd that had gathered around the clock, and I must admit that I was slightly disappointed. However, I've realised that considering when it was built, it is actually quite impressive. Someone also made the remark that maybe the people in that time were more easily entertained than in today's time of information overload and instant entertainment.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg

View of the cathedral from a bridge

Looking down from the top of the cathedral

Strasbourg is a great "walking city" and it also has some interesting museums, such as the archaeological museum. It was the first time that I had gone travelling on my own and I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I definitely had a lot of time for photography, and if nothing else I have learnt some editing skills. The first time that I loaded the photos onto my computer I was so disappointed! With the exception of one morning the weather had been horrid and the lighting terrible. Since then I've done more solo adventures, and I have absolutely loved it! Here are some more photos that I took while wandering through the beautiful city of Strasbourg. 

St. Thomas Church, Strasbourg

National Day of Mourning in France

At 12 o'clock today, a minute of silence will be held across the country for those killed and injured in the Charlie Hebdo shooting that took place yesterday, 07 January 2015, in Paris.

"I am Charlie" is now circulating the internet and the whole of France in a demonstration of support and as an outcry against the horrific shooting.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and families who suffered such a great loss yesterday.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...

When I have a group of students for the first time I usually only tell them my name and what I am doing at their school and then I leave it up to them to ask questions to find out more about me and where I come from. This has led to a few very interesting and funny conversations about the stereotypes of South Africa and the many differences between my country and theirs.

Yesterday I had a group of six students that I was seeing for the first time. I'm never quite sure what to expect from a new group because each student adds to the mindset of the group. Most groups have one or two "talkers", but I've had groups where every single student was vying for my attention and other groups where there was not a single student who would say a word or even look up from their books. I was pleasantly surprised with this group. They were all curious and eager to take part, which makes the lesson so much easier.

Christmas lights in Champs-Élysées

With Christmas around the corner, the questions inevitably turned towards our Christmas traditions in South Africa. After telling them that my family gets together for a day of good food (usually a braai), pleasant company and swimming, I could see the little wheels turning inside their heads. Finally one of them had formulated and translated the question that was on everybody's mind: Is it summer in South Africa right now?

Place Davout - Savigny-sur-Orge

France and South Africa are worlds away from one another, and one of the best examples is the Christmas season. About three weeks ago I started noticing Christmas decorations, mostly little lights, popping up all over Paris and Savigny-sur-Orge. When I arrived home one evening I was met with this delightful sight:

Place Davout - Savigny-sur-Orge

There are small things that all add to the festive feeling that we often see in movies. If you go for a walk in the evening, you can feel the cosiness glowing from the houses. It's a welcome contrast from the cold and wet outside. The Christmas trees are REAL and have a very distinct, and pleasant, smell. Then there are the Christmas markets.

During the week I went to the Christmas market in Champs-Élysées (a very big and well-known street in Paris that is filled with expensive shops and leads up to the Arc de Triomphe). It was a charming experience filled with new sights, smells and tastes. There was mulled wine, coloured cheese (blue, pink and green to be exact), champagne, scarves, chocolate and nougat, jewellery, foie gras (duck/goose liver pâté) and many other treats and trinkets.

Christmas market - Champs-Élysées

A building in Champs-Élysées

A food stall at the Champs-Élysées Christmas market

Now the only thing missing from my wonderful, European Christmas is snow. I have been told that snow is overrated and unpleasant, but I'm not going to give up on snow just yet! I have a bucket list that I have to complete before returning to South Africa, and one of the items is to build a snowman and to make a snow angel. So, I never thought that I would be able to say this in a serious context, but here goes:

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!

More Christmas decorations in Champs-Élysées!