Of Light, Warmth, and Christmas Markets

Hi again from Slim! Happy Advent, and happy December!

Here are a few wintry thoughts from the Queen of the Hansa. (Not ME, silly. That's one of Lübeck's nicknames.)

Anyway... Lübeck is quite far north. 

World map with arrow pointing to Germany
Lübeck is in northern Germany,
near the Baltic Sea

How far north? 53°, which puts it roughly at the same latitude as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This means, as we approach December 21, the days are short. Today, the sun rose at 8:11 AM, and will set at 4:00 PM. That's not a lot of light. Especially when you have just moved from sun-drenched Austin, Texas, which is at 30° latitude.

It's been interesting for me to note how the short days mess with your mind. For example, I have a pretty good internal clock, and can usually tell what time it is (with a small margin of error) without looking at my watch. Not anymore! I routinely have the feeling that it's about 9:30 PM, when in reality it's 5:30! Weird.

I know from the years I spent living in the Netherlands that I am prone to seasonal affective disorder, so Jim and I invested in a full-spectrum 'bright light' which has been shown to be effective in managing the 'winter blues'. 

The "Sanity Box"

We both try and use the light for 30-60 minutes each day. So far so good!

It has also finally gotten cold here, which means high temps in the low thirties, lows in the mid-twenties, and usually a mean little wind. We've been keeping nice and warm in our little house, which has central heating (don't laugh- my house in Amsterdam didn't!) and a lovely wood stove. 

In the meantime, Lübeck has turned into a Christmas wonderland! 

It's Christmas Market season, and streets and squares around town are populated by little wooden stalls which sell food and drink (Glühwein! Sausages! Poffertjes*!) and gift items, like handmade Lübeck mugs, beautiful wooden cutting boards, all kinds of decorations, etc. People come from all over to visit the Weihnachtsmärkte, so it really feels like a festival around here! 

*Poffertjes are delicious treats from the Netherlands that are like fat little pancakes, but better. They are steaming hot when you get them, slathered in butter and doused with powdered sugar. I was tickled to find them here in Germany!

I also found:

A special kind of spicy Dutch treat that is somewhere between cake and bread, with nuts all around the top and sides. Jim said it changed his life. :-)

Oh, and there's this, too:

Yes, I'm going to make Stretch take me for a ride. :-)

Das Marienwerkhaus, or "Buxtehude's House" as I call it, watching over the Christmas craziness. :-)

It's December, so it's ok to listen to Christmas music. Here's a gorgeous setting of In Dulci Jubilo by a Hamburg organist and composer whose music Buxtehude would certainly have known: Hieronymus Praetorius. 

[Note to self: try to get Stretch to start calling me the Queen of the Hansa.]