so, finally, it was christmas!
(i'll have to skip the fourth advent, which could be summed up in one sentence: i was sick and slept all day.)

i spent until the last second before dinner making a christmas gift for my host parents, a germany-thailand guidebook. 25 pages self-written with photos. and i managed to finish it within 4 days. (well, i was sick and couldn't start the project earlier.)


then i wrapped these presents with a matt gold paper and decorated with these little branches of pine tree with pine cones from the garden. the cutest gift i had ever wrapped.


so, in germany, we celebrate christmas for three days long. and the first day, the night of christmas eve or heilige abend, is the most important day and the time that we open our presents.

on the night of christmas eve, we went over to a good friend of my host parent, our neighbours and their kids, and they had the coziest apartment i had ever seen.

the kids were telling the story of christmas (related to christian religion) and we had a dinner, hirtenessen, together, siting on the mattress on the flour. after the meal we opened some presents, and opened some more when we got back home.

and the hirtenessen at the diehls was the loveliest part of my first christmas.

on sunday after my party, we went to nuernberg and visited this little christmas market in handwerkerhof near the main station. the place was so sweet, and there was this cool place where you could so how lebkuchen was made.



we ended our third advent cozily together in starbucks. i finally got to try lebkuchen latte (which wasn't so special) and orange mocha from my friend (which tasted a bit worse than my lebkuchen latte)

two more weeks, only two more weeks...


i've been baking quite often lately, this hirschhornsalz (ammonium carbonate) and pottasche (potassium carbonate) lebkuchen dough is awesome. you make it once and it can be left in a room temperature for 4 weeks, which means you can always bake when ever you want to.


and gingerbread man is my favourite form :)


the cookies are well spiced and crispy. they are so far my favourite kind of plaetzchen (after spekulatius maybe. those are irresistible)



other than baking, i also made some christmasy decoration to hang around the house. and i found this bird-star-snowflake mobile very adorable somehow.


that's all with the warm tone in-the-kitchen parts, now let's go outside and play with some snow!

though all the christmassy decorations were set up long before december began, now it can be seen everywhere around town

a lot of shops on christmas market offer mulled wine, the christmasy hot spiced wine


and the advent wreaths! these finished products were all sooooo expensive. at least 50 euros is needed for a decorated christmas advent wreath.



and finally on sunday, 1st december,the first candle on the wreath was lit!



i've been walked around the christmas market (christkindlesmarkt) in nuernber, taking pictures.




 
but the best thing about christmas markets (and when i say the best thing, it's really the best) is the smell. the smell of roasted nuts.



the smell of spiced mulled wine.




the smell of herbs sweets.