Laterne, Laterne

Every year, people across Switzerland and the rest of the world celebrate Saint Martin’s Day on November 11. St Martin’s Day is a feast day designed to celebrate the life and work of Saint Martin of Tours. Celebrations on Saint Martin's Day include lantern processions, bonfires and eating foods like goose, red cabbage and dumplings. The luminous processions are to celebrate the life of Saint Martin and to symbolize the holy light that keeps the darkness at bay. These celebrations reflect the hope and faith that he inspired through his actions. The past two years, we have celebrated at school and by attending one of the largest lantern parades in Switzerland. This year, it was finally little sister's turn to get to sing all the songs in the school festival.

A little history on Saint Martin before we get to the cuteness of signing. According to Christian chroniclers, Martin of Tours was born in what is now Hungary in 316 or 336 depending on the source,  to a tribune in the Roman Army who was granted land in Italy upon retirement. In what was unusual for the time, given Christianity was still a minority religion in the region, Martin began attending a Christian church when he turned 10, which then provided him with a basic education and understanding of the faith. When he was 15, as the son of a senior officer, he was required to join a heavy cavalry regiment and was stationed in modern-day France and then Italy. However, just before a battle at Borbetomagus near Worms, Martin declared that he could not support the antichristian Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate and should instead devote his life to Christ. He was arrested for cowardice and jailed but was later released after the opposing side sued for peace.

The incident for which he is most remembered also occurred when Saint Martin was a soldier. He was approaching the city of Amiens, in Gaul (France), where he met a naked beggar. Martin cut his riding cloak in half and offered half of it to the beggar. That night Martin had a vision of Jesus, clutching his cloak and telling the angels that Martin had given it to him. In some versions, he awoke to find his cloak whole again. The experience was enough to cement his belief in the Christian faith and he was baptized shortly after.

Against his wishes, Martin was consecrated as a bishop in Tours in 371. According to the story, he had been tricked into visiting the city, and once made a bishop, he tried to hide in a barn full of geese but their quacking gave him away - the reason why goose is a commonly eaten item on St. Martin’s Day. Saint Martin’s story comes to an end in 397, when he passed away. While he died on November 8, his burial took place on November 11 - the date St. Martin’s Day is held to this day. He was made a saint in the late 5th century, with a large basilica built to house his sarcophagus being completed in 461.

Today, his life is used as a model for a good human: He was a soldier, who gave what he could to the poor and followed orders diligently and respected secular authority. He has become a paragon of justice, fairness and piety. Though the school the girls attend is not affiliated with any religion, the traditions of Saint Martin are so intertwined into Swiss life that they got a lesson as the school taught about the tradition. 

To celebrate, the school has a concert (in the loosest definition of term) then anyone in the school is invited to parade through the neighborhood to celebrate the festival of lanterns.

Ein 4-jähriger Geburtstag

Four is only one larger than three, yet somehow they seem a world apart. The year has flown by. We've learned so much about each other in that time. Your world changed again by leaving daycare and joining big school with your sister (even if you were sad that you were in pre-K & she's in Grade 2). You've loved learning letters and numbers. You constantly ask Mom & Dad to spell words and then inform us if what we just spelt has any of the letters from your name in it. You love anything outside. When I pick you up from school in the afternoons, you're often the only kid on the playground while everyone else has gone inside to warm up. We have navigated all the ups and downs together over the last 365 days. And all too quickly, we've arrived here. At your 4th birthday.

We celebrated the only way we know how : BIG!

The morning began with pancakes and bacon. Your excitement was so much that you had inhaled two pancakes before I even remembered to take a picture. Thank goodness I remembered when I did as the double-fisted bacon did not last long after I captured this memory.

We then moved on to making the cupcakes for your party. I had tucked away one last US cake mix just for this occasion. Your help is still a bit hit-or-miss, but the joy you have in doing it is always high.

We booked a little indoor playground for your party (as it is November in Liechtenstein and the use of the outdoor playground is suspect!) Watching you with all your new friends was a huge delight of mine. As you started your new school in August, I haven't gotten to meet all the beautiful people you talk about every day.

Then we made it to the best part of the party - all the food.

We finished up playing and came home to rest. The day had been a bit overwhelming with all the activities. We got to talk to all your grandparents and tell them of all the fun you had.

We didn't let the party stop there. The next morning when we'd all recovered a bit, we opened the presents from the party. You have some very generous friends who showered you with love.

Happy Birthday to my favorite 4 year old.

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag an meinen liebsten Vierjährigen.

All the 'burgs

Twelve years ago, Amanda and I made our first Christmas trek through the German hinterland and spent some time in Rothenburg ob der Tauber marveling at one of the most well-preserved medieval cities in Europe. 

For more than a decade, Amanda and I have both considered that to be one of our favorite trips and we have always told ourselves that if we get the chance to visit again we would definitely go. So with two extra travel partners in tow who were hyped up on candy from their school Halloween party earlier in the day, we loaded up into the car, set our compass for the north. Since we were leaving after school and the sun sets around 5PM in Germany during the winter, the drive into Rothenburg was pretty mundane... except for the "fun" of roadworks and rain spread throughout the drive. Needless to say our arrival to our favorite little hotel in Rothenburg was very welcome.

The Hotel Restaurant Cafe Uhl is a very special place. They have been serving guests for more than 30 years and during our stay 12 years ago we were got to stay in a room directly above the bakery! I still remember waking up to the smell of fresh baked croissants more than a decade later. This time however we would be in a family room which was in a separate location just down the street. And while it didn't boast the same intoxicating smell of baked goods first thing in the morning it was very comfortable and suited us perfectly for the night. And you still get breakfast included if you walk down to the café in the morning!

After breakfast we began our walking tour of the city, which conveniently enough starts just outside the front door of the café beneath the clock tower spanning the street.

This is the crowd at 9am

And since Halloween was the night we arrived there still some pumpkins on the street.

The first part of the walk takes you through the winding streets lined with centuries old homes and shop fronts as you approach and then wander past the city square.

I've seen this vehicle before!

and this!

and this!

Eventually you find your way to an overlook with views of the rolling countryside and winding Tauber river below.

Next up is walking the wall! One of the truly unique aspects of Rothenburg ob der Tauber is that you can walk nearly the entire length of the medieval wall that surrounds the old town. Previously Amanda and I had only walked a small portion of the wall but the girls were keen to see all of the city from the walls. So we did!

Charlotte practicing her archery from the arrow slits

Medieval construction at it's finest

Now that we'd finished the wall walk it was time for lunch. Unfortunately, my favorite Bratwurst shop with the walk-up window was no longer there!

12 years later and my favorite Bratwurst shop is no more!

So we were "forced" to settle for lunch at the year round Christmas market.

And with that it was back to the hotel to collect our bags. If we can get there!

Traffic in front of the hotel at 3pm

Our next stay for this brief weekend trip is Nuremburg but we simply can't come to this part of Germany and not see our friends Tim, Vivian and Blu! Tim and I worked together in our Plano office for a few years before he relocated to our corporate headquarters in 2021. Then a few short months later we followed him. But as so often happens in corporate life, Tim and Vivian found a new opportunity to work closer to his family in Germany so we've missed seeing our Plano friends for many months. But an evening of catching up over pizza made for a wonderful finish to our second trip to Rothenburg. And we were rewarded with a quiet drive Nuremburg!

Nuremburg is a much larger city approximately 2 hours drive east of Rothenburg ob der Tauber but like Rothenburg it has retained a large portion of it's medieval center. Perhaps most famous for the post-WWII international tribunal to convict Nazi's of war crimes, Nuremburg was also an important political and cultural site during the time of the Holy Roman Empire and was the home of Albrecht Durer who was a renowned engraver and painter during the time of the great Italian renaissance.

Durer is known to have worked with several of the Italian greats like Raphael, da Vinci and Giovanni Bellini which may have influenced his own exploits which were quite impressive in their own right. He is credited as being one of the leading figures of the Northern Renaissance and expressed a wide ranging skill set which included being a renowned engraver and painter, author of several works on subjects as varied as human proportion, medieval fortifications and fencing. The later of which was apparently used to secure patronage from the Holy Roman Empire Maximilian I. Durer also worked with Johannes Stabius to create the first map that could be projected onto a solid geometric sphere along with the first printed celestial maps.

Throughout the early modern period Nuremburg's importance as a center of trade declined and it's political importance fluctuated as well until the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars when it once again became a center for trade and industrialization.

What's perhaps most amazing however is the condition and the medieval areas and the old world feel you get walking through the city even today. Nuremberg was heavily bombed throughout WWII by the allies and on Jan 2, 1945 it's said that 90% of the city center was destroyed in a single hour. To see it today you would hardly notice.

It's those teutons again!

Dadsplaining something, Olivia is clearly not amused!

Hospital over the Pegnitz river

The little outcroppings on the sides of buildings are family chapels

Lunch anyone?

There are those teutons again

We found rocks to climb on

Der Hase outside of Durer's house

More private chapels

Olivia is about done

And Mom is sad that the walking bridge is closed :(

... but only from one side apparently?

There are some smiles!

Our stay in Nuremburg was well worth the visit. Now to head home and begin planning for Christmas Markets and more traveling fun!