Whenever we are on holiday in France or England we browse the antique markets and shops. We prefer markets and antique centres with a mixture of professional dealers and people who just sell for fun or from their attics or car boots. Over the years we have bought a lot of paintings during such holidays, which we love to display in our home. Some paintings remind us of places we have just seen like the castle in France . . .

Old warehouses in Marseille . . .

 

Or the Customs House in King`s Lynn in East Anglia/England.

The children`s portraits complement our collection of antique toys.

And others look nice in the kitchen or in the conservatory.

The paintings are oils, pastels etc. and are not valuable. We do not bother having them restored and usually don't have the  original frames repaired.

We have never paid a lot for the paintings. The French castle, for example, which we bought in a small town in the south of France (Mirepoix) last year was only 90 Euros. Of course, you should not look for the paintings in very popular places with lots of tourists, but try to stop at small shops or weekly markets and you can easily find nice paintings from the genuine owners or rather their grandparents.
Unfortunately, we should stop buying now, as we have enough paintings on our walls, but once you have started it is difficult to stop as you will always find some nice paintings in unexpected places.

This morning we passed along our favourite florist`s shop in Bonn and saw that the orange trees are out, definitely a hint that spring is not far away.

Here in Germany you find flowers displayed in front of the florists`shops everywhere now, even in front of the supermarkets. There are also stalls among the fruit stalls that only sell flowers during the year.

Being so close to Holland the spring flowers such as tulips and daffodils are offered everywhere and at reasonable prices.

These hardy spring flowers can now be seen in flowers boxes all over Germany.

Spring is in the air!  Looking at Eileen`s shivering dog, I thought I should send you a weather and garden report from Germany. While China and other parts of the world are suffering from extremely cold weather and heavy snow, we have another very mild winter.

Look at the picture of the Gertrude Jekyll rose in January! We have never seen a rose blossoming in January, but this winter everything is possible and this rose has never stopped blossoming since May last year!

We love watching the growth of our first spring flowers in the garden, which are already in bloom.

We can even sit in front of our house in warm sweaters and enjoy the sunshine and the arrival of spring.  Here I am with grandchildren Samy and Lilly posing for Opa Dieter!

Another Trip to France!  Why just go to Paris?  After finishing shopping, leave Paris and head West to a wonderful region where Cider and Calvados and the best Camembert are produced.  It is only a two-hour drive from Paris, and many French people leave the capitol on weekends to stay in their country or seaside homes in Normandy.

Don't stay at the famous beaches of Normandy, but explore the glorious countryside. 

There are magnificent old villages, medieval abbeys, castles and picturesque towns as well as unspoiled countryside.  You will learn a lot about French history and French cuisine.

Two years ago we rented a house half an hour from Rouen, a lovely city with ancient streets and buildings and a medieval Gothic cathedral.  Our holiday home was an old half-timbered house from the 18th century with many original features and the old glass in the windows.

 

We rented the entire house from an elderly gentleman who lived next door, who was originally from Germany, and who loved visiting with his guests.  We found the rental via the internet, and at a very reasonable price.  The sitting room above, as the rest of the house, is furnished with antiques.  The ancient church clock across the street struck every quarter hour, and we thought we had returned to the 18th century!  It was heaven, and we are sure to go back for another vacation.

When we traveled to Provence for the first time in 1980 we immediately fell in love with the beautiful countryside, the ancient towns, the glorious food and the vibrant colors.  Since that time we have  come back again and again, at least once a year.  We were fascinated by the Easter antique markets in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Avignon, Barjac, etc. and decided to take some furniture back home to remind us of the wonderful colors all year.  Most of the furniture is painted in light blue or shades of yellow, reflecting the colors of lavender, sunshine and honey.  At first we just took back some flower stands that we could easily put into our car.

But what we were really looking for was an antique cabinet to display various collections or just vases and dishes in.  These cabinets often came from old shops and I remember that you could easily find the complete furnishings of a huge shop, bakery or pharmacy.  Unfortunately, most of the cabinets are so tall that you cannot use them in modern houses or flats.  Finally we found one in a light blue that we could just get into the house. 

We have had this cabinet for almost 15 years now and still enjoy it every day, especially in the dark months when it reflects the colors of spring and summer.  The small table is from an old boulangerie.  It has been bought to display an antique doll house and some old French fabrics.

The old wardrobe which is in the entrance of our house, is no real wardrobe.  We found the three antique doors in an antique shop in Provence, had a frame set up and built in the doors to make a wonderful wardrobe.

We are a little sad that our house is full now and we can no longer go furniture hunting, but there are still lots of small antiques to be found in these markets.  In March we will be back to look for more...........

Many German families own nativity scenes that have often been in their families for several generations and have been passed on to children and grandchildren.  Ours is at least 100 years old and it was made in Grulich, a town which now belongs to the Czech Republic. All the figures and  animals are carved from wood and the artists have used very vibrant colours. We open the huge box a few days before Christmas. The children are excited when they unwrap the figures they have not seen for a year. They enjoy arranging them around the buildings, having the three wise men with their wonderful animals coming from the left side and and all the shepherds and sheep coming from the right side. The buildings did not come with the figures. We found them on eBay last year,  it was the ideal setting. It shows the town of Bethlehem as an oriental place with lots of small towers and walls. There are cliffs and trees, a small pond and even a well. Everything has been made of wood.
The nativity scene will remain in our living room till the three wise men return to their foreign country after January 6th. Then everything will be wrapped up for another year.

Of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without a German feather tree trimmed in antique German ornaments!  We began collecting these 30 years ago and now try to buy at least one special ornament every year. 

Walnußschäumchen

100 grams Powdered Sugar

200 grams Walnuts, chopped

Pinch Salt

2 egg whites

Half teaspoon cinnamon (Optional)

Mix chopped walnuts with the powdered sugar, pinch salt and stiff egg whites.  Put in small drops on a baking sheet into preheated oven.  Bake them for 40 minutes at 225 degrees (Yes, 225!).   Baking very much depends on your oven.  The walnut foam drops need to dry and bake very slowly!

CHRISTMAS TREE SHOPPING IN GERMANY

Celebrating Christmas without a tree is unthinkable and we have finally found our tree in the courtyard of an old farmhouse. Many old farmhouses in our area open their courtyards and sell Christmas trees in all sizes. It is a wonderful event to go there and look at lots of different trees before you decide. There is a stall where you can warm up with a glass of Glühwein and a variety of Christmas cookies. They also sell their own geese for a festive dinner.

We are looking forward to the beginning of the festive season.  There are so many different Christmas traditions here in Germany and we would like to describe a few interesting ones.  Some of you might have German ancestors and might realize that these traditions have  crossed the Atlantic and stayed alive in your families.  We would like to present some photos of our decorations at home and give you a recipe for a traditional German cookie which is easy to prepare and very delicious.

Later on we are planning to show you photos from the famous Christmas markets.....

                                           Spitzbuben

150 gr. unsalted butter, room temperature
200 gr. sugar
2 eggs
1 small packet vanilla sugar
375 gr. flour

     Beat the butter until creamy.  Add the sugar and continue to beat until combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in the vanilla sugar, then the flour.
     Roll out the dough (ca. 0.5 cm) and cut out the shapes with special cookie molds.  Put them on a cookie sheet into the preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes (ca. 166-180 degrees).  Don't wait until they are brown.  We use the old family molds that belonged to our great-grandmother and were used around 1900.  You can see some of them in the photo below.  If you do not have any molds, you may use a round shape such as an eggcup of a wineglass.
     If you have baked small round shapes you may take one of them after baking, put on marmelade or jam and put another cookie on top.  They are delicious.
     If you want to store them, please put them into a tin box.

Come with us to a medieval castle surrounded by an ancient moat and wonderful grounds which has been turned into a restaurant.  Climb up the staircase decorated with wonderful garlands and red ribbons for the festive season.

Open the old oak door and you enter another world.  There is a wonderful antique fireplace with crackling fire in the huge hall next to a very tall Christmas tree. 

A waiter leads you to a table surrounded by antiques with a view over the grounds and horses.  In the kitchen the chef with a Michelin star prepares the most delicious French dinners.  If you think this is terribly expensive, you are mistaken.  Of course, the exchange rate is not very good for you, but you can still afford and enjoy such a wonderful treat.  We went there on Saturday and chose a four-course dinner which we would recommend. After a wonderful "amuse bouche", we had loup de mer in four varieties and accompanied by the most delicious small rolls and bread.  The second course consisted of a very unusual soup (pot au feu) with deer and vegetables.  Our main course was a risotto with wild mushrooms and Argentinian filet of beef. 

We could not wait to try the dessert, which is always a highlight:  creme brulee and ice cream from white chocolate, delicious.  And, of course, our espresso came with a small etagere full of chocolates and French pralines. 

We find the meals reasonably priced and paid Euros 59 for the meal.  The castle is approximately a 30-minute drive from Cologne in Germany.  In the summer they have opera evenings on the grounds and a wonderful dinner in the restaurant and catering in the garden. 

If you are planning a trip to Germany and prefer French cuisine to Sauerkraut and Haxn, look at the following website:  www.schlossloersfeld.de