Fröhe Weihnachten!!! and other NEWS from Germany

It turns out that Americans begin Christmas-themed shopping in the summer, and Germans begin Christmas food shopping not long after that. I know that Christmas foods begin appearing in grocery stores quite early, but was taken quite by surprise this year. One of the little girls in my class had some wonderfully spicy Spekulatius cookies. I was so excited and surprised, I made Joern take me to the grocery store yesterday to search for Christmas goodies.
Unfortunately, we did not go to the Kaufland, the large chain that usually has their Christmas goods out before anyone else. Instead, we went to the Real, another chain. They only had the beginnings of Christmas, like; winter teas, winter spiced granola bars, Stollen (a special bread with dried fruits and powdered sugar on top). I also raced to the yogurt section to see if they had my favorite yougurt, Baked Apple, yet. Unfortunately, they did not. So, we settled on beginning the very long Christmas season by brining home a small marzipan Stollen, which is traditionally served to guests with coffee, and some Advent Pear and Cinnamon yogurt.









I'm quite certain that a large Christmas food assortment will be available in many grocery stores within the next week or so.

In other NEWS, I'm all excited about my German news! I bought my latest copy of the Lift, which is a monthly magazine that highlights many events in Stuttgart.


I really like the Lift, because it tells you all about art exhibitions, musical events, and this month highlights the many festivals which take place in September, which seems to be the kick-off of "Fest season." The magazine is especially useful to those of us who don't live directly in a city, and don't have the same access to information. I am so excited to take advantage of the many wonderful things that Stuttgart has to offer.

I have also found a few new websites offering German news in English. The Local, which also offers news on lifestyle and culture from an Expat twist. It is really great.
The Bild, which is a German tabloid, known best for being a newspaper for the low educated and daily topless woman on the cover, but great for a quick spattering of important information, now offers an English version online. Not for great New York Times style reporting, but good for a quick news fix!