Kölsch Encounters: The Holidays (and snow) are Here

So much for the mild temperatures around here. It snowed yesterday. And it got cold this week, too. So cold in fact that we learned a few different ways to express that in German class. Have your pencils and notebooks ready. These might come in handy.

Es ist... (It is...)

sehr kalt (very cold)
richtig kalt (really cold)
eis kalt (ice cold)
schweine kalt (pig cold)
tierisch kalt (animal cold)
arsch kalt (ass cold)

As for yesterday's snowfall, it wasn't much. Well, according to my Chicago standards of snowfall it wasn't much. Still, you wouldn't know that from all the sounds of the kids playing outside. The ground was barely dusted with snow but that didn't stop two wishful little girls from trying to sled down the small hill next to our parking lot. With barely any snow on the grass, all they wound up with were a couple of face plants on the slope. And while walking to and from the grocery store today I watched so many cars driving extremely slow. When people get this excited over so little snow, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't expect much (if any) major snow here this winter.

Monday was my first day back in German lessons after a month's absence. I was back for one day, then woke up on Tuesday with a terrible sore throat. I went back to school Tuesday but wound up taking Wednesday off. Needless to say, that was a rough start back at school. Today I'm finally feeling like I might be over whatever I had. Still, that's the third time I've been sick in about four months time. I'm a little worried about that.

Now I know why we watched movies in school as a kid. What a break for the teacher. This week as my little gift to the kids in my English classes, I decided to show the classic 1966 version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Though I'm sure they didn't understand about 98% of what was said, they all seemed to enjoy it. Another bonus to showing a film: sitting back and watching how many kids seem to think that because the lights are out they can pick their nose.

I hope you're done with your Christmas shopping. We're not. I think we'll head to the city center Monday in search of the last few items. That place is packed on a normal weekday. I can't imagine what that'll be like just a few days shy of the holiday. Nevertheless, that should give us an excuse for one last trip through some of the Weihnachtsmarkts before they close on the 24th. We've already gone a couple of times. It's too bad they can't leave them open for the rest of winter. It is nice to walk through and see so many people out and about in the cold, having a good time regardless. Once the markets are gone, those large wide-open squares are going to feel a lot colder.

Here's some (mostly blurry) photos from our previous trip through some of the various Cologne Weihnachtsmarkts.

From the square in front of the Dom

Mmmm, Glühwein...

Fresh grilled Champignons (mushrooms)

Yes, there's even a market on board a boat. While I felt good that the admission price went to UNICEF, I would not recommend visiting this one. The heat was cranked up so high that it became really uncomfortable.