One of my favorite places to be...Greetsiel

For those of you who are Fluffy seeks Firm readers  you have seen this wonderful place before but for all of you who are new to my escapades. .welcome to one of my all time favorite places to be..Greetsiel..a small fishing village and tourism local..located about 30 minutes from our house..yes..I know..lucky lucky me!! Greetsiel is home to about 1500 permenant residents and home to 27 of the 250 krabbing boats in Germany..a little over 10% of the total number..now what we call Krabben here are what I used to call cocktail shrimp before my life transformation!! See..very bottom picture of a Krabben Brötchen..usually served with a remoulade sauce in a soft roll..yummo!!

In my research of this wonderful fairytale of a village I found the Greetsiel was first mentioned in a letter that was dated from 1388 and that on old Holland maps was labled as Grietjezijl. Of course the spoken language of choice would be Plattdeutsch.( specific to Ostfriesland and parts of Holland)...can I speak it?? About 2 or 3 words but I am, after 3.5 years beginning to understand more and more!! Greetsiel has been featured in several series and movies..clear to see why..and stays busy year round. Our favorite winter place here is the building located 3rd picture from the bottom..now a bar-coffee house which also serves light snacks was once home to the local Coast Guard and the boats used to drive right out of the lower part of the building into the water..This is definantly a place to see and experience..Ice cream cones and seagulls in the warmer months and hot choclate with whipped cream in the winter..What more can you ask for??!!

Leer..a Christmas tradition carries on!!

We decided to venture out and explore and were more than happy to see that Leer, the 3rd largest city located in the southern part of Ostfriesland was still hosting their Weihnachtsmarkt. .yeah. ..Glühwein! Leer is where more than 34,00 people call home and is located on the EMS River which comes in from the North Sea. For all of you fellow shopaholics out there Leer is also known as the best shooping city in the region and not only for what I call the everyday stores like H&M, etc.. but it has fabulous second hand and vintage stores as well..for example a Rockabilly themed store which also has a separate section for clothing from the 60's..so going back..without men in tow!! Wink wink!! In my reading over Leer I found that the area was first discovered and populated as far back as 2900 b.c. ..the many recorded layers of this city's rich history start in the year 800 a.d.. In the 1500's is when Leer made it's mark in the financial, production, and political history and to this day celebrates this every year..since 1508.. in the Fall with the Gallimarkt. 

Leer is also home to Bünting Tea..for those of us that are not big tea drinkers you can still not help but to be caught up in and appreciate the tradition of the drinking of Ostfriesentee..Bünting is kult here and is generally consumed at 1100 and 1500 daily here. Leer has a museum dedicated to it..see picture below of the brightly colored building..we found another great tribute to this tradition on a side street entryway lined with tea kettles!! So..Tee is king for drinking here but what is the favorite Wintertime food you ask?? Why of course it is Grünkohl with Pinkel and Kassler!!

Oldenburg Lamberti Market

Oldenburg is one of the larger cities located about an hour from where we live..it is home to a large University,  a downtown area that offers all your heart can desire, and every year Oldenburg plays host to one of the best Christmas Markets I have been to. This was the first  place I ate Leberkäse and sampled my first Feuerzangbowl. ..for those who are not familiar. .this is mulled wine with rum that is poured over sugar which drips into the wine..served hot of course. ..talk about delicious. ..but careful how many you consume..:D..and of course as you drink this warming mixture there are baskets of the very traditional Christmas cookie..Spekulatius..to nibble on. For my family this is a must do every holiday season. ..would love to share this magical experience with all of you! !

Emden...Weihnachtet !!

I know.. I know...Christmas is over but I still wanted to share some more pictures and 2 more cities with all of you. This is Emden..one of our port cities in North West Germany..it is not such a big city but a fun place to visit none the less..lots to do and see and if you are a WW2 history buff there are bunkers and museums to keep you more than busy. I have spent a lot of time here in german language courses and I love the diversity of this city. It is multi culti and the people tend to be friendly. Throughout the year there are various festivals here located along the water front. Emden is also home to a university, a large art museum, numerous restaraunts, shopping, lots of water based activities like canal tours and paddle boats, and if you like fish there is no better place to be..a Fisch Brötchen always hits the spot when a craving hits!! Of course December is when you can really marvel at the beauty of the winter here..the lights reflecting off of the water is always something to make you catch your breath..whether for the first time or sixth time..