Saturday 26 November 2011

Seasonal Sunday.

Tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent 2011 and since I'm nowhere near ready to decorate or even bake Weihnachts Plaetzchen this year I've decided to repost my first Advent Sunday post from 2010.


As today is the First Sunday in Advent I'd like to share a little of my story with you, and introduce you to a wonderful friend of ours.
In 1984 Mr B's career took us to Bavaria, Germany.
We left all our family and friends behind in the UK to start a new life in a new country. Scary.
We threw ourselves wholeheartedly into our new surroundings, making many German friends in our neighbourhood and amongst his work collegues, but the most important friends we made were our landlords and next door neighbours Herr & Frau Wilde.
Over the years we shared many wonderful times with the Wildes, celebrating not only high days and holidays but also day to day life in Pöcking, a small town on the shores of Starnberger See.
Frau Wilde (never Traudl, never "du") sort of adopted me as the daughter she never had.
She taught me many things, like how to play bridge, she is a fanatical bridge player and to this day, if I ever get the chance to play, I always find myself bidding in German! (Vier pik!)
We spent many an afternoon sitting in her "winter garden" as she helped me improve my embroidery, knitting, and German conversation skills all the time enjoying her "kaffee und kuchen".
From top right: Our house
 a favourite woods where we walked our dogs,
Feldafinger Strasse.
The snow season in Bavaria starts around the beginning of December and during our first winter in Pöcking she taught me how to cross country ski on the local golf course in Feldafing.
Did I mention that the lady was born in 1918?
Frau W & me 1991
Perhaps the one thing that Frau Wilde taught me which touched me the deepest was how to celebrate Christmas the Bavarian way,
Her Weihnachts Plaetzchen (Christmas biscuits) such as Zimtsterne and Springerele were legendary.
And so on this First Sunday in Advent and in honour of a much loved lady, I'd like to invite you to "kaffe und kuchen" my way.
My Adventskranz 2010.

Sadly, fresh evergreen wreaths are not easily found here in rural Normandy and so once again this year, a "faux" wreath decorated with white poinsettia flowers and silver pine cones surrounds four classic white Church candles.

The china service is Rosenthal's "Classic Rose" in white, which with its silvery grey design and gold trim complements the Adventskranz beautifully.
Napkins: Spode Christmas tree. (was sonst?)

For you to enjoy during the Adventszeit
 old fashioned mincepies 
and lebkuchen, a very simple iced biscuit similar to gingerbread.

Joining the Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday # 76
 with this nostalgic look at Christmas past.

20 comments:

  1. What a cute post! But didn't she made a Stollen? Or Spritzgebackenes? You don't know Christmas in Germany, if you don't know Stollen ;-)
    Have a wonderful weekend,
    Markus

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  2. Maggie, I'm happy you shared this one again. You've shared so many lovely stories about the times you spent with Frau Wilde. I know how dear she is to you.
    Lovely, lovely post. Wish I had one or two of those lebkuchen with my morning coffee.
    Hugs ~ Sarah

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  3. I remember this lovely post, and how it reminded me of the kindness of my German neighbour in the village of Gereonsweiler in North Rhineland Westphalia. Such lovely memories!

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  4. I remember reading this, Maggie!! I so admired the friendship you had with Frau Wilde! What a lady. Your pictures of your home and the woods in Bavaria are beautiful! What great memories you have!

    XO,
    Jane

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  5. Hi Maggie. What a lovely story. Each country has its own ways of celebrating Christmas. I know Germany has a lot of baked goodies but you have your wonderful Christmas cake.
    Have a nice Sunday.

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  6. These look so delicious. What nice memories of your childhood.
    I love the Christmas cookies in CH. There were so many varieties. I as particular fond of the spicy stars. There were some kind of white anise biscuits made in a mold that were just so, so delicious. I don't know what they were called. Closer to Christmas, I'll make a post about them. There were some spicy treacle ones with a marziapan filling. I spent a Christmas with my daughter and I brought back two bags of them (as well as the usual bars of schoggi) from Migros.

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  7. This is a lovely post to recycle. Frau Wilde sounds like such a sweet woman.
    I'd love to join you for kaffee und kuchen!

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  8. Oh such a precious post. How wonderful to have found such a loving and lovely person to welcome you to Germany and become a cherished friend. Beautiful memories and precious times. Hugs, marty

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  9. What a lovely tradition and a wonderful way to remember special friends and good times.

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  10. This post was so interesting! How lucky to find such a friend in a foreign country. Pretty table.

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  11. What a lovely friend Frau Wilde was to you! You were very fortunate and she sounds like a multi-talented woman. We all have made dear friends in our travels; some we keep up with, some we have lost touch with. But....I haven't forgotten one!

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  12. Happy Advent! Your table setting is so pretty! Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.

    Smiles,
    Carol

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  13. What a beautiful story with Frau Wilde. I love the china and of course all the yummy German Christmas cookies and stolen. My friend Eva Klinkitch also invites us for her Dic. b'day for a high tea with ham and turkey sandwiches, plus all the most incredible cookies and lebkuchen too, you can imagine!...plus stolen for sure! Thanks for sharing Maggi, I had the pleasure to see this for the first time. FABBY

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  14. What an inviting table! Stunning setting.
    Happy Thanksgiving!
    Hope to see you on my blog:)

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  15. It all sound so good.Lovely blog happy to have been introduced to you by Sarah.I will be back for another visit~Cheers Kim

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  16. Oh how I loved reading about you and your wonderful German friend. It's so fun learning about Christmas in different cultures. The biscuits look so yummy. I also loved the wintery mosiac. Thanks so much for visiting my blog and for your sweet comment. Normandy sounds so beautiful. I am now following you.

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  17. What a beautifully nostalgic post. How lucky for you to have met such a special lady. Every once in awhile, we meet people who touch our lives in such a special way. How wonderful for you to have met such a incredible person.

    - The Tablescaper

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  18. I really enjoyed this story. We moved a lot due to my husband's career with the RCMP and it was wonderful to be welcomed by the older neighbours in Oliver, BC. When our own parents lived hundreds of miles away, our children grew up surrounded by loving "grandparents". That was such a blessing!

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  19. We spent the last two Christmas in Germany and Austria and really enjoy all of the wonderful traditions. What a lovely post and tribute to your friend.

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  20. I am delighted you decided to repost Maggie. I am so not ready for Christmas this year and I cannot decide if it the fabulous weather that makes me think it is still weeks away, or the fact it will be our first without my Mum. Either why I need to snap into action.

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Thanks for stopping by, your visit just made my day!