Willkommen in Deutschland!

We landed in Frankfurt early Friday morning, fully intact despite the lack of sleep. Rafi developed a fever during the flight but didn’t let that slow him down; he insisted on pushing his own suitcase throughout the journey.

Still fresh at Pearson Airport

We rented our Volkswagen, not a BMW, much to my fancy-German-car-loving children’s chagrin, and made our way to visit Oma and Dede and Tante Gisela in Windsbach. Erol’s hometown is located in northern Bavaria, also known as Franken, and Franconians are mildly insulted when referred to as Bavarian, even though they are technically in Bavaria. It’s one of many German peculiarities I’ll try to decipher over the next six months.

Oma Heidi is in rough shape with her advanced Parkinson’s, frail and not particularly communicative. By contrast, 89-year-old Dede never seems to age, even though the old Turk hasn’t exercised a day in his life.

Atilla (Erol's brother),, Dede, and Erol

With Oma and Belgin (Erol's sister-in-law)

We booked the same Airbnb in nearby Wolframs-Eschenbach where we stayed last summer. Our hosts, Susanna and Christof, have two little girls the same ages as our boys, who delighted at the tiny moose and bear stuffies wearing NHL jerseys that we picked out for them at Pearson Airport.

Wurstschnappen: Classic Fun for All Ages

Upon check-in, we raided the cupboards for toys. It was slim pickings, but we gave Wurstschnappen (meaning "Sausage Grab") a go. The game was completely lame but gave us a good laugh because hey, isn’t that exactly what you’d expect a German board game to be called?

This morning we ventured into the “big city” of Ansbach (population 40,000) to buy promised Chanukah gifts. I asked Leo what he wanted, and he said: “If I see something cool, I’ll stick with that. But if I see something cooler, I’ll take that instead.” Always good to have a plan!

Pedestrian Zone in Ansbach

The old city gate led us to the Fußgängerzone (pedestrian zone), which was still beautifully decorated for Christmas, including the remains of the Christmas Market with life-size nativity scene. The toy store, Fechter, is a wonder to behold – four floors of excitement. We settled on Ninjago Lego for Leo and a pair of fighting robots for Rafi, the novelty of which already appears to be wearing off.

I LOVE German shops

Erol managed to embarrass me at the stationery store when he asked if they have “good quality markers,” to which the salesperson responded, “Faber Castell is the best quality!” Erol has clearly lived outside of Germany too long.

The next stop was a bakery called Brothaus (“Bread House" -- yes, Germans are as literal as that) for sandwiches and hot chocolate. We were pleasantly surprised to find a vast array of sufganiyot, as the jelly-filled Chanukah confection is known in Israel, but which are known here as Krapfen (yes, you did unfortunately pronounce that correctly in your head) and have absolutely nothing to do with Chanukah, seeing as there are approximately zero Jews in Franconia.

Sufganiyot, aka Krapfen -- Happy Hanukkah!

Because it’s already day six of eight and I’ve yet to indulge, I couldn’t resist the fluffy powder-sugary goodness, and I dare say it was the best safganiyah I’ve ever had.

Fun fact: Krapfen is the regional name for these pastries, but elsewhere in Germany they're known as Berliner. That's why JFK's famous 1963 speech in West Berlin -- in which he declared, "Ich bin ein Berliner!" -- still gets laughs here. Thanks to the indefinite article, "ein," Kennedy didn't actually say, "I am a Berliner!" (which would be Ich bin Berliner), but rather, "I am a jelly donut!"

The beer flows freely (and early) here.

Erol is less tempted by sweets, but he’s tickled pink to be reunited with his first true love, German bread. And don’t forget the beer, for which our kids have (for better or worse) developed quite a taste. God help us.

All Aboard!

Today’s biggest highlight was the Christmas train at the mall, which only increased our children’s appetite for beer based on the “Moose Brewery” theme. Gotta love a moose in Lederhosen.

Christmas Train display: "Beer Sale: Only 2 Litres per Moose."

We’ll stay in Franken (not Bavaria) through New Year’s before venturing southwest to Freiburg, where our abode for the next half year awaits! I promise future installments will be more exciting, so please stay tuned… just wanted to be sure to hit the ground running with this blog.

Happy Chanukah!

Until then, wishing you all "einen guten Rutsch" ("a good slide" into the new year) and auf Wiedersehen!