We were blessed again with Cisco's visit from Dubai. It was fun to catch up for dinner with Cisco and his German friends here in Stuttgart, and then we showed him the sights and sounds of Esslingen today. It is always wonderful to catch up with old friends! Safe travels back to the UAE, Cisco and come back again soon! 
This week Fi visited downtown Vicenza before teaching her class. Vicenza is a lot like Venice, except on dry land. A lot of beautiful cobblestoned streets and vineyards and gorgeous architecture. 
The Lord has blessed Fi with a job teaching Business Law in Vicenza- about 45 minutes from Venice. Fi flies down to Venice on Thursday mornings and flies back to Stuttgart on Friday mornings. It's only a 6 week course at a time, but the students are lovely and it is a great way to see a little of beautiful cities such as Venice and Vicenza. One of Fi's favorite parts about the trip each week however, has been the stop over in Zurich, Switzerland. Aside from Australia and upstate New York, Switzerland has got to be one of the most beautiful, breathtaking countries in the world. And Swiss chocolate is great too......here are some pics from Fi's visit last Thursday to Venice. Even though it was a short visit, it was such a beautiful experience- the sun was shining on a clear, early Spring day, there were children playing and university students walking from class to class, the boats were gliding through the water and there were so many little alley ways and ancient paths to explore. Definitely a must-see in Europe. 
We love to show our guests the wonderful sights and sounds of Stuttgart and Esslingen, and the Glassells were no different. We enjoyed taking them to the Stuttgart "foodie" market in the "Old Castle" area; showing them our local "mini" castle here in sweet Esslingen; and of course the gorgeous (and Fi's favorite) Baroque castle in Ludwigsburg. Steve, Berry and Elizabeth also traveled on their own to Munich, Salzburg (which they say is a MUST DO- Sound of Music tour anyone!?) and Strasbourg in France which is an hour and a half from our house. They also did some traveling in Germany to explore where their ancestors came from. 
It seems that Germans love their "fests" (but the good news is that we Americans love going to them!!) This weekend is "Fasching" in Germany, especially celebrated in the southern part of Germany where we live. Fasching season, also called "Fastacht", "Karneval", "die naerrische season" or "the foolish season," is the season when the Germans "loosen up" and go a little "crazy" in terms of dressing up (usually as clowns, witches or jokers), for a few days before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. There are "Fashing Umzug" parades going on in every little town in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (of which Stuttgart is the capital) at this time of year. The best way to describe Fasching is like Mardi Gras in Louisiana (there is a recurring theme here, I know!!) Basically, the festival season is religious based, and linked to the Lenten season in terms of the concept behind letting loose before fasting before Easter. Just like in Louisiana, there are fasching clubs which organize the parade groups and costumes, and the parade participants throw goodies like candy to the crowd. Unlike Louisiana, however, most of the parade is walked on foot, and a traditional thing to do here is for the partipants to carry "besen" (feather dusters basically) and sort of wave it in your face and tickle your nose (seriously). We also saw some of the "clowns" go up to random people and "hug" them and rub their face makeup on the other person (Zev tried to avoid this at all costs!) The town in which we saw the fashing parade seen above, is Rottweil, which is the oldest town in Baden-Wuerttemburg and also the town that gave the world the Rottweiler dog. It certainly was a very pretty, historic town, and it was neat to see this historic event first hand. Rottweil's Fasching parade is one of Germany's oldest and some of their "signature" events at their Fasching parade is the "Fool's Dance" (basically a hop/ skip deal) and they all say "hu, hu, hu" when they walk through the crowd. Hard to describe, but you will be able to hear a bit of it on the video. Germans certainly love their fests....the next fest we hear is "Fruhling" or Spring fest.....until our next installment, ALL THE BEST!!! Huuuu Huuu...
Well, Zev was right- Winter is not over, not just yet. Just when I was loving the warmer weather and dreaming of riding our bikes outside and wearing lighter clothes, we get another snowfall. And I never thought I would ever say this (and I know our family in New York knows EXACTLY what I am talking about), but I actually am starting to like a Snowy Winter. Yes, living in the snow AINT so bad after all.........Although just like the ground had to freeze so that the snow could stick to it, I too had to "freeze" and adjust to really cold temperatures, I can actually say that I truly enjoy the snow and thank God that through His power, we get to experience things like a beautiful white blanket over this city. But probably the main reason for this change of heart is the wonderful sport of SKIING!! I love it! Skiing has cast a whole new perspective over the Winter season. Once upon a time I used to dread the coming of winter because that meant putting away our swimsuits and bikes and spending endless days indoors. But SKIING!! What a great sport. Not only can you explore beautiful trails or careen down a mountain as fast as you can, but you don't have to worry too much about falling because the ground is so soft!!! We are very blessed living in Southern Germany, in that we have world class ski resorts in our backyard. And when we feel like something more adventurous, we can head down to Switzerland or Austria (I personally am MORE than HAPPY skiing to the baby slopes- I don't really have the need for speed or neck-breaking ski runs, I like gentle, long slopes and hot cocoa at the end). So, for Valentine's Day, Zev drove us 40 minutes down the road to a little ski resort in the "Schwaebish Alb" which is our local area's answer to the Austrian Alps (albeit on a MUCH smaller, cuter scale!! The lift ticket prices were also a LOT smaller and appealed to Zev's senses much more!! Ha). Zev even shoveled the driveway with a smile on his dial, and cooked me a wonderful dinner at night. I thank God for the wonderful husband He provided me with. My prayer is that we can glorify God through our marriage and our lives. We really feel blessed with our lives and are just happy to be alive. Anyway, we both hope that all our family and friends are doing well. We miss you all very much. Love and hugs from Deutschland, Fifi xoxoxo
Another highlight of our trip to Budapest was sampling the various teas and coffees offered. Fi's favorite tea by far was the Marzipan tea and Zev loved the Chai tea. We also visited the Central Market (which Zev loved of course, being the "foodie" that he is!) and we saw some amazing displays of salami, vegetables, spices, nuts, and......GIANT kiwis- apparently Hungarians love their kiwis because we saw them everywhere!! We did wonder what made these particular kiwis so huge though- not sure that they get this big in New Zealand!
