Woosh...

And so this was Christmas.

I didn't feel very much like Christmas this year.
Maybe it was the fact that all those customers and outdoor staff stressed me out and I had been working overtime for the last few weeks. So, everything I had intended to prepare or obtain in advance was postponed and only the most necessary was done (like, helping my son with his maths stuff). Suddenly, it was Christmas. Surprise, surprise.
I didn't tinker with the Christmas cards this year; I bought some and sent them in time (and I sent more than last year, just to receive less than last year...).

The only time I felt somewhat like Christmas was on the last but weekend, when we made a trip to Leipzig and Dresden by train. I love to go by train, it is so relaxing. You move towards your destination and don't have to pay attention to traffic; you can sleep, read, and - best of all - look at the scenery. You can even get up and walk around. That's terrific.

We had a wonderful afternoon at Leipzig and then headed on to Dresden.

Today, I'm going to show you just some photos of Leipzig with a short commentary, and leave Dresden for another day.

We hadn't been walking for very long in Leipzig, when we stumbled about "Auerbachs Keller".
Goethe was quite impressed by the vaults of this building which still contain a restaurant; this is where his play "Faust" is set.

There are a lot of shopping arcades in Leipzig, the "Mädlerpassage" leads to that vault.
(You can see a Mephistopheles statue on the left hand side.)

Outside, it was cold and clear.

The "Neues Rathaus" ("New Town Hall").

On the back side of that building. Blindfolded.

Somewhere near. On the front of a bank building.

Detail of the above.

Yes. Every now and then, doors fascinate me. Dunno why. Or maybe I do.

My family's feet on the cobblestone of Leipzig.

This is a cute little shop near the market square. Gotta love those tiny little shops with the old shelves and paintings... (the kid in the stroller seems to be bored anyway)

Then, I had seen this house from afar and it looked so colourful that I had to go near and take a look at it. It looks like a little Chinese palace. It's art nouveau, Chinese style.

Now look at this mosaic!

Most of these pics didn't make it into the family album. My appreciation for aesthetics and that of my husband are diverging. And he wouldn't want to keep so many pics anyway. It's the crux of digital photographing that you just TAKE the photo without having to think at that moment, because you don't have to pay for development and copy of a film. But I do have some serious problems discarding photos. And other things, besides.

Another view into a shopping arcade. Have a look at the relief and the wrought-iron work above the doors.

This is in another arcade, looking up. Stained glass windows and blue and golden tiling. Again, art nouveau.

This detail reminded me of a portal I had seen in Edinburgh earlier this year.

A little kiddy riding a he-goat? A sprite?

Leipzig is a great place to walk around and look and wonder. So many arcades, so many details.
But after some hours, our feet were sore and we had to move on to Dresden, where we had booked a hotel, anyway.

This is a view looking down two storeys from the level where the platforms are.

The central station of Leipzig is very big. In fact, there used to be two stations that were merged once. A few years back, they renovated everything, and now, it's a three-storey mall with a railroad-connection ;-P

I hope you have a good one...

"...I hope Mama get's her shopping done..."

To all of you out there, wherever you are,
I wish you a peaceful and merry Christmas time (or whatever you celebrate).
Have a good time, share, have fun,
and don't eat too much of them cookies ;-P

Silence

Yes, I know, it has been some time since I last blogged.

Time for silence, somehow. Sometimes - often -, I just duck and wait and hope things will pass (me by). Yeah, I know, this is not very wise, because I can't influence things according to my wishes when I act this way.
But there are things you can't influence at all.

Mrs A's husband passed away one week after my last post. They would have celebrated their wedding anniversary last week.
Mrs A told my co-worker she would love to have some knockout drops over Christmas and into the New Year...

One of my co-workers was sacked effective December 1st because our boss couldn't get on with her. She was kind of overqualified and, hey, which male boss in his fifties would like to have himself corrected by a female assistant half his age? I guess some would. But not our boss.
I miss her. She got to be a good friend.

Additionally, my best female friend's husband told her he wanted to break up (effective January 1st). Although they had had issues before, I wouldn't have expected that to happen.

All of this hit me, somehow.


*sigh*


I had some ideas of things I wanted to post before Christmas, but I have been sooooo very tired and felt something between desolate and exhausted, and above all so not Christmas-y.

I've done the baking, made one Advent wreath with the candles and one for the door, and that was about it.
I haven't even prepared any Christmas card yet. Ha! I just started.

But the weather doesn't add to any upcoming pre-Christmas jolly... it has been stormy and rainy, and not even cold (yes, I'm still dreaming of a White Christmas)... We had to hide from the rain on the first Advent Sunday when we visited the Christmas market in our little town...

I hope you're having a wonderful time out there! I hope to be catching up with you soon.

Oh! I know. I need the right music. There are a lot of Christmas-y songs I despise, and one of our local radio stations even sounds an alarm each time they play "Last Christmas" (followed by wailing noises from all co-workers). But there are others that make me smile. I still love schmaltzy "White Christmas" (Bing Crosby, of course), I hate "Driving Home For Christmas" (sorry, Chris), but every time I hear the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" (some German artists even recorded a German version which is as good), it makes me feel good.
And it might just be that I had to miss one song yet, one that I really need to hear: "Christmas All Over Again" by Tom Petty.

"...I hope you have a good one...
I hope Mama gets her shopping done..."

Which songs make you feel like Christmas?