We discovered a new twist on an old coffee shop. Schusters has been a fixture in Kaiserswerth since the 1920's I believe. But now they've taken part of their shop and turned it into K5, a much more modern coffee shop. More like Central Perk or someplace you might find off the slopes in Vermont. The decor is great and the waitresses are friendlier! We went there everyday.
Skip enjoys the new coffee shop
We headed out to the Christmas market at Schloss Moyland on Saturday with Mary and Jamie and Erin Gollhardt. We got a little lost and that, coupled with a bridge construction traffic jam, made our trip much longer than it should have been. Getting lost and/or delayed in travel seems to just be part of the ex-pat experience no matter where you are!
It was really cold and I had on so many layers that I felt a little like an oompa loompa when I walked. But the market was beautiful and Skip got to enjoy the matjes (sardines that have not yet spawned) from the same booth he ate at last year. He went there twice and even got Mary to try them the second time. I was not up to the challenge.
I had my own bathroom at the market at Schloss Moyland. The men's was labeled Anton.
Skip, Maddie, Jamie and Mary at Schloss Moyland enjoying bratwurst and potato pancakes
Maddie and Jamie dance to the tunes of a Christmas choir at the Schloss Moyland market
Maddie and Jamie confer
Our family outside Schloss Moyland. That's me, hardly able to move, for all my layers. I am SUCH a cold wimp.
Saturday night we went to our favorite Italian restaurant and we were greeted so warmly by our regular waiter, you would have thought we were family. It felt really good to be there with good friends and good food.
Sunday we slept in a bit and wandered around Kaiserswerth. We met up one more time with the Robinsons at the K5 coffee shop and set a date for them to come see us in London.
Maddie outside a local drycleaners. We liked their poster.
Annie and Lizzie Robinson with Maddie
We hit the Christmas market in Kaiserswerth. It was a little disappointing in that they didn't seem to have the mix of products they did last year, but it was still beautiful and it wasn't nearly as cold out as the day before. I did have quite a grievance, however. My favorite thing to eat at the Christmas markets are these roasted, sugared almonds. You can only get these at Christmas time. I limited myself to a 100 gram bag each day. I wanted 2 bags on Saturday, but knew I could have another one on Sunday. So I waited, and then, there were no almonds at the Kaiswerswerth market. This is unheard of. Every market always has the almonds. We don't know WHAT was going on. We would have complained, but we didn't know who to complain to. I suppose I should be grateful. Skipping that final bag of almonds may be the only reason I could still button my jeans when we left.
Maddie strikes a post outside a Christmas market booth in Kaiserswerth
Maddie with buddy Jamie
Me and Mary
Maddie cried most of the way to the airport. Just about killed us both. She said if only we'd stayed in one place we wouldn't have all these friends that we had to leave. But she conceded to me that she wouldn't want to give any of them up, either. Fortunately, Maddie cannot sustain a sad or a bad mood for very long. She can go to the deepest depths of despair, but she just can't stay there long.
We all would have liked to have had more time, but that probably would have been true no matter how long we stayed. Just too many people and places we wanted to see. But we had a great time and are grateful for the chance to go back.
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