Week 15- Coming home for Christmas

The Christmas season is finally here, there was a lot going on during the first Advent: the big Christmas bazaar at the German embassy was approaching, and there was a lot to organize. On Friday morning, we, the Christmas angels, set up our booth to sell all the handmade crafts that the angels had been making for a year. On Friday evening, there was a VIP sale from 6 pm to 9 pm. It's hard to believe, but it even started snowing, everything looked like it was covered in powdered sugar. On Saturday morning, we were already back at the booth at 9 am, removing the snow and preparing everything before the Christmas market opened its doors at 11 am.

In addition to the Christmas angels, there were many other stalls, just like a Christmas market in Germany, with mulled wine, bratwurst, and various handicrafts. René played Santa Claus for two hours, distributing small gifts and posing for many photos. The children also loved it.

In the first week of Advent, there was a great performance by 'Grundschule singt' at the Regent Hotel. Finn sang several songs with the entire elementary school in the festively decorated lobby, in front of hundreds of spectators. For us parents and audience members, there was delicious Christmas tea and great cookies.

And here too, St. Nicholas visited, and St. Nicholas Day was celebrated at school as well.

The sponsor group organized a visit to one of Beijing's largest tea houses; it was impressive, with a variety of green, yellow, and black teas and tea accessories spread across multiple floors. They had everything from small sieves to fine porcelain cups. Of course, we also got to taste many teas.

In the second week of Advent, there was the Christmas party for the sponsor group, and we went to the Dhawa Hotel in Jinshanling. It's a beautiful hotel built in the style of Hutongs, near the Great Wall. After a delicious meal, including a gift exchange, we hiked up to the wall with mulled wine and cookies and experienced a beautiful sunset. It was a great way to end the year!

On the weekend, the four of us went skiing in Chongli. We enjoyed fantastic snow and great slopes, despite temperatures around -9 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, there were no Austrian delicacies in the huts. But having beef noodle soup with a nice cup of coffee was also okay. Or, as we had it on the second day, soup with lamb innards. Yummi, not! We will definitely come here again. It's worth mentioning the great butt and knee pads that especially the snowboarders wore.

Finally! The last week arrived before we returned to Germany for three weeks. On Monday, I (Marion) went with three friends to the rooftop rider company near Beijing. It was amazing to see the many colors and figures available. Both the order and each individual figure had a meaning. Only the Emperor's houses were allowed to wear gold. At lunchtime, we went to the Hulu Restaurant in Beijing, where just a glance at the fantastic Christmas menu was enough for us to reserve a table for the evening. The kids were completely thrilled. All the dishes were decorated in a Christmas theme and style (see photos). On Tuesday, there was a winter hike organized by the sponsor group, through the impressive Stone Valley to a great section of the Great Wall. We climbed through the water and over the ice in the gorge, and some shoes got wet. All of this with temperatures around 0 degrees Celsius and sunshine. The section of the wall was unrestored, and surefootedness was required. It was a fantastic final hike of 2019. On Wednesday, I (Marion) and three other women signed up for a cooking class at 'the Hutong': hand-pulled noodles with delicious meat. We were a fun group with four other participants, and within two hours, we made homemade noodles with chicken and a tasty sauce. It was a lot of fun. Our children still had some last assignments to write, and of course, there was a nice Christmas celebration in both classes with gift exchange, cookies, and punch. On Thursday, there was a fantastic Christmas concert at school, where Leo performed with her choir and Finn with 'Grundschule singt'. On Friday evening, the first plane took us home to Germany via Moscow. René followed a week later.

We are now enjoying three weeks in our homeland. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

The blog will be on hiatus until January 2020.