An Advent weekend in Germany

After the bread  round,  last Wednesday turned into a logistic excersice as we started a little bit earlier than usual, baked our bread, send one basket off to Waterford and one to the Truffle Fairy in Thomastown. Another car went off to Kilkenny very early while the rest of us changed into happy clothes, grabed our suitcases, packed the car, turned around five times in case we forgot something and headed off to Kilkenny. We found the lads who had at this stage deliverd the bread and together headed off to the airport. 9am in the morning, one job done and a long weekend to come. Feeling self righteous and marginally worried about the car which had been driven nearly empty the day before and was protesting with slightly sluggish behaviour, we got to the airport nice and early, parked the car, found the shuttle bus, checked in and settled in to wait. Travelling by air you can choose between frazzled panic or boredom and we opt for boredom any time, incorporating enough time into the schedule to deal with all evenutalities and mostly ending up with no eventualities but with a massive amount of time. So we read, we play, we windowshop, - and we found an amazing new waiting area in the airport. Cooled down to nice temperature and sporting big, colourful sofas, a play area, wifi access, computers and cute holes in the wall, this place was virtually empty because not ascotiated with any restaurant and actually made for the poor travellers with their own sandwiches. The perfect place and the start for a perfect weekend. We travelled on to Charleroi and Mechernich near Cologne for a few packed days with all the family. We ate way, way too many Bratwurst and drank enough Sekt to make it through the entire Christmas. Speltbakers had their promised Christmas outing on the Christmas market in Bonn with hours of food, stalls and ice skating, with Christmas present shopping and hint dropping and with a nostalic look at the carrussell that we are now all too big for and the historic ferris wheel that we will never be too big for but which appears to have shrunk and turned from gigantic to quite small – as so many things do when you grow up.

We met even more family when we celebrated a cousin’s confirmation and are now on our way home. Slowly and with time in hand, we will work our way back to Charleroi, to Dublin and to Bramblestown outside Gowran. Speltbaker’s bread will be  back in the shops on Tuesday, 9th and through to Christmas as we come back full of energy, Christmas spirit and Bratwurst.