It's no secret that I've been bitten by the travel bug, and I've recently been contemplating a trip to Germany to visit Christmas markets. They are outdoor shopping markets full of hand-made Christmas-related goods and fun and festive foods like pretzels and spiced cider and probably sausages (which I could pass on without much regret). Unfortunately for me, the Christmas markets in Germany only happen during December (unlike American radio stations, which think that Christmas begins immediately after you throw out the rotting jack-o-lantern that you carved for Halloween, Germans believe that Christmas should be limited to only one month of celebration). I was seriously tempted to go this year and went as far as researching airfare for sample dates in December. And, not surprisingly--who really wants to go to Germany in December; it's wretchedly cold and dark--airfare was a bargain.
Then I remembered one teeny tiny detail--I had no passport! We mailed them off for renewal the day before Thanksgiving, and I thought the likelihood of receiving them back before January was slim--no chance of an international trip for at least a month. But then we both received our passports in the mail yesterday! It was a turnaround of 19 days, and I am impressed.
However, there isn't any time for a Germany trip. All of our weekends are booked, and the only open timeframe is between Christmas and New Year's, and by then the markets will be closed, and I am certainly not going to Germany in the winter just to wander around and be cold--I can do that for free here at home. And the Auntie Anne's kiosk at the mall has a near-unlimited supply of pretzels should I get a craving.
Luckily, I have our Italy/Greece/Croatia/Germany trip next year to look forward to. And B has been hinting that he might be interested in a trip to Japan afterwards. He also pointed out that there is a Disneyland in Japan. My interest is piqued...
