Another Christmas in Germany

     
       We lived in Germany for 3 years from 1986 -1989. After living in the Bruder Grimm Hotel for 2 months, we moved to a Altenstadt, a village north of Hanau where we knew of no other Americans. That's where we lived for the first Christmas, and we did enjoy getting to know our neighbors, but communication was hard because our language was very limited.  I could say things like "How are you?" and ""I like your dog" and "Merry Christmas" -- not a deep conversation. A couple of our neighbors spoke a little English, and the kids just used sign language to play with the others in the neighborhood.  So when the house we were renting was sold, we started thinking about trying to get housing on the military base.  The value of the dollar was dropping, and it was taking all of our housing allotment just to pay the rent.
     Our new landlord invited us to his house for a party at Christmas, and that was a bit uncomforatble.  No one but the landlord spoke English, so we didn't know what anyone was saying.  We were planning just to make a social appearance, give our greetings, and leave for a another party at the commander's house.  But our landlord had other plans.  He couldn't believe that we did not drink -- at all-- and said he had "Never met an American who didn't like German beer!" I'm afraid we were a disappointment to him -- he was very insistant that we try his flaming alcoholic punch, and we just wanted to leave. 
     By the next summer our name had come up on the list for housing, so we moved to New Argonner, a small kaserne in Hanau.  We lived in an apartment on the third floor, and it was much smaller than our house in Altenstadt, but a relief to be able to talk without straining my brain to think of German words.  When no one has family or old friends around, you get to know to your new friends quickly, and soon we became close to Sharon and Lloyd Fish, our neighbors across the hall.  They had 3 adorable little boys, and we loved spending time with them.  On Christmas they came over for donuts -- I have a great video of their littlest one switching donuts with Sara -- trading his little one for Sara's bigger one when she wasn't looking.
    One Christmas I ordered a pair of leather slippers for Sam, but had them sent to Sharon's house so Sam wouldn't know.  Christmas came and went and the slippers never did show up -- as far as we knew. But a few days after Christmas, there was a knock at the door, and the Fishes were there with a package and a rather sheepish smile.  It seems that Lloyd picked up the package a few weeks earlier, and although he didn't remember ordering them, he did remember looking at some slippers in a catalog and since they were his size and had his name on the package, they must have ben his -- or so he thought.  Turns out that he had been wearing Sam's slippers for a while -- and now they were wrapped up and presented to their rightful owner!  The next year, Sharon bought a jacket for Lloyd and had Sam wear it over to their house on Christmas Day before giving it to him. 
    Christmas in Germany was very special -- I loved going to the outdoor Christmas market in Nurenburg and eating gingerbread cookies and hearing the carols sung in German.  I still love the sound of "Silent Night" sung in the original langusge. And the snow -- we always had a white Christmas! We made some wonderful Christmas memories during those three years across the ocean.