Baden-Baden, Deutschland

I'm back in my current home country after my week in England with my cousin Patricia and her family. We opened presents on Christmas Eve, and I was surprised to find a number of presents for me under the tree, including a couple from my parents. The next morning we went to the family service at their church which was good fun really, and then returned home, gathered some drinks, food, and games, and headed over to Gordon and Doreen's, where we basically spent the rest of the day eating, drinking, and being merry. Doreen's son Phillip joined us for the festivities, and we had a rousing round of Trivial Pursuit (which my team won). Gordon and I also spent some time outside in the Durham wind, talking history and smoking cigars. I was able to skype with my family and see them open the presents I sent them which was nice. A good day. For the rest of my time I relaxed, visited some abbey ruins with Patricia, shopped, and played Settlers of Catan. Overall, it was a great week and it was really nice to be able to still spend Christmas with family.

Traveling on the 28th was a bit of a chaotic time, especially after I missed my second flight from Paris back to Frankfurt. But after a hectic fourteen hours of traveling on planes, trains, and automobiles, I finally arrived in the small town of Greffern, slightly outside of Baden-Baden. I'm here until the 2nd and since we are so close to the French border we're hoping to get to Strasbourg, France at some point.

Hope you are all enjoying your holidays and Happy New Year!
Much love,
Mickeelie