31 Days in December #22: Swiss Sunday Christmas

I've really enjoyed the red and white themes of Christmas decor in Switzerland. This is the first year of marriage that I haven't prepared for Christmas. Oh, we made and froze stuffing and bought turkeys before we left home. I put 2 homemade tabletop trees in the LR. But there was no baking, no gift-wrapping, no decorating the front door and stairs. No decorating a tree. We sent Christmas cards to a few via post, but most heard from us via email.

Typically Swiss: red bulbs
and Stollen (bread)

It's weird this year. Different. I can't decide if having no Christmas decor is freeing or if it's just another loss to process. Probably both. We don't get another chance for Seattle traditions. Next year, we expect to be in sandals and hot-weather clothing, far away.

A typical Swiss tree:
plainly striking

We'll arrive home late Christmas Eve. I'm a Boxing Day fan (Dec 26) of putting Christmas things away ... so Christmas will come and go in a day.

Funny thing: last year I felt this surge of decorating motivation. We decorated our big tree and the house, used all the festive dishes, hosted friends and family, and prepared our traditional Christmas feasts.

However, in January, I began shedding 35 years of Christmas accumulation. We sold our 10' tree, lights, and about 15 boxes of ornaments during our move. By fall, our Christmas "stuff" had been reduced to the 2 little trees and one box of keepsakes (still packed up).

Smile worthy: Christmas decor includes a
stuffed squirrel that sits on the pulpit

I thank God for His gift of energy and the pleasure in "doing Christmas" one last time. He knew then of the changes coming - that we'd never celebrate in that home again. This year, T and M are letting the family use the space for family Christmas but it's up to them to decorate (or not - they just had a baby a month ago). We'll meet in their home not ours.
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This Sunday morning, we're out of the Oberhofen house by 8:15am to get things set up for the service. Leanne sings through her songs; the worship team reviews their music.

Leanne Russell, a true soprano with a big heart

The tables are set and the room fills with regular attendees and guests. Leanne's a wonderful soprano and very confident, easy to play for. It is relaxing, energizing, and fun for me to play for a service again. The audience response is positive.

The morning worship service at Kristliches Zentrum Thalgut

W preaches before taking questions at the end as usual -- this time in German. Students and adults come up to ask theology questions after it's over. We talk to a lot of people before we're out the door.

Hot stone feast

We have our last big lunch at a hot stone restaurant. The family works as butchers. Oh my! W's steak is amazing, my veal is tender and tasty. The decor is Swiss and the service friendly. They bring huge bibs so the cooking doesn't splatter our clothes.

D enjoys a "fitness classic" of steak and salads

The world-famous cookie factory, Kambly of Trubschachen, lies in the Emmental (famous for Emmentaler cheese). We've skipped dessert at the restaurant. Nothing prepares us for aisles of cookies. Nearly every type has a plate of samples: we cruise along, tasting as we go like the dozens of other customers. In the end we buy a few favorites.

Marzipan figurines

Some long tables are set up for clients learning to make marzipan figures from the store's experts. Children and parents lean over their colored dough. Little birds, bears, and elves emerge.

The sun burns through late afternoon clouds

Swiss regulations restrict the color, size, and shape of homes. Therefore, the landscape unfolds with traditional houses made of wood and plaster, endless variations on a theme.

Traditional Swiss architecture in the Emmental

The wind blows quiet ripples across the Thunersee as we drive home near sunset, renewed in spirit and body.

Thunersee

Read more:
*The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. Psalm 19:7 ESV

*By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. The wise prevail through great power,and those who have knowledge muster their strength. Proverbs 24:3-5 NIV

*Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. 1 John 2:3 ESV

Moravian Prayer: We are a tired people trying to be faithful, God. Renew us through your acts of grace. Invigorate us when we see your Spirit at work in the world. Restore in us the joy of your salvation through the birth of your Son. Amen.

31 Days in December #17: Bern, friends, and bears

Leanne and I go over the music for Sunday a few times before W, Doris, and I have to leave for Bern. Neither Leanne nor I know our part but we're in the first rehearsal so it's no big deal. 

The streets center around fountains
with historical statues

Bern is Switzerland's capital city, beautifully dressed for Christmas with 4' live trees fixed to buildings along the main streets. When the sun goes down, the lights twinkle down on each side of the thoroughfare where pedestrians walk.

Das Rathaus (Parliament)

We're meeting Regina and her three children (5, 3, 1) who have taken a 2.5 hour train trip from NE Switzerland to Bern. There's a play car for children on their express train and the children have had a good trip. 

Regina's family under the clock tower

D and Regina lived in our neighborhood when their son was a baby. We met at a cafe in Kirkland and then again on walks closer to home. They spent Christmas with us in 2010, playing a trombone duet and little M sitting on my lap at the piano for the carol sing.

At the Bärenpark

The kids walk with Regina and me all the way from the station through town to the bear park. One bear is strolling around the stumps, to the delight of the children. The littlest gal is an angel: she sleeps all the way to the park, walks around a bit while we're there, then hops back into the stroller without fussing. What a pleasure to see them on their own soil again, after several years ago on ours!

Doris and I at the Christmas Market

After Regina's family catches the train back home, W, Doris, and I walk through the Berner Christmas Markets. I love the Christmas celebrations in this part of the world.

We head back home through Thun where we pick up some chocolates at Aldi.

A cream horn to finish up

Doris makes a cheese fondue for supper: bread, apples, cheese. Accompanied by pickled onions and red cabbage, it's the perfect meal. A few pastries finish up the evening.

Read more:

*Jacob said to his household, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves." Genesis 35:2 ESV

*But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us"). Matthew 1:20-23 NIV

*Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34 ESV

Moravian Prayer: God, you dared to become as vulnerable and frail as we are. Grant us the courage to let go of what keeps us from living a redeemed and renewed life in relationship with you. Amen.