Frohe Ostern!

Exerpts from "The Easter Bunny: a gift from Germany" by Julie Blair

Ever wonder how Germans celebrate Easter? You may be surprised to learn it's strikingly similar to how Americans celebrate. That's because most of our American Easter traditions were brought to America by German immigrants...the Easter Bunny, or Osterhase, was born in Germany!...Some historians claim that the first mention of the Easter Bunny was in German writings during the 1500s...all agree he originated in Germany...The ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn, Eastre, whose symbol was a rabbit, was worshipped as the harbinger of new life and new beginnings...While Eastre has been replaced, the bunny figure has not.

Why would a bunny bring eggs?...Eggs have symbolized the birth of new life...eggs were plentiful around Easter time...Christians began giving eggs to loved ones to symbolze the new life found in Christ. Also during this time of year, rabbits, known for their fertility, appeared more frequently in gardens. Eventually, the connection between hidden eggs and bunnies scurrying our of sight led to the belief that the bunnies brought the eggs.

Easter morning in Germany...Children wake to find baskets full of eggs, candies, and goodies...for many, it's off to church...For generations, the Easter Bunny has been bringing colored eggs and goodies to children in Germany...Children play games, including egg-cracking. The object is to use your egg to crack the shell of another's egg- without breaking your own...The rest of Easter Sunday consists of a large family meal to break the Lenten fast and to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. While lamb used to be the main dish, today Germans are more likely to bake a cake in the shape of a lamb...Germans celebrate Easter for two days- Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. Easter Monday is typically a day to visit family and friends.

A touch of Easter at our house...

Our downstairs bathroom just screams Easter!


Our German Easter baskets...



Nothing says spring like tulips...

I found this awesome contraption at the German grocery store that pumps yolk out of eggs like blowing the egg yolk out, but with almost none of the effort! Here are some eggs that I painted for the fun of it...


Our friends Adam and Melanie hosted an Easter meal for about 16 people- thanks, guys! We all brought dishes to share and played the game Cranium before calling it a night. Unfortunately, all of us Americans had to go to work on Easter Monday. Here are some pictures of our friends' kids on Easter...

Sam (Is he calling the Easter bunny?)

And this is little Jack...

Witt Baby Shower

Time for another baby shower...this time our theme was "Everything Green" for St. Patrick's day! Our friends Carrie and Kurt were kind enough to come over during the week to help frost and decorate some cookies. Kurt really took this job seriously and even went so far as to say that frosting is art and cookies are his medium. I would say his "art" most closely resembled that of Jackson Pollock.

Cookie masterpieces...


On the day of the shower, Adam, Carrie and I went for a 6 mile run (as part of our half marathon training) and Campbell's made a wonderful lunch for us...knowing that a grilled chicken BLT was waiting for me at the end of the run carried me through that last mile! After lunch, we had the rest of the day to prepare all sorts of green food and decorations.

Working in the kitchen...

Cookies packaged up as favors...

Green food...


Katie (mom-to-be) was supposed to limit her sugar intake at this point in her pregnancy, so we had sugar free Jello jigglers spelling Nathan's name as well as sugar free fruit smoothies- green with food coloring and served in martini glasses, of course.



We played several games with everyone, including:

1)Guessing the number of Reeses Pieces Eggs in the jar- I was the winner of this little game, but made a mutually beneficial trade with Kurt for a silky, green, aromatherapy eye pillow

2)Guessing Nathan's birthdate (and other information as well, such as length, weight, time of birth, and length of labor)

3) Measure Mom's Belly- Kurt giving the belly measurement his best shot...

Katie comparing our guesses against the real thing- and her husband, Joe, was the winner!

4) Multiple choice questionnaire- Guys marveling over the "Katie" questionnaire they created for the shower...


And although not shown in pictures, we also played 5) "Baby" themed Scategories using Nathan's initials; and 6) Noah's Ark, where everyone tries to list names of animals that begin with every letter of the alphabet.

Opening gifts

Daddy Survival Kit (Joe is proudly displaying his deodorant below)

Carrie, Katie and Melanie lounging on the couch

Cutting the cake (if you look closely, you will notice Joe's clever "Homerun" t-shirt, with a special "O")

Green on the outside/Blue on the inside

Katie and Ashley

The ladies

Very cute diaper cake and very cute parents-to-be...

Nathan is expected to arrive in May and we are looking forward to meeting the newest addition to the Witt family. Congratulations, Joe and Katie!

Birthday Party

It seems like everyone is either turning 30 or having a baby! Here is a picture from our friend Jonathan's 30th birthday party a couple of weekends back...

Danielle, Ashley, Melanie, Carrie

That's so funny...

Frankfurt Part I

Frankfurt am Main: Sunday, March 9, 2008
Rick Steves' travel guide on how Frankfurt came to be: "When Charlemagne and the Franks fled from the Saxons, a white deer led them to the easiest place to cross the Main [river]..."- hence the name Frankfurt am Main.


Here are some pictures from a trip to Frankfurt from a couple of weekends ago with our friends Kyle and Tiffany...

Romerberg
This old market square was the birthplace of the city. The octagonal square, known locally as the Gut Stubb, or Great Parlour, was once the site of market fairs and coronations in the days of the Holy Roman Empire (Romer translates to Roman).

The Altes Rathaus (old town hall) was rebuilt after World War II
Referred to as Ostzeile, these half-timbered houses are typical of Frankfurt's quaint old center before World War II.



Museum fur Moderne Kunst (Museum for Modern Art)
Apparently this building was designed by Hans Hollein in 1989-92 to look like a slice of cake. Some highlites from the museum shown below- really enjoyed the pop art section; nice choice of the bubble gum pink wall!

We Rose Up Slowly (1964), by Roy Lichtenstein

Compositions I (1964), by Roy Lichtenstein
{this is not a close up shot of a small notebook, it is actually a giant composition notebook}

Thing One (1997), by Carl Ostendarp

Bathtub Collage #1 (1963), by Tom Wesselman

Warhol Flowers (1990), by Sturtevant
{So I think this is art based on art; interesting. I thought it was a Warhol original at the time}

Thirty-Five Jackies (Multiplied Jackies) (1964), by Andy Warhol

Brillo Soap Pads Box (1964), by Andy Warhol

Rio-Homage to Marlon Brando (1968), by Clive Barker

Order and Disorder (1985-86), by Alighiero Boetti


(close up of a tile)


Pedestrian Bridge


Judisches Museum
At one time, the Frankfurt Jewish community was the second largest in Germany (after Berlin). This museum, located in the former Rothschild Palace (of the famous banking family), documents the heritage of Frankfurt's Jews spanning back from the 12th century. It was a really interesting museum and had binders full of information in English- I could've stayed there for hours just reading all of the historical information!

A traveling exhibition entitled Beste aller Frauen (Best of All Women) also reflected on the role of Jewish women in religious, economic, social and cultural life.

Torah curtain (parochet) made from a wedding dress and donated to the Vienna City Temple in 1833

Severe warning to unaccompanied female passengers

Anna O. and Dr. Josef Breuer on a piece of cake- exhibit of the Jewish Museum Berlin on the occasion of Sigmund Freud’s 150th anniversary.

"1942 mother packs the small suitcase for escape
leaving behind black coats from the 30s
no longer will we need that much…"


Paulskirche
The first German National Assembly met here and the first German Constitutaion was drafted here. As a result, Paul's Church is now known as the "cradle of German democracy"


St. Leonhardskirche was built in stages during the 13th and 15th centuries.




St. Mary's altar



Roman bath ruins just outside of St. Bartholomew's Cathedral (Kaiserdom)- we were not able to go inside the Cathedral due to evening mass, but there is always next time...



Although we saw a lot, there is SOOO much more to see. Can't wait to bring some of our visitors back to Frankfurt in the near future!