Kinderegg and other yummy treats

This blog entry pays tribute to all the delicious treats to be sampled in Germany:  Great chocolate, yummy gummy bears, not too sweet marzipan, like anise tasting licorice and - on the savory end of the spectrum - Italian inspired pizza (which indeed tastes quite different from the variety available in the US). But the truly best treat is the thinly coated milk and dark chocolate egg that holds the promise of a plastic surprise: The Kinderegg.  Heads off to the German candy manufacturer! The surprise is an intricately thought out toy that needs putting together and is accompanied by a sheet of instructions and stickers. Once you unraveled the whole thing, you cannot ever put it back the way it came and you just have to wonder, how in the world it was assembled in the first place. If you have never had a Kinderegg - it is worth the trip to Germany (or Canada, which might just be slightly more cost efficient). Enjoy!

224/365, sent from Braunfels to Washington, DC



225/365, sent from Braunfels to Braunfels

226/365, sent from Braunfels to Los Angeles

guest artist Yonah L. with postcards in front of a German post box 

guest artist Yonah L. depositing postcards into a German post box

Kneipp's water stepping

In Germany, I rediscovered a phenomenon that was very much a part of my growing up: cold water stepping in the middle of the woods. Sebastian Kneipp (1829-1897) developed a naturalistic approach to healing through movement in cold water. All over Germany, ice cold water basins filled knee-high can be found in the middle of forests. Here, people gather and rest after a walk. They take their shoes off and step into the water, wading through the cold in the way a stork would.  During our vacation, we were able to visit two different Kneipp baths and feel the stimulating effect of the cold water on our bodies. My family went slightly crazy over these water baths. We think they are fabulous and slightly bizarre at the same time.  It is the combination of being in nature and getting a spa treatment that is so unique and special.  While we don't have anything like it in the US, I will try to emulate the effect by walking on cold, wet grass in the early morning.  I'll let you know how that feels!

219/365, sent from Braunfels to Seattle




220/365, sent from Braunfels to Munich



221/365, hand-delivered in Braunfels

222/365, sent from Braunfels to Seattle

223/365 sent from Braunfels to Seattle

home town

We were visiting my home town in Germany, called Braunfels. It is a quaint town with half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets topped by a magnificent medieval castle.  It is quite funny that I never appreciated the town when I lived there as a child.  Only returning there as an adult, I see its beauty and understand why my parents chose the town to build their family.  When we go visit now, we have a competition about who sees the towers of the castle first.  As you can imagine, there are lots of shouts and yells and a bit of a fight about who won the game.

This week I had lots of helpers:  My kids and and the children of old friends in Germany were eager to help out.  Enjoy the variety!

212/365, sent from Braunfels to Seattle

215/365, sent from Braunfels to Jever, guest artist Moritz R. (5)

216/365, sent from Braunfels to Bliesdorf, guest artist Yonah L. (6)

217/365, sent from Braunfels to Berlin, guest artist Ana L/ (12)

218/365, sent from Braunfels to Seattle, guest artist Oskar R. (10)

breakfast in Germany

What is your typical breakfast? Do you slurp up soggy cereal in the morning? Do you munch on a granola bar or bite into a cold pizza? No matter what you eat when you wake up it is called breakfast. I went to Germany with my family and realized that the breakfast we ate there was so different than here in Seattle. Every morning my brother and I would skip to a nearby bakery, there we would buy 4 croissants,1 rye bun and 2 normal milk buns. And if we felt like we needed to eat something sweet, we would buy a cinnamon bun. Then we would skip back home holding 3 bags of bread buns!

"There are so many different sweet spreads to put on my croissant, how will I choose between Nutella and honey with quark?" At last the decision was made and I put an "Eszet Schnitte" (a thin slice of chocolate) and butter on my croissant. This may sound weird to put chocolate on bread? But for a German, cereal sounds completely strange.

I know what I want to try for breakfast next summer ------ Panini (the Italian breakfast).

Written by guest blogger: Ana L. (12 yr)

208/365, sent to Seattle

209/365, sent to Seattle

210/365, sent to Ojai, CA, made by guest artist Yonah L. (6)

211/365, sent from Braunfels, Germany to LA, CA



213/365, sent from Jever, Germany to Seattle, WA

214/365, sent from Jever, Germany to Seattle, WA 

Jackson Pollock inspired

This morning I did an art project with my son. We poured acrylic paint into paper plates, dipped a short string of yarn in each color and then we guided the string over the paper. At times, we just dropped the string onto the paper, other times we would pull it across. The process is a lot of fun, very satisfying and almost a relief after all the other carefully thought out cards.  These five postcards go out to my nieces and nephews at their summer camp.
By the time this post is published on MazeCard, we are traveling in Germany to see family and friends.  While I will continue to design, write and send postcards, I will probably not have the opportunity to post anything until we are back home in mid August.  So, please bear with me and revisit the blog at a later time.

203/365, sent to Olympia, WA

204/365, sent to Ojai, CA

205/365, sent to Ojai, CA

206/365, sent to Ojai, CA

207/365, sent to Ojai, CA