Start of Big Freeze in Germany

December 2009. Heavy snowfall affected most countries of Middle Europe. These are impressions from norther Germany during the first day. The pictures speak of tranquility and calmness, just as the snowflakes floated down, slowly and silently.

Henry James about New York

Henry James writes in his book The Wings of the Dove (1902) about New York:
"New York is vast, New York was startling, with strange histories, with wild cosmopolite backward generations that accounted for anything; [...]" (p79, David Campbell Publishers, London, 1997)

Christmas Tree Curiosity and New York

Curiosity drove me to check what the Christmas Tree looks like in New York City? According to the news, the most popular is the Christmas Tree at the Rockefeller Center. The Rockefeller Center has been putting up a Christmas tree since 1931, some years in a more spectacular way than in others. In 1951, a special Christmas tree Lighting Ceremony was added to mark the opening of the Christmas season. Ever since, thousands of New Yorkers and visitors follow the buzz either life or in front of their TV screens. It is an exhilarating ritual to open the Christmas season, don't you think so. This year's Rockefeller Christmas tree comes from Connecticut. It is massive, 10 tons heavy, which is still 5 tons less the weight of Vladivostok's Christmas tree. Cost? Unknown. (Photo by Bryan Bedder) View full article here

Christmas Cracker Buster

Q: "What do you call a reindeer without eyes?"
Kid: No idea.--->giggle!

Q: "What do you call a reindeer without eyes and legs?"
PhD student: Still no idea.--->lol !!

Q: "What do you call a reindeer without eyes, legs and tail?
PhD student: still no fucking idea!---->guffaw!!

Christmas Tree in German Countryside

And this is what the Christmas tree looks like in Kyritz, my hometown in Germany. A modestly sized Scotch pine from the vast, surrounding forest. (source photo: http://www.kyritz.de/)
Location of Kyritz, Germany

Massive Christmas Tree

My first impressive Christmas tree this season I saw in Dresden. It's probably 6-7 metres high, set in the main hall of Dresden Central Station. The buzzy  atmosphere attracted large numbers of people; it was cosy and "Christmassy".

Russia's Most Expensive Christmas Tree...

...nope, it is not the one in the picture. The most expensive Christmas tree, yes,will be erected in Vladivostok. The Russian online newsmagazine Novostivl.ru compares the cost of Christmas trees selected for different Russian cities; that means for cities which are willing to invest some of their budget money for the 'New Year Wonder'. St Petersburg is spending  2,7 million rubles (app. 53,000 Euros), Nizhnij Novgorod and Tula are buying a tree worth 2,4 million rubles (app 48,000 Euros), and Yekaterinburg - east of the Ural mountains where the the last Tsar Nicholas II and all members of his family were executed by the Bolsheviks - sacrifieses 2,5 million rubles (app. 50,000 Euros) of its budget. Moscow is the luckiest amongst the Russian host cities for Christmas trees: 'Yelka' comes completely free from the nearby Moscow forest.
Now, how much will the Christmas tree in Vladivostok then be if it is said to be the most expensive throughout Russia?? Well, the city pays a whopping 5,28 rubles (app. 105,000 Euros) for an artificial version, weighing 15 tons AND another 5,2 million (app. 104,000 Euros) for installation, decoration and dismantling. Last year Christmas trees were around 1,2 million rubles (app. 24,000 Euros). (http://novostivl.ru/msg/9544.htm) 
Russians love their Christmas trees and will enjoy it every second. On January 7th, 2010, they will go out in the night, no matter what the temperature is like, and will gather around their 'Yelkas' perhaps dance and sing. (The picture shows the Christmas tree of the season 2008-2009 in Moscow, near the Kremlin Wall and Spassky Tower; by www.englishrussia.com)

2. Advent Quote

"....from the Eleventh chapter of Hebrews. It begins, 'Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (from Clinton's My Life, page 878)