Santa just couldn't be bothered

My friend sent me these pictures from the Kaiserslautern Weinachtsmarkt. We both found them hilarious.

Off with his head, then replace it with a piece of paper! And, what's with Santa's black mustache?

I found out who the big bird is!

I did a bit of research (aka guessing, via Google) and found out that the Elwetritsch wandering around Kaiserslautern is actually the mascot of an electric company. There is some sort of promotion going on that if one spots her and (I believe) sends a picture of a good place for her to hide, there is a possibility of winning a car. At least that's what I understood by quickly perusing the company's website. It's something along those lines.

Saw this guy in Dresden

Cute cute cute!

He was on a humongous advent calendar on the side of a Weinachtstmarkt hut.

There are mythical Pfälzisch creatures about!

When I was walking around downtown Kaiserslautern, I saw a lady leading an elwetritsch around!

What is an elwetritsch, you ask? Well, it's a mythical bird known to the Pfälzisch region of Germany. It's like the Pfälzisch version of a snipe, I would assume. It's so famous that Neustadt has a fountain with quite a few of them in it (and I have pictures and more to say about that, but that's a whole other blog entry).

The interesting thing about the elwetritsch I saw was that its human leading it around was soliciting signatures for something. I was super curious about the whole situation but I still felt like an interloper because my German isn't good enough yet to ask about it. So, I just watched from a distance and took some pictures of the mysterious beast.

Stop in the name of kale!

I found a place to buy kale that is cheaper than the farmers' market downtown. There, kale is 5,99 euros a kilogram, which is rather expensive. I didn't buy any at the farmers' market during my shopping trip.

However, I later passed a Turkish produce store and the kale was only 1,99 euros a kilogram so I couldn't pass it up. I also couldn't pass up some couscous, either. I bought a huge bunch of kale and laughed with the store clerk as I tried to shove it in my bag and it stuck out.

On my way home, a German lady stopped me and asked me (in German, of course) where I bought the kale. I answered in horrible German but as she asked me more questions I got stuck. She then asked me more in English. Phew! I told her it was only 1,99 a kilogram and that it's much more in the farmers' market. She said that's why she stopped me, because she was looking for a better price. We both had a smile over our love of kale. It's the first time I've been stopped in the street over it!

Here's a picture of it, spilling out of the bag. I must have looked quite silly, schlepping the bag around with it poking out and being a walking billboard of sorts for the produce store.

Kulturmarkt vor Weihnachten: Christmas Craftsmarket in Kaiserslautern

In addition to the Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas market) in downtown Kaiserslautern, the Fructhalle, a concert hall also downtown, is hosting a market. Its German name is Kulturmarkt vor Weihnachten in der Fruchthalle.

It's basically an arts and crafts market. I stopped by last weekend and perused the fine art (i.e painting and sculpture) as well as ceramics, knitted items, jewelry, Christmas decorations, etc. Everything was quite nice and handmade. I picked up a ceramic soap dish for eight euros.

In addition to the arts and crafts, there is food for sale. I didn't sample anything, but saw freshly made waffles, desserts, and soups for sale.

The Fructhalle is located right across from the tourists' information office downtown. The market is open from 25 November until 22 December and is open daily from 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. On 12-13 December it is open until 8 p.m. There is no admission charge.

How NOT to eat a pomegranate

Here's a very helpful video on how to deseed a pomegranate the easy way.

Since I often screw up the simple things in life, let me share a cautionary tale on how I learned what is NOT the proper way to eat a pomegranate.

1. First of all, know your Greek mythology. Remember Persephone, who was stuck in the underworld for 3 months of the year (winter) because Hades convinced her to eat pomegranate seeds? That is a helpful hint. Don't be an idiot like I was the first time and attempt to eat the fleshy part inside the pomegranate and throw away the seeds. The seeds are your friends; the fleshy part is not. It's horrible and bitter.

2. The youtube video above is really helpful for removing the seeds. Cut the pomegranate in half lengthwise and whack the pomegranate like it's part of a 50 Shades of Grey novel. The seeds will fall out. It's even better when they fall out into a pan that you had the foresight to put down ahead of time.

3. There is a caveat to step 2 though. If trying this at work, be careful when pulling the pomegranate apart as seeds and juice might fly out unexpectedly and make a horrible mess of the break room, leaving the person shocked and holding half a pomegranate but being extremely grateful that none got all over the white work trousers. I'm sure a slow motion video of this, and the look of shock on the victim's face, would have been hilarious. Cleaning up the mess was not hilarious.

4. Pomegranate seeds are quite delicious when one is able to survive eating the correct part of the fruit and deseeding it.