Thursday, March 23, 2017

Kloster Eberbach Easter Market

Hello all! We have been in the land of limited computability as our preferred laptop died, and our second laptop, which only speaks German, has been moody and only allows access to the internet sometimes. We finally decided to go old school and set up a new desktop computer, in an "office" like area as the kids are getting to an age where they regularly need to do schoolwork online. It took some time to work out the details, (and we have SUCH a love/hate relationship with technology) but we are back to having a reliable, comfortable computer set-up!

A few weekends ago we drove to Kloster Eberbach for the Easter Market there.  This is one of the biggest Easter markets in Germany, and in a spot we have never visited! So even though Easter Markets aren't our favorite thing, we decided to make the trip. The Kloster, or Monastery, was founded in 1136. The Monastic group was dissolved in 1803 and the property moved to private ownership.  It only became a public property again (owned by the state) in 1998. They are still renowned though for their wine-making and the wine bar was quite busy the day we were there.

It was a lovely Spring day to enjoy the grounds.

Gardens, old buildings, and arches make my heart super happy.


So, why aren't Easter markets my favorite thing? First because you have to pay an admission to go in.  Second, because there usually aren't any foods, music, or activities for kids.  Mostly, you walk around and admire the, admittedly amazing, artistry of these eggs and that is pretty much it.  Also, they didn't allow photos. This photo is one I stole off Facebook of the eggs that a friend of mine purchased at this same market. They are incredible!  Three of these are REAL eggs y'all!  The large one is from an emu. The one on the left is made from wood, I believe, and embellished with these teeny tiny beads.  One of our kids' favorite stands sold the plain blown out eggshells of various birds.  It was fun to see the varieties of colors and sizes and to see which birds they came from.  But these painted, carved, and embellished eggs are soooo expensive.  I just can't stomach spending so much money on something that is so fragile and will likely be broken by one of our kids, one of our moves, or my own clumsy hands.

Thankfully, this Easter market had an alternative.  For 1 Euro each, our three big kids each bought a blown out chicken's egg and sat down to paint them.

Rob and I took turns walking around while they happily worked on their own masterpieces.

  
We brought them home and placed them on some of my Polish pottery egg cups on the windowsill. The teeny, tiny hedgehog "puzzle" was Amelie's choice at the Easter Market since she was too young to color an egg.  And you know what, one of those eggs has already been broken by little hands- I am so glad it only cost 1 Euro!