the blue blog archives: you can take the american out of america, but you can't take the american out of the american

We can't be sitting around in the lovely countryside all the time. We're Americans. We need to shop!

After one day in Germany, some crazy American urge to consume came over me. We drove into the city and picked out some new games for the family to play: Dragon Delta (a planning game similar to Roborally but with a less technical theme and more opportunities to mess up other people's plans) and Hase und Igel (a totally awesome race-style game, but, true to its theme, a race where you often have to be slow to get to the finish line first).

Next, the boys went shopping. They each got 10 Euros for their birthday to spend in the family stationery/toy store. They usually go straight to the toy corner and pick out Siku cars, which are like German Matchbox cars, and then spend the rest of their money on erasers and candy.

And then yesterday, hubby wanted to go to Köln with a friend, so I tagged along to, yup, do some shopping. Cologne is home to the Dom...

...and the Mouse, star of kids' Sunday morning television here and the mascot on the side of the West German Broadcasting building in Cologne. Since I knew that the best knitting store in Cologne, Maschenkunst, was closed on Mondays, I just drifted around. I did stumble upon another yarn store, Casa Lana, which looks lovely on the website but is actually on the small side with the standard German selection of Lana Grossa and Lang yarns.

I did like these funny crocheted German flag washcloths in the window though. Washing up the dishes with the German flag...hmmmmm.....

Okay, American consumerism satisfied. Now back to German stuff. Another one of those good, hour-long German walks through the country perhaps. Or eating some sort of freaky meat.

posted by alison at 1:14 pm | in games we play , vacation 2008

Comments

I'm really enjoying your Germany posts. I was a foreign exchange student in Germany for a year (oh, not really more than 20 years ago, is it?!) and haven't been back since. Your pictures make me feel a little light-headed and lost in time.

Posted by: Suzanne V. (Yarnhog) at August 12, 2008 1:47 PM

"Okay, American consumerism satisfied. Now back to German stuff. Another one of those good, hour-long German walks through the country perhaps. Or eating some sort of freaky meat."

You crack me up. Hope you're all having a good time!

Posted by: Shannon at August 12, 2008 2:04 PM

Oh, I remember Hase und Igel from when I was little - we still have it somewhere. You had to eat lots of salads (which were some sort of free parking type thing?) and carrots, which you had to pay for (?). And you had to get to zero, rather than gain stuff (?). God, I loved that game!

Ah, cologne is awesome. I grew up in Solingen, about half an hour on the train from Cologne (just before you hit Wuppertal) and went to uni in Bonn, just down the road from Cologne. The Dom is soooo pretty (and it's always bigger than you remember it), the Maschenkunst is awesome, and Maus is fantastic - I still watch their 'how things are made' broadcasts sometimes. Oh, and there's a fantastic noodle bar thing in the Altstadt(?), past the 2001 bookshop (also fantastic), off from the Neumarkt. Peanut sauce stuff. Yummy.

Posted by: Kristin at August 12, 2008 5:30 PM

Oh, Koeln :)
Close to me (Duesseldorf)
Have a nice time in the Hinterland (Bergisches Land??)
Enjoy Germany. LG Eva

Posted by: eva at August 12, 2008 5:42 PM

Ah Haba - OOmpa Toys has gotten a good bit of my money for Haba toys - they have the absolutely cutest wooden foods for toy kitchens. Lovely photos.

Posted by: Donna at August 12, 2008 10:50 PM

Hmm, eating the freaky meat. Who knew that was the German in me? I thought it might be the Scottish in me. Of course, looking at them both...maybe I never stood a chance.

Posted by: Laurie at August 13, 2008 1:33 AM

Ahhh, Kristin, Solingen, home of the Gummibear! My husband did his Zivildienst there and has family there. I should have asked you about what to see in Cologne. I feel like I missed out on some good stuff!

Posted by: ALISON at August 13, 2008 7:41 AM

Oooh, I saw the Haba bag, and got excited! I also love the Germany posts - I've never been out of the country, and it's a nice window.

Posted by: jenn at August 13, 2008 2:11 PM

Erasers and candy? Those are my kind of kids. Glad you're having fun!

Posted by: Heather at August 14, 2008 7:32 AM

Hi! New to your blog, but I found you trying to figure out where to buy yarn in Germany. lol.

Any chance you know of a place in the Attendorn area? There is a shop across the street from me but it is closed until the day after I leave the city.

We are probably going to drive outside the city this weekend, and if you think that yarn shop in Colgne is open on Saturday, we might go there. Any idea?

And it is so true...I am not really a big shopper, but I am finding myself wanting to get some Haba toys, some sock yarn, and a pair of Birkenstocks. lol. I don't know where to find any of these. I am hopeless. lol

Jennifer, an American in Germany for a few weeks.

Posted by: Jennifer Z at August 15, 2008 9:11 AM

Thanks for sharing photos! Awesome shirts, you keep giving me ideas for my brother's triplets (they're 2.5 y.o now) Oooohhh German yarn and commercialism... enjoy it!

Posted by: Alicia at August 15, 2008 4:09 PM