The Saga of the Creche

My annual Christmas clean-up always occurs January 1st, with the Rose Parade on TV as my companion.  This past New Year's Day I sorted through everything Christmas, putting aside the things I wanted to store, making boxes of things to give away, and carefully wrapping and boxing what I wanted to have in Germany.

A few days ago, some ten months later, I opened the two Christmas boxes we shipped to begin decorating for my favorite season.  Looking for our creche was futile;  one lone wise man represented ten missing figures.  Disappointment rolled over me.  Then I realized that this might be a great opportunity to purchase a nativity made in Germany.  A nice addition to our Christmas holiday.  Not having found any in town, I was told to look at Weihnachtsmarkts (Christmas markets) and Hornbach (the German HomeDepot).

Since then we have been to several Weihnachtsmarkts, but the two creches I found were both small and very expensive.  So today I ventured, on my own, to Hornbach, about twenty minutes' drive south.

Once there, I found a cute mouse to keep the cold from coming in under the front door and a white Christmas cactus, but no nativity.  So, I found a clerk and asked, "Verkaufen Sie eine Crippe?"  She raised her eyebrows, and then said, "Ah! Eine Weihnachts Crippe!"  (say the 'cr' like you are clearing your throat and you will sound a bit like she did.)  Then, in German, she began to tell me where to look. Wonder of wonders, I understood her.  But, alas, there was not a "Crippe" to be found.  So I went to the cashier.

As I walked up the cashier engaged in quite a conversation with the older couple in front of me.  When she began to ring up my purchases she began to talk to me about my Christmas cactus and how she had ten at home, in many different colors.  My second conversation of the day in German.

 I hadn't found any creche figures for our Christmas decorations, but I had participated in and understood a good portion of two German conversations.  The trip was a success.  Now to find the illusive Crippe!!