Yesterday saw me in Garmisch (again), firstly for a jolly appointment at the Arbeitsamt, which was so nondescript there is nothing I want to or can say about it, and secondly on a mission to find the right ornament for the top of our rather misshapen Christmas tree. The mission was nobody's but mine, i.e. I had challenged myself. For some reason, I had decided that we had to have a bird. Actually I was looking for a snowy owl, but I knew the chances of finding one were pretty slim if not nonexistent.
There is only one place around here where you look for kitschy Christmas stuff - the renowned Käthe Wohlfahrt, a chain of festive emporia with plump, bedirndled assistants and soporific carols playing all year round. So there I went. I was idling over various sparkly avian objects, for once hoping that the lady in charge (who sounded dreadfully ill and for all I know had bird flu) would ask me if I needed any help. Usually I hate this question and have my prickly defences up as soon as I enter a shop. Of course, she ignored me, so busy was she with her kleenex and her throat-clearing, and I was forced to ask for her assistance. I said that I was looking for a bird for the top of my Christmas tree. She gave me one of those looks that only Germans give me when presented with a strange, foreign request, like the time when I asked for duck breast in summer or for suet at any time of year. Was I really sure, she wanted to know. I nodded in affirmation. Did my tree have an overall bird theme? No, I said, but there were a number of birds amongst the other ornaments. And what kind of birds would they be? Well, no particular breed, actually, I said. She looked a bit flummoxed. Then inspiration struck and she dug out the two largest birds in the shop. I wasn't sure either would be right but it was too late. I had fallen into her trap. Why didn't I take both and try them out? Twenty euros and ten minutes later and I was the proud owner of a swan and a peacock. (The ten minutes I spent waiting for them to be meticulously wrapped by another lady with trembling fingers and apparently no concept of urgency.)
Once home I tried them out and asked for Titus' opinion. He liked the peacock, but agreed that the swan, with its more upright stance, was more suitable. Sorted. But to appease him, and because he felt sorry for it, I had to stick the silly peacock halfway down the tree, where it looks completely incongruous amongst the other non-breed birds and wooden angels.
Oh well, it's only a tree. Now I am off to Titus' nativity play, in which he is starring as a shepherd. The highlight, however, will surely be the 'Gemütliches Würstlessen' (cosy sausage eating) afterwards (bring your own plate, knife and cup). I have already primed T for a sharp exit.
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