Hello Spring, Are You There?

Hello Friends, how are you on this fine day?  We are smack dab in the middle of the weekend and Mollykid is more than ready for Spring!  Who doesn't love the brighter colors, the sunnier days and the flowers popping up all over town?  Well, I love those sure signs of Spring but good old Mother Nature just isn't having it here in Germany just yet.  We had a weird return of snow earlier this week, and with low temperatures, it just won't melt fast enough!  Let me tell you, the people living around here aren't too keen on it since we have had a record dark winter.  In anticipation of the upcoming season, I have decided to devote this post to some of our favorite signs of Spring.

This picture was taken at a butterfly garden nearby in Luxembourg quite some time ago on one of the kids' class field trips.  Picture a giant greenhouse, bright and sweaty with humidity and heat, and nothing but greenery, flowers and thousands of butterflies all around.  I think they actually play games with humans to see how much they can freak you out when they come within centimeters from your face before they change direction or choose to land on your arm, your shirt or even in your hair.  For people of all ages, this is a really up-close look at these beautiful, gentle creatures that you won't soon forget.  I invite you to visit a local butterfly garden in your area this season.   

With Spring comes flowers of all kinds!  This is one of my favorite colorful accessories, especially when I can buy cheap, simple ones to have in my home.  I love my local Aldi store for a bundle of fresh tulips, usually on any day but Sunday when they {and everything else here in Germany} are closed.  For 1.99 euro {about $2.50} I can have fresh flowers on my table for about 8 days.  When you cut the stem about 1.5" up from the end before you put them in water, they do nothing but bloom and spread good cheer.  Of course there all all kinds of flowers at your neighborhood flower shop or why not plant some outdoors for some color?  Here are a couple other favorites...

Here in Europe, April is the month that the local flea markets begin starting up, and if you know me at all, you know I l-o-v-e fleas!!  Since many areas are thawing out from the cold winter weather, Spring is a great time to get out and check out your local markets, as well as venturing out of your comfort zone to check out something new.  One of my favorite markets I found last year was in Homburg, Germany...only a 15-20 minute drive from Ramstein and the Kaiserslautern area and 1 hr 20 min from the Bitburg and Spangdahlem areas.  A real flea heaven {ahhhhh...} for European treasure lovers.  They have their dates listed from April to November 2013 so you can plan ahead.  Here is the link for their schedule so you can check it out: 

http://www.inkwire.de/homburg-flea-market.html

While the United States has always sprung their clocks ahead for daylight savings time, Europe still awaits that traditional sign that Spring is nearing.  While we do lose an hour of sleep, its really not a loss at all since we gain valuable daylight for longer, {hopefully} nicer days.  Along with this comes St. Patrick's Day, Easter and Spring Break.  Need I say more about how nice it is to have Spring approaching?  What do you like best about this season?  Do you have any special seasonal projects you are working on?

Thank you for joining us...here is to a colorful season! xo~Mollykid