Click to enlarge photos.

I know I have a bad cold when I'm singing along to "Ring of Fire" and I'm not even straining to hit the lowest notes. I do sing bass in my chorus but because it's a women's chorus that really only translates to a low alto. My voice is so low today.

The topic for today is advent calendars. Advent is a very big deal here, and even adults like to have advent calendars. Often with a piece of chocolate behind every door! My calendar is pictured above, on the left. It shows Munich's Marienplatz during the Christmas market. Every day I open up another window to reveal whatever is behind it -- usually a picture of something winter- or Christmas-related, often something very German. Sometimes I'm not even sure what the items are! But yesterday it was an owl.

On the right is a larger advent calendar -- this one is in a business near Odeonsplatz in Munich. Their 24 upstairs windows are numbered for advent and each day they uncover one more so that you can see the amazing constume behind the shade. I love walking by in the evening and looking at all the fancy historic costumes they have in the windows.

(Obviously, these pictures were taken a week or so ago, before so many of the windows were open.)