I absolutely LOVE the way you two include so much detail and explanation in your updates!! THANK you for the tour of the Germany Pav. shops! I ended up with something that you didn't show (maybe they didnt' even have them while you were there?) so that will have to be a surprise for you. At the same time, I did not see the lace ornaments, which I actually may have chosen over what I got.
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed our tour! I am intrigued to find out what you got! I think the discussion of your shopping project was on your PTR actually after our trip. That's why I had a hard time coming up with a suggestion. Perhaps they had those lace ornaments only for the Christmas season and we saw just those that they hadn't sold?
I am very tempted to post the picture of the gingerbread box that we ended up getting on our journey. Hmmm....thinking....
I was thinking of Mikki's quest for a box when I posted the update.
So she finally got a gingerbread box? I think it is a good choice! And you are a perfect witness that these boxes are indeed being sold all over Nuremberg!
I absolutely love the details that you put in your reports. Your perspectives on the world showcase are fascinating. I lived in Norway for a summer and I've noticed as well that the norwegian pavilion is for all of Scandanavia. It was so much fun to hear what y'all thought og the German pavillion. Those thirst are hilarious!
Thanks! We had a lot of fun with these t-shirts! I think the Scandinavian countries really are so closely connected in culture, language and in every day life that it kind of makes sense not to show Norway seperated from the others. It is part of Norway, I guess, to see Swedish and Danish products everywhere.
I will definitely read your DLP report. I don't really know anything about DLP and I can't wait to read the German perspective!
Great, another reader for a future TR!!
Fantastic update!
I loved seeing the German pavilion through your eyes! Our favorite german treat is toblerone....oh wait is it actually Swiss??? Now I can't remember!
Thank you! And yes Toblerone is Swiss!
But don't worry, it is sold in Germany as well, so at least it is a common product here!
So, is the glass pickle in the christmas tree an actual German tradition? I've heard that it isn't, so I wonder why epcot carries them.
The glass pickle is an interesting thing. I read a few years ago that there was someone who actually did research on it (a real historian) and she found out that there is no evidence of this custom to ever have been in existence in Germany. However, in America it is commonly known to be a German custom. The explanation she came up with that this might have been a marketing story in the late 19th century for a German glass manufacturer who exported ornaments to the US. It appears that it has become a custom in American families with German heritage.
I think the explanation why Epcot carries them: While the World Showcase is a pretty good portrait of different countries, it still tries very much to built on the preconceived notion Americans have of different countries. That's why France only shows you Paris, Norway has the vikings, Germany the Biergarten etc. I can understand that, because they still want to entertain people and not get complaints that things are missing, because they show sides of each country that tourists aren't interested in. And the pickle ornament is one of those things that a lot of Americans seem to associate with Germany. While Tokio Hotel (which is much more relevant for German teenagers) isn't!
And it is a good way to sell a useless product - which then brings it back to the tradition of this story as a marketing tool!
So, what did you think over-all of the pavilion?
I hinted on that in the above explanation. I think it is very well done, but it does not show you Germany as it is. The things that are included are very well executed and while they are a bit cheesy, they try to be real copies, not just to be inspired by the real thing as I have often seen at other places in the US. So I think they could have done much worse, but it can never be a substitute for a trip to the real country (and I think that holds true for the whole WS).
Oo-la-la, I am soooo envious you are going again- can't wait to read all about it...can't wait to go, one day, myself!! 
I am starting to really look forward to taking lots of pictures for a TR... 
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there was a fantastic highlight: lime green mickey heads!!! 
