Das ist das Haus vom Nikolaus

The Bernina blog posted this entry recently and for a short time, I considered basing our Christmas cards on this idea.  I thought it might be fun to punch the holes in the card, to enclose a piece of thread and challenge our friends to complete the puzzle.  A DIY card, then.  But then I thought how this is one of those things I have to learn all over again every time I do it and it can be frustrating to keep trying (and failing) when you know the answer is so simple.  I decided against the idea, you’ll be glad to learn.

(all 44 solutions on WIkipedia)

Thinking about this on St Nikolaus today, the 6th December (did you clean your shoes last night?) I found many references to the puzzle in German, but hardly anything in English, except for this useful resource (with one simple solution!)  I also came across the mathematical theory which underpins it – I knew nothing about Eulerian paths until now (and still don’t know much!)  I also discovered the next step of the puzzle…und nebenan vom Weihnachtsmann!

You’ll be glad to know that some routines from Nikolaus have been observed today, as well