Christmas: Christmas Markets, Lights, and Pfand

One of the most distinctive things about Christmas in Germany are the Christmas markets that are held anywhere groups of people are found, from the biggest cities to the smallest villages. These markets are basically clusters of little stands that sell everything from Christmas decorations to winter clothing, smoked fish to roasted almonds and chocolate-covered fruit, bratwurst to fried mashed potatoes, and Glühwein to beer-on-tap.



For those of you who have never heard of Glühwein (literally, "glowing wine"), it is more or less a warm, spiced wine that is traditionally consumed during the winter, especially around Christmas. It is very popular, and you can find it everywhere you turn. For children or adults who don't like alcohol, there is an alcohol-free version called Kinderpunsch (childs' punch). It, too, is served warm and can be compared to a spicy cider. I have tried both, and I have to admit that I didn't care for either...but maybe it's an acquired taste.

Some of the items that I liked the most at the Christmas markets were these adorable little "smoking houses"...miniature German-style houses with chimneys, where actual smoke comes out if you place incense inside. They are so cute, and I really wanted to buy one, but unfortunately they were a bit out of my price range (i.e., under 10 euro).



There are also a lot of woodwork decorations. These seem to be quite popular here as well, as I have noticed that quite a few people place wooden arches that hold candles in their windowsills, which look really pretty at night.

Christmas lights aren't as such a huge phenomenon in Germany as they are in the US. It's just an American thing. Perhaps an explanation of this (beyond the difference in cultures) is the higher cost of electricity. Most people either can't afford it, don't believe in wasting so much energy for something like that, or just think it's stupid and unnecessary. However, thanks to the Americanization that's been taking place over the last few decades in Germany there has been a rise in the number of homes with Christmas lights (more on Americanization later).

Something cool about buying warm drinks at Christmas markets is that they serve it to you in actual ceramic mugs. Here's how it's different than anything in the US: There is a "Pfand" system, which gives you two options...either you may take the mug home with you as a souvenir, or return it to the stand and receive half of the cost of the drink back. I don't think it is unique to Christmas markets though, as I have seen this before at outdoor beer gardens (like at the Ritterfest I went to with Julia in Bavaria last summer).

Christmas Time: Advent and Nikolaus

Continuing with my belated holiday theme, I will now go on with the most magical time of year, Christmas!

Christmas (Weihnachten) in Germany is something truly special that I'm happy I had the chance to experience. The season here is based on Advent, which is the time spent in preparation for and anticipation of the nativity of Jesus, or Christmas Day. Advent is measured in two ways. First, by use of the Advent calendar, in which every day has a special door to be opened as that day comes, often hiding a piece of candy or small gift to be enjoyed on that particular day. Next, Advent is also followed using 4 candles, representing the 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas. Four Sundays before Christmas, the first candle is lit. On the next Sunday, a second candle is lit, and so on.


Example of an Advent calendar.

Santa Claus takes a slightly different form in Germany. Here, it is "Sankt Nikolaus" (Saint Nicholas) who plays the role of the generous old jolly fat man. Nikolaus comes not once, but TWICE during the Christmas season. First, he comes on Sankt Nikolaus Tag (Saint Nicholas Day), which is celebrated on December 6th. On the night of the 5th, children put their shoes in front of their door, and during the night Nikolaus comes and fills them with candy if they were good in the last year...otherwise they just get a small tree branch (not coal like in the US).


Advent candles.

For some children, this is also a fearful thing, as Nikolaus is often accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht (a servant equipped with 8 deer legs), who would threaten to beat the children if they misbehaved. In Switzerland, he even takes the children, puts them in sacks, and either drags them into the forest or throws them in the river to drown them. (These legends can be quite gory....something tells me that this would not go over as well in the US...too bad! lol.)

Of course, Nikolaus also comes on Christmas Eve to bring toys for good little boys and girls.

During this time, chocolate Nikolaus men are also sold. My neighbor put one at my door for me to find on my way out to work the next day. It was really sweet. I couldn't eat any of them because they are so cute...and they are still all sitting on my windowsill today, March 10th. Hahaha.


My collection of chocolate Nikolaus men.

More to come!

Pamela

So, I really miss my sweet friend Pamela Raggl from home! She's a fabulous lady, and I'm looking forward to seeing her again when I get back. Unfortunately her plans to visit me in Berlin fell through, but that's ok...she's here in my heart!

Pamela, you're a smart, strong, courageous, beautiful person who is very loved!! Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. You deserve the very best! :) See you this summer! <3

Thanksgiving in Germany (all together now: "You are so behind!!!!")

Ok, so as you have probably noticed, I am incredibly behind with my blog. I apologize to those of you who enjoy reading it and have been waiting patiently for a new post.

So, I have to go all the way back to November, because I never wrote anything about Thanksgiving. Well, as you probably know, Thanksgiving is only really celebrated by Americans (and Canadians in October!). There is a similar holiday in Germany called "Dankfest", but it's not as widely celebrated im comparison with Thanksgiving in the US.

I went to a special Fulbright Thanksgiving celebration in Berlin-Kreuzberg for our regional chapter. A chef from Louisiana who emigrated to Germany runs a bar/restaurant there, and he kindly offered to roast a big turkey to help us celebrate. That was really generous of him, because actual turkey seems to be rather difficult to find here, or at least the type of turkey that us Americans are used to eating.

The rest of the meal was pot-luck style, and I made a potato salad. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but no one else seemed to care, because it was completely gone at the end of the meal.

As I was walking through the dimly-lit streets of Kreuzberg with my potato salad trying to find the "New Orleans Haus", a woman came up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder, and scared the living hell out of me. "Are you goin' to the Fulbright Thanksgivin' thang?" she asked, with a strong southern twang. Relieved that it was simply another American going to the party and not a drugged-up prostitute looking for trouble, I said yes, and introduced myself.

We had a great time together the entire evening, and as it turned out, the southern woman was in fact German. Huh?

Well, she spent 2 years in Atlanta, GA and managed to pick up that accent really well. Talk about fascinating! I will never be able to perfect my German that well, no matter how hard I try. (Curse you, American school system, for starting foreign languages so late...)

The meal was a patchwork attempt at the traditional American Thanksgiving feast. People tried as best they could, but certain things just aren't available in Germany. For example, since Campbell's soup is an American product, as well as French's French Fried Onions, no one was able to make Green Bean Cassarole. American-style pies also don't exist in Germany, so unfortunately we didn't have pumpkin pie (my favorite!). All in all though, the food was still good and the spirit of Thanksgiving was there.

And that's something to be thankful for. (Awwww!)

Heidelberg

This weekend I went to Heidelberg for the Fulbright Winter Conference/Winter Ball, and it was so wonderful! I’ve never been to this area of Germany before, and I was really pleased by how beautiful it is, even in February. There are vibrant green hills and trees, light blue rivers and streams, and little red-roofed villages scattered about. Appreciating the scenery gave me something to do for a while during the 6-1/2 hour train ride from Berlin (although I did just happen to sit next to another American, so at least I had someone to talk to for a while).

I stayed with a German couple who were also members of the “Fulbright family”, Anja and Christian. We were placed together by the event coordinator, and so I wasn’t sure how it would go, but luckily they ended up being really nice, not to mention super smart. They lived in Washington D.C. for a year working on graduate degrees in American History and Literature, although Christian taught German in Oklahoma for 2 years before that. Their English was so perfect that I thought they were American when they picked me up from the train station. It gave me a sense of familiarity that was comforting after being away from home for so long.

Later that evening, our Fulbright group had a get-together at a place called “Das Bootshaus”, a rowing-themed restaurant right next to the river. I met some new people, ate too much shrimp scampi, had some great meaningful conversation, and enjoyed the evening.

On Saturday morning we went to a meeting that was pretty much the most boring thing ever (read: worse than school board meetings). Anja and I left with another new friend Kasey, and walked around the original part of the town looking in stores and taking some pictures. We also walked across the river to “the other side of the bridge”, a large hill with beautiful vintage homes. However, this is only for the elite, who can either pay millions of Euros for one of these homes. There is a pathway to the top of the hill called the “Professor’s Walk”, because it was where professors and intellectuals used to go to think for a while without distractions. Of course, I’m a little out of shape, at least by European standards, so this walk was a bit of a challenge for me…but we did have a great view.

After eating Falafel for lunch and stopping by a chocolatier, we went home to get ready for our super-exclusive, invite-only dinner/ball at the House of Congress. It was probably the most amazing thing I have experienced since being in Europe….I felt like a princess! Everyone was dressed like royalty, the Bürgermeister and other VIPs were there, and even the press was there snapping photos. It was comparable to eating dinner at the White House with the president. We had an amazing three-course meal that was very upscale. Afterward, everyone moved to the ballroom and danced waltzes, tangos, jitterbug, and all other possible things imaginable. Too bad my feet were killing me thanks to my stupid heels!!

The party lasted until 4 am, although I didn’t stay that long. Europeans are hardcore like that.

Today, everyone wrapped up the weekend by having brunch, but afterward there were also tours that people could go on. I did the castle tour, which was awesome. It sits on a hill above Heidelberg. The castle itself is now more or less a ruin…but a pretty one. It’s not super ornate or anything, but still interesting. We also had an amazing view of the town.

What a great weekend!

Paris, Part Trois

Sunday, our last full day in together, was dedicated to the Louvre, one of the biggest and most famous art museums in the world (home of the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and my other well-known pieces), as well as the Arc de Triomphe, the famous avenue Champs-Élysées, and the cool big graveyard Père Lachaise where Jim Morrison, famous French singer Édith Piaf, classic writer Oscar Wilde, and other notable people are buried.

We got up extra-early so that we could get ready, eat, and get to the Louvre by 8:45 (right before opening at 9) and beat the lines. Of course, we weren’t the only ones with this idea, and still had to wait in line for a while….but it was nothing like it was when we left.

The Louvre is so massive that a person needs a full week to really look it over thoroughly, and we only had 4 hours. However, unless you are an art history person, this is about all you can take at one time before you get “arted out”.

Margie and I bought these little English audio guide things so we could learn more about the art work as we went (unfortunately for us, all of the descriptions next to the paintings and sculptures were in French). They were recommended to us by a roommate at our hostile, who was very enthusiastic about the necessity of having them. However, we weren’t as pleased because only a few items actually had numbers that corresponded to descriptions on our guide (very lengthy, detailed ones at that), and it wasn’t worth the 6 Euro a pop that we had to pay for them. You get just as much out of it just by walking around and looking at things (again, unless you are an art historian). Oh well, that’s life.

Next, we walked down Champs-Élysées , the historically-rich avenue that leads up to the Arch de Triomphe. Unfortunately, at this point my boots had become completely saturated because we had walked through so much deep slush and water that was everywhere, and even the protective coating I sprayed over them wasn’t enough to block it out. My socks were soaked, and every step I took went “squish…squish…squish…”. It was absolutely miserable. I believe “soggy” is right there next to “sticky” on the list of most uncomfortable conditions a person can be in.

Champs-Élysées is probably the most famous avenue in all of Paris. It extends from the Louvre to the Arch du Triomphe, which is approximately a mile and a half. Since the late 1700s, this avenue has been known for being fashionable, and people would dress up in their finest to come here and shop. Champs-Élysées was also the site of several famous military marches, including that of German troops celebrating the fall of France in 1940, as well as French and American soldiers celebrating the city’s liberation from German control in 1944. Today, it is full of extremely expensive stores that only rich people can even afford to look at.

After walking down Champs-Élysées, Margie, Nate, and I approached the Arc de Triomphe. Of course it is surrounded by a very busy roundabout, so we contemplated how to best cross it without being killed. There were maybe a dozen people under the arch, whom we estimated to be hobos, what with their garbage-barrel fire presumably lit for warmth in the cold December wind. Soon we discovered there was an underground bridge that would take us to the arc, and when we got there, we realized that the people weren’t actually hobos, but tourists….and the hobo fire was actually a memorial lit for the “unknown soldier.” Oops!

Next we took the subway to the famous cemetery Père Lachaise. Unfortunately, all of the gates were locked shut. We went into a little café nearby to ask someone, and apparently it was closed thanks to flooding caused by all the snow melting. That sucked, but oh well.

At this point, I was so uncomfortable thanks to my stupid wet boots and socks that I just had to go back to the hostel and dry off. Luckily, this was ok with Margie and Nate, since I told them they could keep going to check out a few other smaller things on the list. I went back, dried off, and relaxed for a while until they came back a few hours later.

We ate dinner at the bar/restaurant downstairs in our hostel, and Margie and I shared a pizza and apple pie a la mode. It was really good. Nate got a cheeseburger, and we just chilled out for a few hours until we went to bed. Margie and Nate had to leave by 9 in the morning to make it to the airport and fly back to Sweden together (Nate will be checking out Margie’s place next).

The next morning, we all got up and ate breakfast together before they left. I had to stick around for another 6 hours or before going to the airport, so I just skyped and messed around online until 4, when I realized my flight back to Berlin was cancelled….and that’s where the nightmare began….

Paris, Part Deux

On Saturday, the 3 of us got up early so do some more sight-seeing. None of us slept very well, unfortunately, but that's life. Someone was snoring loudly in our dorm, and people kept coming in and out at all hours of the night, opening up the creaky lockers under the bunks and waking us up. Oh well, that's the price you pay for saving a little money and staying in a 10-person room.

The first thing we did was go to Montmarte. This is one of the most famous areas in Paris, as it was the center of the Bohemian Revolution during the late-1800s and early 1900s. It is also the location of the infamous Moulin Rouge and Paris' red light district. The first thing we checked out was the Moulin Rouge. It was cool to see it in person, especially after watching the movie probably hundreds of times in the last 10 years (I can't believe it has already been that long since its premier...my mom and I saw it in the theater! And I don't care what anyone says...it's one of my favorite movies of all time!).

Anyway, it would have been amazing to catch dinner and a live show there, but unfortunately this costs a minimum of 150 Euro per person, which doesn't exactly fit into a teacher's salary. Instead, we took lots of pictures of the outside and also read the history that was posted in the facade. We stepped inside for a few minutes to ask where the gift shop was, and saw some of the original, personal items from some of the first women of the Moulin Rouge. There really was a "Sparkling Diamond" who was the star of the show...and her shoes, elaborate diamond necklace, and perfume bottles were on display.

The gift shop was definitely a disappointment. It was tiny, and everything was locked up in cases and extremely expensive. Don't bother going there if you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods.

Just down the street (still in the red light district), there is the "Museum of the Erotic," which had been recommended to Margie as something we should check out. It was definitely a unique adults-only display...something you would never find in Montana! Needless to say, there were many sexually-explicit objects, sculptures, artworks, gadgets, pictures, paintings, films, etc. from cultures all around the world and from the earliest times to the present. My favorite was the French section from the late 1800s-early 1900s, especially about their brothels. For some reason, this is always fascinating. We also watched parts of a pornographic 1920s silent film...hahaha. It is a legitimate museum over 7 floors that is worth checking out if you aren't too prude and can handle it with a mature and open-minded attitude. Otherwise, it may be too uncomfortable.

Next, we were off to the Catacombs. Back in the 1700s and 1800s, the cemetaries of Paris were overflowing. There were too many people and not enough enough space, which led to unsanitary conditions and disease, causing even more death. The solution: to exhume over 6 million bodies and place their bones in catacombs, or special underground cemetaries with tunnels, rooms, and other recesses dug out as a second resting place. This saves a ton of room, and frees up space in the normal cemetaries for the "more recently dead." We were quite surprised at how far we needed to go underground and how long it took us to get through the series of tunnels that led to the bones...and I was starting to think it was just a hoax. However, just around this time we found them....and it took us an hour to walk through the corridors. The bones were arranged in patterns, alternating leg and arm bones with skulls, while the rib, spine, hand, foot, and pelvis bones were scattered over the top. It is hard to fathom 6 million dead, but walking through the catacombs helps give you an idea. Read more about it here, it's really interesting! Catacombs

After this, we walked through the Luxembourg gardens....although it was a little bit dead due to it being winter. I think that's more of an activity for any of the 3 other seasons in the year.

Next was the Notre Dame cathedral. It was unbelievable how many tourists were crammed into this church...it kind of made it a little bit harder to enjoy, but oh well. It really is a beautiful gothic cathedral...so beautiful in fact that it even inspried Victor Hugo to write his classic, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." There was a house next to it that appeared to be part of the church, and Nate was convinced that this was where the hunchback lived. Who knows?

Achieving our goals for the day, we headed back to the hostel. After relaxing for a few hours, we went to a very quaint, very French bar/cafe. Margie and I wanted to try some French cuisine that wasn't crepes, so we ordered foie gras (duck liver) in an egg sauce, as well as veal with mushroom sauce and noodles. This was way too much food. I wasn't so much a fan of the duck liver...it basically dissolves as soon as it falls in your mouth, but the veal was good. Nate stuck with steak and fries, although he couldn't escape some Frenchness thanks to the bleu cheese sauce over the top.

The waiter was really nice to us, which was nice. He must have thought we were Canadians.

Oh, that reminds me...on the subway, we accidently made some people a little mad because we sat down in the chairs before them, even though we were there first. They ended up getting some seats next to us anyway, and were obviously talking about how much they hated us in French. At this point I loudly said, "I GUESS WE SHOULD JUST GO HOME TO ENGLAND NOW....".

I hate being slightly embarassed to admit that I'm an American thanks to the douche bags that ruin our reputation. It's not fair, but hopefully someday the damage can be undone? I don't know. Whatever. Europeans will continue to simultanously love and hate us until the end of time.