Christmas in Germany

(Me reenacting Do-Re-Mi)

I kept thinking that I would update this blog with all the places I have traveled to since Munich, but I got a little swept away by Berlin and it just didn't happen. In any case, today seemed like the perfect day to post a little something. So to speed through the past two months, here are the highlights. Munich: cold snap, day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, Hofbrauhaus with new friends Terry and David and Pretzel Girl. Salzburg: The Sound of Music Tour (really cheesy fun!), Mozart's House, Schnapps Tasting, and a monastery's beer hall.

Prague: Crazy night with Terry and David and Norwegian cougars, lots of cheap beer and delicious gulasch, beautiful walks through the old city and Prague Castle.

Berlin: seeing Tobi, four-week German course, Fernsehturm. Hamburg: Pheonix Concert with Terry and David, fireworks, Bum Bum. Whoo, that was exhausting.

Now I want to write about the magic of Christmas in Germany. I was telling my roommate Kelo yesterday that Germany has the Christmas traditions that I always dreamed about. Christmas in Santa Barbara is usually pleasant and balmy, but when you want to wear cozy christmas sweaters and survive on hot chocolate, 65 degree weather can be a bummer.

It's 1 degree (celsius) today.

I woke up a bit late and have since been camped out by the heater in my bright yellow kitchen with a big mug of Earl Grey and chocolate dipped gingerbread cookies. They are called "Spekulatius" in German, which is a silly word, imho.

Yesterday, Kela and I took little Jonas to the Weihnachtsmarkt at the Kulturbrauerie. It's a small Christmas market inside the historical brewery of out neighborhood, Prenzlauerberg. Weihnachtsmarkts are probably my favorite thing about Germany so far. My Tandem partner took me to the Weihnachtsmarkt at the Gendarmenmarkt a few weeks ago. We speak for an hour in German, then an hour in English, but this time we were more concerned with eating bratwurst and drinking Glühwein. Friederike introduced me to the wonders of Feuerzangenbowle, basically a giant pot of mulled wine with a trough of sugar hanging above it. The sugar has rum poured over the top, and then it is lit on fire! And to top it all off, they have a bottle of rum to add a pinch more alcohol to each glass of carmelized rum-wine. Rike is having a Feuerzangenbowle party in Saturday, and I can't wait to have my own glass of the stuff. Other than highly flammable drinks, the Weihnachtsmarkt has lots of sweets and presents like wooden ornaments and knit caps. It's so cold you can see you breath, and the only solution is more Glühwein. I love Germany.

In other news, in two days I am setting out for more travel. This time I want to take a ton of pictures and keep this blog alive. First stop is Cologne to see a friend I haven't seen for 6 years!