Going East, Again.

So remember that super awesome train deal that lead me to visit Dan? Well, I was smart enough to take advantage of this deal and made a grand return to Dresden to visit Jule and Sebastian for a weekend, December 9-12.

On Thursday I went to school as usual then took an afternoon train direct to Dresden. Germany has had INSANE amounts of snow, particularly out east, so my train was delayed about 40 minutes. I spent my six-and-a-half hours grading essays written by one of my eighth grade classes about "Spending Thanksgiving in the US". They were entertaining (one of my favorite essays explained that at Thanksgiving dinner they had whiskey, rum, vodka and cocktails... jeeze, I don't come off as that much of a lush, do I?).

We spent our first night in Gorbitz having a Skype Date with Jake Fluharty. Boy I miss that kid. General ridiculousness ensued. On Friday Sebastian had to work, so Jule and I visited a few Weihnachtsmarkt. We walked around the Dresdener Striezelmarkt, one of the oldest Christmas Markets in Germany, dating to 1434. Most markets are only decorated with lights, and therefore only pretty at night, but this market has a lot of wooden decorations as well, so it is pretty all the time. We met with Stephan and Katha at another market for Glühwein and then met up with more of their friends back at the Streizelmarkt for another Glühwein. (two more mugs, check!)

We met Sebastian at 3 to take a train to Zwickau, but the ticket line was super long and the train was too full (they kicked people off the train!), so we had to wait an hour for the next one. While we waited, I enjoyed a Thüringer Wurst (to make sure I had my three Ws for the day ;-) ).        

In Zwickau we made Feuerzangenbowle! 

Red wine, lemon or orange slices, spices (allspice, nutmeg) and the magic ingredient -- a sugar roll (giant sugar cube) over which you pour 54% rum and light on fire. The sugar melts into the wine making a beverage of excellence. Awesome to make, awesome to drink.  

On Saturday we were supposed to go to the Weihnachtsmarkt with Jule's mom, but she was sick. We had lunch with Oma and Opa Roscher (and I got to see Oma Roscher's awesome Christmas decorations. Beautiful hand- carved Weihnachtspyramiden and Räuchermänner. They are stunning - loved them.). Jule and I went to visit her dad in the hospital. He seemed to be in a pretty good mood, but the poor dear will have to spend Christmas in the hospital. We gave him good company for a bit so he wasn't so bored. 


Afterwards we went to the Zwickauer Weihnachtsmarkt. We enjoyed a Glühwein (another mug!) and browsed the Christmas goods. The Weihnachstmann (Santa) came and greeted children. German children sing poems to the Weihnachtsmann and I managed to learn one: 


"  Advent Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt, [Advent, Advent, a small light burns/shines]
erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei, dann vier, [first one, then two, then three, then four]
dann steht das Weihnachtsmann (Christkind) vor der Tür"  [then Santa Claus is at the door] 

The poem references the Advent candles that families burn in their homes. Each Advent Sunday, an additional candle is lit on the Advent wreath. The little kid at the market said Weihnachtsmann, but you can also say Christkind, because in some areas (heavily Catholic, primarily the South and parts of the West) the Christkind brings presents instead of the Weihnachtsmann.

 Zwickau City Hall and Christmas Market 

After our stint at the Weihnachtsmarkt, we went home and enjoyed Blueberry Glühwein and relaxed. On Sunday we made a mad dash back to Dresden, and I took the train back to Mainz. It was such a nice weekend and a greatly-welcomed change of scenery. I always enjoy my visits in Sachsen with Jule and Sebastian and I was sad to leave! I look forward to another visit in the spring -- after the snow has melted :) 

lg, Lauren 

PS - Germany's PopStars finale was during my visit and the winners released this beauty. It is quite catchy, but be sure to turn off you internal English grammar check: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny7LJplAudw

Glühweinrundreise

One of my fellow Fulbrighters, John, had a Grand Proposal: an all-day trip around Rhineland-Pfalz, visiting Christmas Markets in Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Speyer, Worms and Mainz. Food, Friends, and of course, Glühwein. It sounded like a pretty spectacular idea. A whole day of Christmas-spirited happy goodness and a chance to add to my collection of Glühwein mugs. And did I mention how much I LOVE Glühwein?!


December 4, 9am, our group of five Mainzer/Bingener Fulbrighters headed to Ludwigshafen to meet up with Jessica, the Fulbrighter stationed there. She picked us up from the train station and we hit the town for breakfast before the market opened at 11am. We had a nice, filling breakfast of scrambled eggs and brötchen with an assortment of jams. We hit the market shortly thereafter, got our first Glühwein of the day, and browsed the stalls. 

A nice (albeit a bit creepy) man took our picture!

  (L to R: me, Emily, John, Jessica, Lori and Beth) 

Then we moved on to Mannheim. There was a sweet model ICE train to ride (ok, intended for children), but the man at the counter wouldn't let me buy a ticket. hmph. So I enjoyed a mug of Feuerzangenbowle instead. Since we spent a long time eating breakfast in Ludwigshafen, our time in Mannheim was cut a bit short so we could catch the train to Speyer. 

On the train to Speyer, I started to get an unsettling feeling in my stomach. I figured it was just the combination of the large breakfast and the two large mugs of wine I had consumed within past hour and that it would soon pass. But buy the time we got to the Speyer market, I was sick. To prevent ruining the group's holiday cheer, I headed back to Mainz.  

*Cue worst two hours on a train ever* The only thing good about that train ride was buying a rose from a bachelor party dressed as Lady Gaga and her security guards. Brightened my mood a bit. (For those who don't know, before the bachelor party group actually parties, they collect money for the new bride and groom by selling roses and shots of alcohol in public places. The groom-to-be is usually dressed up, but this by far was the most hilarious and most creative I've seen) 

By the time I got home, I felt much better (for reasons I won't share here). I napped a bit and rejoined the group once they got to Mainz, though I didn't drink any Glühwein. 

So this got me thinking. Why on Earth would I get sick? Everyone else had the same breakfast and the same amount of Glühwein! I recalled the times I've got similarly sick since I've been here, and each time I've had eggs. So, new discovery, I have a new-developed sensitivity to eggs. Awesome :\ While I'm glad I know this now, I wish I would have found out on a different day. Oh well. 

Current Glühwein mug count: 3

lg, Lauren