Christkindlmarkt Nov-27

Ridiculouis

On Friday, Louis came over for the weekend. From Boston. After getting back into Bamberg from the airport, we gathered up a few other regulars and headed out for a small tour of the local breweries. First stop was Greifenklau, which is about 15 minutes by foot up the hill towards the Altenburg Castle. Then we wandered down toward St Stephan's Church to Mahr's Brau, but unfortunately they were closed for a special event. So we went to Klosterbrau, which is the nice little brewery right around the corner from my dorm. Then we hopped over to Ambrosien, which is a newer brewery over near the cathedral. Next we went over to Faessla, which is a bit past the middle of the town, but the staff there was rather rude so we didn't stay long. At this point, we were all getting a wee bit hungry. We had dinner at a tiny little italian restaurant called "piccola roma" and lounged there till we were stuffed and happy. Needless to say, it was late and people were tired so we called it a night.

Saturday was an adventure back down to Nuernberg. We went to the Christkindlmarkt, which is the biggest Christmas market in all of Germany. It was mobbed, since 1) it had just opened on Friday and 2) it was the weekend. But we braved the crowds and walked around the many little booths. There was much Bratwurst eating, Gluehwein drinking, and other tastyness to be done. The weather was decent and we were able to take quite a few pictures and see a whole lot before we were all cold and tired. That night Frauke cooked dinner for us all and it was a lovely night. On our way back to the dorm, Sean, Louis and I made a stop at the Gallerie--an art bar just up the hill from here.

Sunday was feast day! After breakfasting, Louis and I wandered up to the cathedral and then down along the river and then through the main part of town. Then it was time to cook a big ol' dinner. We had salad, pumpkin soup, fresh italian bread, turkey, mashed potatoes, stove top, gravy, carrots, cranberry bread, wine, and cookies. Sooo very tasty. Mostly just excited now to have all the left-overs. Yumm. Then Frauke, Sean, Louis and I all headed out for some Bambergian Gluehwein and wandered through the little Christmas Village here in the pedestrian zone. It was lovely.

Like all good things, the time passed far too quickly, but I must say that I am truly lucky to have such devoted and wonderful friends, who are willing to travel and visit and appreciate an entirely different culture. It is one of the most monderful things ever.

oh...and before I forget:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Yesterday was a big day of Germanness. One of the teachers that I work with (Gabi Borchardt) invited the French assistant and me to join she and her husband on a trip to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which is about 100 km from Bamberg. A group of their friends were having a big gathering, and so we tagged along. We arrived in Neusitz (about 2 km away from Rothenburg) around 4 pm and were invited into the main couple's house for lots of coffee and cake. Then the four of us went to Rothenburg to walk around for a bit with the man of the house, Wolfie. Yes that's his name. We explored the city as the sun set, in the midst of light snow. It's one of the great German towns along the Romantic Road. The entire town is surrounded by protective walls, which you can walk along during the day. We just explored some of the streets and shops, including Kathe Wohlfahrt. This is a store, where it's always Christmas. Every day, all year. It was crazy! We walked through this store for about 25 minutes and didn't even get through all the different rooms devoted to ornaments, nutcrackers, and more. Then we picked up some Schneeballen ("Snow Balls), which are balls of dough that are fried and then rolled in sugar or chocolate or some other tastyness. Eventually we couldn't feel our noses because of the cold, so we went back to Neusitz.

The whole purpose of the night was to look at a whole lot of photographs taken by the hosts on a recent trip to India. There ended up being a group of about 14 adults, who have been having "world traveler" nights for the past 27 years or so. The pictures were awesome, and the stories that they told made the images even better and more interesting. It was also great, because they made all this Indian tea and had brought back this pistachio baked candy type treat. We spent a few hours looking at the slideshow and didn't sit down for dinner until almost 10:30! BUT they had cooked this huge Indian feast, which I loved. We sat and ate and talked until 1:30 a.m. It was lovely.

Oh and there were two little kids too...Anne & Lissy. If you ever want to test how well you know a language, all you have to do is play with little kids. Oh man. It was loads of fun, but I was so tired after. Yay for new places and people!

Aww geeez

It's snowing in Bambergia again. Life is wonderful.

"And it's a great day to be alive. I know the sun's still shining when I close my eyes. There's some hard times in the neighborhood, but why can't every day be just this good?" (T.Tritt)

Martinstag

Last night I went up to Zapfendorf, a small town about 15 minutes north of Bamberg, to go to a traditional "goose eating" with some of the people I am teaching with. It was in a local brewery that goes by the name of Wagner. There was soooo much food. First they put a liter of cold beer in front of you, then they brought out plate with a half a goose on them. There was hardly any room for anything besides the goose, so everything else was served family style. There was a thin gravy, bavarian potato dumplings, and a type of pureed & creamy green vegetable. It was all real tasty and a great night out with the Germans.

Why goose? It was in celebration of St. Martin's Day, which is on Nov. 11 and marks the start of the Carneval season. Children get dressed up like St. Martin and walk around after dark, carring lanterns, and singing special lantern songs. It's kind of like Halloween, because they sing to get treats and sweets from the nearby houses. And who is St. Martin, you might ask? St Martin of Tours started out as a Roman soldier and was baptized as an adult, before becoming a monk. The most famous legend about his life is when he cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying of the cold. In a dream that night, God appeared to him and said that he had been the beggar. [He could only give 1/2 because the other 1/2 belonged to the Roman Government] Another legend is about his trying to avoid becoming the Bishop of Tours. When people came to collect him for his appointment as bishop, he hid in a stall in a barn, hoping to escape from the people who were looking for him. A flock of geese made a lot of noise and gave away his hiding place. The goose is the animal symbol of St. Martin and thus a favorite food on Saint Martin's Day.

Lantern Song!

Ich geh' mit meiner Laterne // I'm coming with my lantern
Und meine Laterne mit mir. // And my lantern with me.
Dort oben leuchten die Sterne, // There over the light are stars,
Hier unten, da leuchten wir. // Here under the light are we.

Left & Right Arms...Together Again

HOLY MOLY

"Germany or Bust. The Scala is coming for New Year's."

I don't think Germany is ready for this. Heehee, they won't know what hit them! This is going to be an awesome holiday season with lots of friends and family. At first I was uber-sad to be staying here because it means I won't be home, but now I am excited to live through my first set of real German holidayness. From traditional "goose eatings" to lighting the Christmas Tree at my mentor's house on Christmas Eve, it will definitely be something to remember.

In other news, it has been snowing all day today...since before I woke up. If I had a camera right now, there would be a pretty picture of snow here, but it's off at Canon Deutschland getting fixed. buggerooski. Anyways, all I can say is that while it is not sticking in huge piles, it is still quite nice and wonderful. Yay for the wintertime!

Halloween Night

Crazy Dips

Funny how it's the little things that make you the most homesick. Like reese's pieces and crazy dips. You just don't find them here, which isn't usually a problem, but sometimes you just remember them and then it's like, oh man....no reese's pieces. sadness. I think that's one of the best things about getting packages and mail. My mom sent some americana in a box and it was great. Jeanne just sent me a red fall leaf, and it made my day. It's all about the little things that remind you of who you are and where you come from. Just goes to show how lucky I am. You all rock. really really :)

election day?

how can we be given the opportunity to make the biggest, most important changes and still mess it up??? sometimes i really have to question whether i want to go back to the united states, especially when it comes to such blind support.

Hooorah for Berlin!

Welcome to my posting from Berlin :) I've been here for a few days now, and I have to admit....I rather enjoy being in a big ol' city again. The first night here, a group of us from Princeton (Rachel Marks, Leigh Ann Smith-Gary, Allen Taylor, and I) all bounced around the subway system. We went to a few parties all dressed up and enjoyed the abundance of candy pumpkins and halloween peeps. Yay! On Sunday, Rachel and I wandered around the area near her apartment and feasted at a nearby cafe for brunch. It was quite lovely. Then yesterday I went on a marathon walking tour of the city. I set out around 10:15 and arrived back at Rachel's around 5 pm! I walked from her area in the NE corner of the city (otherwise known as the Prenzlauer Berg region) and walked through some market areas to the Berlin Cathedral. It was awesome because you could go all the way up to the top of the dome and stand outside and look around the city. Then I walked down Unter den Linden, which is one of the more famous streets that leads to the Brandenburger Tor. I walked through the Tor and down the next long street till I got to the Siegesaeule, which is a Franco-Prussian monument built between 1865 and 1873 to signify the unification of Germany. Then I went through the Animal Gardens to a larger bustling area known as Kuerfurstendamm. It is in western Berlin, so by then I had been walking for a real long time. But I met up with two other Fulbrighters and spent a bit of time with them. Then I meandered back to Rachel's via subway. We made yummy grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was great! Anyways...now it is Election Day 2004. welcome to indecision. We are still trying to figure out where we will go to watch the madness, but it will be interesting. If you haven't checked out some of John Stewart's latest additions to the Daily Show online....do it! They present the election in a great way. Hope you all have a super Election Day!