November through December 2004
Advent
Ein Schönes Deutsches Advent
Every year, many thousands of people flock to Europe in the summer, with good cause: The scenery is beautiful, the days are very long, and the weather is mild. Comparatively few people come to Germany in December. This is a shame, as with closing in on 10 years total of living in Germany, I can tell you that December in Germany is perhaps the best time of the year. It all starts with Advent…
Advent, for those of you not from a liturgical church background (Catholic, Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran), is the beginning of the Church Year. It starts four Sundays before Christmas, and is a time of prayer and reflection in the lead-up to the celebration of the Birth of Christ on Christmas. This year, 1st Advent was November 28th.
Virtually every town, and all the cities in Germany hold a Weihnachtsmarkt — Christmas Market. The day after Thanksgiving, I went into downtown Heidelberg. Getting out of the Parking Garage, I found classically decorated wooden stands: a Mandel-Brennerei (candied almonds), a Glühwein stand, a Grill-Stubel with a circular grill covered with Bratwurst, and a Decoration stand.
Glühwein needs a little more explanation — it is a hot mulled wine that is served only during Advent, and only in and around the markets. In Heidelberg, it is served in a small (0.2L) decorative mug. It was steaming hot — I actually burned my tongue slightly on it.
Sipping on Glühwein, I made my way down the Hauptstrasse. The big square — Universitäitsplatz — had dozens of stands with all manner of Christmas gifts and traditional decorations, Bratwurst of almost every variety, Kartoffelpuffer (Potato Puff), Lebkuchen (the predecessor to Gingerbread cookies), candied apples, chocolate covered bananas, fudge, candied nuts, and more. At the main Church Square was a gigantic Weihnachts Pyramide (Christmas Pyramid) — about 4 stories tall, illuminated with hundreds of lights.
Saturday, the 11th I drove to Bad Wimpfen for the market there. From the top of the Blue Tower I had spectacular views of the Weihnachtsmarkt, numerous fachwerk houses, and the heavy frost on the roofs. I also spotted a gigantic Gingerbread house — which in fact was a fachwerk house decorated to LOOK like a gingerbread house.
I had spent weeks trying to put together a trip to Nürnberg to the Christkindlesmarkt (Christ-child market, one of the oldest, longest running, largest, most scenic, and most well known Christmas markets in Germany). Ultimately, it got slated for the 16th of December — the one day all year I could not go along — so that morning I put most of my company on the bus, and watched them drive off to Nürnberg, while I went the other direction to the Airport in Frankfurt to pick up my parents who were arriving for the holidays.
Tuesday, we made the trip as a family to Nürnberg. For dinner, we went to the Bratwurtsthäusle — a half-millennia old inn. The Nürnberger Bratwurst and German Potato-salad were probably the best in the world. Sitting on a worn wooden bench, at a similarly worn wooden table, with downright ancient tableware… we were transported over 500 years back in time for that meal.
I am leaving for a week in Berlin in the morning. When I return, I'll send out my Christmas, New Year's, and Berlin write-ups. Until then, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!