The blog isn't dead

Hi guys

As much as it seems like I've given up on this thing, I actually haven't. I promise that over the next month I will be cranking out new entries while I am on the Deutschland tour, and am sitting on a bus with not much to do. These entries will cover a soccer game, exams in Germany, all of the special days associated with Easter, and of course, summaries of as many of the cities I visit in Germany as I can (although with the plan being to visit 28 cities, I won't be able to write about all of them). If there is a city that you really want me to write about, feel free to mention it in the comments section below. I figured that I would post this so that you guys know what'll be happening over the next few weeks, and hopefully I'll talk to you all again real soon. Thank you for your patience, and I am sorry that it has been so long.

Weinachten Part 2

Weinachtsmarkt

I’m not going to lie, this has been one of my favorite parts about Germany so far 

The München Weihnachtsmarkt surrounding the old Rathaus, or city hall

Every year, in the month (or sometimes more) leading up to christmas, communities all across Germany begin setting up Weinachtsmarkts, or Christmas Markets. These markets are unlike anything that we typically have in Canada around the holiday season. Each wooden stand is decorated for the holiday season, and there are for the most part three different types of stalls. 

The first type sells christmas themed decorations or handmade crafts. This is typically where people purchase the figurines for Krippen (nativity scenes). You can also purchase ornaments, stars, and more traditional items such as a nutcracker or a weinachtspyramide. a weinachtspyramide is a carved wooden structure with carved figurines standing on a pyramid with a propeller at the top Christmas candles and woolly apparel can be bought from special small businesses that make the trip to a Weinachtsmarkt to set up a stall.

A very Revelstokian nutcracker

 The second type of stall sells gluhwein, the staple drink of the Weinachtsmarkt. Gluhwein is a special kind of mulled wine that is heated in a massive bout directly on site. When a person buys a cup, the mug can be either kept as a souvenir, or returned to the stand for a partial refund (often around 3-4 dollars or so). At some gluhwein stands, or at their own special stands are feuerzangenböhle (hopefully the spelling is right). These more alcoholic beverages are concocted by taking a pyramid of raw sugar and then, in spectacular fashion, dousing the sugar in alcohol, lighting the sugar on fire and letting the melted drops that result from this process fall into a cup of gluhwein, which is then sold.

A decorative gluhwein stall in the München Weinachtsmarkt modelled

 after the symbolic church not fat away from the Weinachtsmarkt

Finally come the food stands. Depending on the Weinachtsmarkt, you can buy many different kinds of traditional german foods. Many different kinds of sausages being sold from a stand are the most common kind of food to find, from meter-long bratwurst to weisswurst to rot bratwurst (red bratwurst). almost as common as the sausage stands are the stands selling nothing except huge containers of french fries (XXL Pommes Frites), and döner (which will be discussed in another entry, all you have to know for now is that it is a german version of a donair wrap. Many other types of traditional german food can often be purchased, such as Flamkuchen (kind of an onion cake) schnitzel and steak semmeln (seperately a schnitzel sandwich and steak sandwich), Mandeln (roast chestnuts) raeberdatschi (potato cakes), and many other things. some objects have permeated Weinachtsmarkts from other cultures, such as crepes from france, and occasionally hot dogs and hamburgers from the USA (although not often, and only in the Weinachtsmarkts frequented by tourists). Of course, Lebkuchen (gingerbread) is always on sale as well.

The Weinachtsmarkt in Regensburg, a few hours

 before it opens in early December

The amazing thing about Weinachtsmarkts is the way in which they permeate german culture on every level. The Weinachtsmarkts in cities such as Munich and and Nurnberg are very large and commercial, taking place in the tourist district of the city with large commercial stores such as fashion outlets taking advantage of the special event to host late opening hours and special christmas sales. These markets are typically open for 5-6 weeks and end typically on Christmas Eve (or possibly later). However, every small town has their own Weinachtsmarkts, and these take on their own unique shape. At the Weinachtsmarkt in Allershausen (my home town) many of the stands are run by local clubs, such as the soccer team or the woman's group. There will be a small stage where local artists will perform, and it is a sort of community wide get together, sort of like the farmers market back home in Revelstoke. Weinachts markets are a really special occasion and, big or small, are a fantastic part of the German christmas experience.

So, once again, if you have any questions or suggestions, please post them in the comments below, and I’ll be back again in a little bit with the third and final part of my now very late segments on Christmas in Germany. 

All of the rotary exchange students in the district just outside

 a Weinachtsmarkt in a small community outside Augsburg.

Just in time to be late for Christmas: Weinachten

Hey there everyone,

Sorry I’m late on the Christmas entry. I’m currently in the middle of the alps, and internet is difficult to come by at the moment, so my entries may be coming out in bunches at least until January the 6th.

I should say that this will probably be the first of three christmas entries, the other two of which will follow as soon as I am able to write them all down. This one is focusing more on the buildup to christmas, as opposed to the actual day(s).

In the buildup to Weinachten, the first thing you notice is that Christmas here is not as commercialized as Christmas in North America. Many of the traditions are old, and many are based in religion. For example, every house has, and displays, a Krippe (nativity scene) although you can find this in some houses in Canada, it is most definitely not to the degree that it is practiced here. The entire scene (except for the figurines) must be constructed by the owner. Therefore, it is very typical to have a shingle roof made out of bark or wood chips and a wall made out of wood splinters. Even the ground must be hand made, although there is a variety of techniques used to construct the ground. Also prevalent, even in public buildings, are a series of 4 candles. Every week in the buildup to christmas, another candle is lit. This means that early in December in many places are four identical candles, with only one burning.

A Krippe 

Santa Claus is also very different here. A recent arrival on the european christmas scene, he is known in Germany as the Weinachtsmann (or sometimes the Christkind [Christchild] who comes on christmas eve and delivers presents; although these presents are all of the presents from the family. Another christmas character is Saint Nicholas, who comes on the 5th of the December. On the night of the fourth, children lay out their shoes, and in the morning, they are full of chocolate, fruit, and nuts. Since I am in Bavaria, it is possible that Krampus also appears on the fifth of December, depending on the house and how close to the Austrian border the house lies. It is a legend in Austria (I am not making this up) that with Saint Nicholas, who brings fruit, nuts and chocolate to the good children, comes Krampus, a demon who beats the bad children with a stick. Nowadays, many youth in Austria dress in Krampus costumes on the fifth of December and parade down the street trying to scare people.

Finally, although advent calendars are fairly common in Canada, they are religiously followed here. From the afore mentioned advents calendar on the side of the Mercedes Benz building in Munich to every house, advent calendars are absolutely atypical here. However, unlike most of the advent calendars in North America, advent calendars here do not necessarily need to have chocolate or candy inside them. It is also possible for each advent day to contain a picture or a toy. Many Germans travel to early Weinachtsmarkts in November to purchase them.

Thats where I leave off for now, the next entry will be all about Weinachtsmarkts. Again, thank you for your patience, I hope that all of your holidays are going very well, and if you have any questions, please post it in the comments below.