Out and About: March 2015

March was non-stop.  I was totally kaputt by the time Spring Break rolled around, but it was totally worth it!

First, we celebrated Claire’s birthday by visiting the Mortiz Fiege Brewery in Bochum.  It. Was. Fantastic.  If you ever find yourself in Bochum, definitely check it out.  The tour is entirely in German, but you get lots of samples on the tour, and it is pretty educational.  Best part – at the end, you’re taken to the top of the Mortiz Fiege tower, where you are given FREE CURRYWURST and all the beer you can drink for an hour.  We made some new friends and had a really good time.

Currywurst!

The next weekend we made a trip down the Rhine River to the Drachenfels castle.  They were having a light festival of some sort, so the castle was all lit up and really cool to walk through.  On the hike up the mountain to the castle, we stopped and grabbed the last gluhwein of the year (it was delicious) and were able to take in some breathtaking views.  We also encountered a Nibelungenhalle that someone had built in honor of Richard Wagner.  His famous Ring opera focuses on the Rhine, and I’d taken a class on it in college so it was a fun little thing to see.

Majestic Stag at Drachenfels

March’s main event, however, was the Berlin Seminar!  We went to Berlin the weekend before to get some more sightseeing in.  I love Berlin because no matter how often you go, there’s always something new to see.  Our favorite was the Turkish market, where we ate THE ENTIRE TIME.  We split a lot of plates of flavorful, unbelievable food.  Seriously, it was a major highlight.  When you can go to a Turkish market in Germany, GO!

At this point I’d been tutoring in Herne, and my tutoree’s mom made me some German cheesecake to take with me. Perfect pre-Berlin breakfast!

One of the many Turkish market plates. I had to pay 50 cents extra for all the forks.

We found a Mexican restaurant! Claire can’t believe it!

Y’all remember Angry Chicken in Kreuzberg? We sure did, and you bet we went back, this time for some SUPER ANGRY wings.

This is the best doner I’ve ever had in my whole life. I have 35 pictures of it on my phone. I’m not kidding.  Pro tip: if you go at 3 on Thursday morning, you don’t have to wait in line.

The Seminar itself was really great – there were so many opportunities to see old friends – who I met way back in September before we were flung all over the country, at the Fulbright events in Hamburg and Munich – as well as meet new people (Fulbrighters from all over Europe were invited as well as Germans who would be going to America in the fall).  In addition to educational things where we could exchange ideas about what we’d been researching/teaching, there were several receptions and parties for all of us to cut loose.

After Berlin, instead of coming back to Bochum, I flew to Paris, where I met up with Elise (college friend who came to Germany for Christmas markets).  She had never been before, which meant I got to play tour guide and send her to some of my favorite places.  Highlights: duck and potatoes around the corner from our hostel in Montmartre (still dream of it), Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, the Rodin Museum, and shopping for wine in Rue Cler (the shop owner gave us awesome wine suggestions, and we finally settled on one that was within our price range and described as “amicable”).

I always knew Elise was a thinker

We then took a very interesting car-sharing ride to Arles, where our friend Carissa was staying with her French students.  They were on a Spring Break exchange, and the timing was too perfect.  We spent the night playing Settlers of Catan (we are cool) and catching up.  The next day, we went to Versailles with one of the French teachers and ate dinner (duck again – soooooo good y’all) at a host teacher’s house.  It was so unbelievably lovely, and so great to see them in Europe!  Our hosts in Arles were so welcoming and kind.  Sunday I took the train through Belgium back to Bochum, and had one more week of work before my epic Spring Break adventure.

Christmas in Germany

So, I didn’t actually spend Christmas in Germany.  I spent most of Christmas break back with my family in Arkansas – eating lots of yummy food, watching sports at normal hours, and spending lots of time with family and friends.  It was awesome and perfect — I had a great time but was also really excited to come back to Germany to continue my adventures!

I did, however, spend a lot of the Christmas season in Germany, and that meant CHRISTMAS MARKETS!  I love Christmas markets and I don’t understand why they’re not everywhere.  The atmosphere is super festive, you can find all sorts of gifts for people, but most importantly there is tons of quick, cheap, and delicious street food everywhere you turn (anyone surprised that that’s what I love about these things?!?  But honestly, it was super convenient when I needed food on the run).  Oh, and there’s gluhwein (mulled wine), which comes in cool, kitschy cups specific to each city, or sometimes the specific gluhwein stand.

I spent a lot of time at Christmas markets.  Luckily for me, I have a semester ticket and live in the Ruhrgebiet, so there are a ton of Christmas markets all around me that I could get to for free.  As an added bonus, my friend Elise came to visit one weekend, and we spent it travelling all up and down western Germany and visited a ton of markets. (also shoutout to Elise for letting me drag her across the country on trains. She’s awesome.)

So, for you all I have prepared a ranked list of the Christmas markets that I visited this season, ranked from worst to best (based exclusively on my own personal experiences).  If you’d like another perspective, my friend and fellow TA from Britain Jamie created this list of his top five Christmas markets.  Anyway, here’s my ranking of German Christmas markets!

14. Herne
Oh, Herne.  Sweet, sweet, baby Herne.  This was definitely the most disappointing of all Christmas markets.  There was a very sad tree and some stalls in the Stadtmitte (center of town), and that was really about it.  It was so depressing and sad, all Jess and I could do was laugh and then get on the metro to Bochum.  I got currywurst at a stand there one day for lunch and immediately regretted it. (Also, nothing at the castle?  Really, guys?)

13. Hattingen
Hattingen is a super cute town and I had much higher expectations for the Christmas market than what I actually got.  Granted, their streets are steep and winding, and there weren’t too many squares for big congregating, but there really wasn’t that much on offer at the stalls they did have.  There was a French section which looked to offer tasty treats, but when we were there not a lot was open.  Bummer.  There was also a sweet older lady who would sing a song and open a door to the advent calendar every day, but unfortunately they also missed that.  AND apparently there was no deposit on gluhwein mugs.  Obviously I did Hattingen all wrong.

12. Burg Satzvey
Christmas markets at castles are cool because castles.  However, this market was very small, but you had to pay just to enter, and that entrance fee didn’t include the castle.  So that sucked.  However, they did have a living nativity that involved some Old German and Latin, and their gluhwein did not mess around.

Burg Satzvey! Looking festive.

11. Heidelberg Castle
Ok, so it sucks that this made it so low on the list.  This was one of the stops on mine and Elise’s whirlwind Weihnachtsmarkt tour, so we didn’t have a lot of time in Heidelberg, and we got to the market before any of the stalls really opened up.  We got to poke around the castle a little bit, and it offered great views of the city, but the market itself was underwhelming, although the Hot Hugo cocktail was delicious and the food offerings were pretty good.  I wish we’d gotten to see more of the city and explore Heidelberg’s markets, but this unfortunately did not occur.

Heidelberg Castle

10. Karlsruhe
This one was an out-of-the-blue surprise.  I’ve mostly considered Karlsruhe a place where I make train connections, so my expectations were kind of low.  However, Karlsruhe had a decent size market and good gluhwein (and cute mugs).  Good job, Karlsruhe, you exceeded my expectations!

9. Dortmund
Dortmund had a huge Christmas market, and the self-proclaimed hugest Christmas tree in the whole world (it’s actually a bunch of Christmas trees stacked on top of each other).  My main beef with Dortmund was that much of the stands were the same. I had a amazing pork chop sandwich there. Also I watched a cover band perform corny German Christmas songs and the classic “Atemlos durch die Nacht” – an elderly couple fell down while dancing to this and it was mortifying to watch (they were fine so it’s fine to laugh about it now, right?). They also get props for their gluhwein mugs.

8. Essen
Essen is known as the “Einkaufstadt” (shopping city), and that was reflected in their market.  They also have an annual light festival that coincides with the market, so it was all lit up and quite lovely.  Their gluhwein was tasty, they had a giant ferris wheel, and when I went there on my birthday my awesome friends bought me a gingerbread heart.  Good memories, good market.

7. Strasbourg
What? Strasbourg the “Capital of Christmas” doesn’t even get in the top five?  Yeah, there’s a reason for that.  Strasbourg’s Christmas market is a bunch of themed Christmas markets spread throughout the city. All kinds of food, all kinds of stuff to buy, all kinds of PEOPLE.  That’s the curse of a great Christmas market, there were thousands of people everywhere.  I would much rather visit a smaller market with less people than push through the crowds (and wait a super long time on flammkuchen – although it was delicious!). Also, they didn’t even have mugs for their gluhwein, it came in plastic cups (who does that!?!?).  However, the light displays were ah-mazing, the city was beautiful, and I am happy that I went.  Also, it was a reunion with my friend Lisa, who I went to Lille with last October.

6. Munster
I think circumstances probably bias this one as well – getting to Munster our train was delayed by AN HOUR, which sucked, and the weather was truly terrible, which quite literally dampened our spirits.  However, the market was big and showed off their beautiful church.  Just as much as my frozen fingers and toes, however, I remember a seriously delicious champagne waffle.  Noms. Again, if I had gone there when it was drier and warmer, I think I would’ve loved this a lot more!

Champagne waffle, y’all

5. Bochum
Did you expect Bochum to be so high on the list?  Maybe it’s some hometown pride, maybe it’s the fact that I spent a lot of time there… But it was really good!  So much food!  So much currywurst! A medieval corner with honey! Very strange gluhwein mugs (they had coal on them, typical)!  Really, what more could you want?

4. Dusseldorf
It was like Strasbourg, but without all the people.  And gluhwein happy hours.  Need I say more?

3. Cologne
Absolutely beautiful market just beneath the Cologne cathedral. They had really good stollen, salami, and spaeztle. Also a ton of ornaments. Gluhwein was also tops.  I tried gluhbier (mulled beer) here!  It was so weird.  Gluhwein is better.  Don’t try gluhbier.

2. Mainz
Mainz blew me away!  It was on our way from Cologne to Heidelberg.  I texted my fellow Fulbright friend Laura, so she met Elise and I at the train station and showed us around.  It was huge, surrounding their beautiful cathedral.  Their food was amazing. If you’re going to do German Christmas markets, definitely put Mainz on your list.

1. Aachen
And the winner is… Aachen!  It was also surrounding their beautiful cathedral.  Their stands were unique and there were a ton of them.  Also the market had free wifi!  So you can Instagram it and easily google map your way back to the train station.  Thanks Aachen, for being so cool.

I also used my Aachen visit to tour the cathedral and see Charlemagne’s bones. The church is gorgeous!

Important to note – I had gluhwein at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin and St. Pauli in Hamburg before their Christmas markets geared up. St. Pauli is… interesting… but their gluhwein was some of the best I had all season!

Herbstferien Part 3: Weekend in Lille

For the last big adventure of fall break, I headed across the border for a weekend in France.  My friend Lisa is living and working in Paris now, and we got to know each other as interns for the same project for WorldDenver while we were both going to grad school at DU.  Lisa and I had been talking back and forth trying to decide where to go for our weekend away, and I’m so glad we settled on Lille.  As soon as we started exploring, I fell in love.  It’s a big city that feels like a little college town.  The proximity to Belgium is evident in the food, the architecture, and the beer, but it’s still definitely France.  And trust me, with that combo, everyone wins.

After dropping our luggage at the hostel Saturday morning, we headed into Vieux Lille to grab coffee, escape the rain, and strategize our weekend.

After that, we headed through the rain towards Palais des Beaux-Arts via the Grand Place.

The Palais des Beaux-Arts was awesome!  I’m pretty sure that I read somewhere that it’s France’s second largest museum and the largest outside of Paris.  But it was actually extremely manageable.  We spent about two hours there and were able to see works from the ancient Egyptians all the way up to the well-known 20th century stuff.  My favorites were probably some of the van Goghs and a few sculptures by Rodin. (Just an aside, if you’re ever in Paris, you should go to the Rodin museum.  The collection is amazing and the gardens are beautiful.)

After the museum we walked up to the citadel, which is actually just a giant park with a zoo(and a mysterious government building to which we were denied access) and then wound our way back to the city center and went shopping around the Grand Place, checked out some churches, and took a little break to sip some beer in the afternoon sun.  Everywhere I turned, there was some beautiful view, and the pictures just don’t do it justice.

Transformed! Look at the Grand Place without all those dreary gray clouds.

Heaven is this cheese shop a few blocks from the Grand Place. Look at the cheese. Respect the cheese. Love the cheese.

I can’t remember the name of this church, and it’s killing me. It was beautiful. This picture does not do it justice.

Inside Lille’s Cathedral. It is very weird and modern on the outside, and on the inside it looks like this.

One of my favorite pictures from the trip, which I shamelessly stole from Lisa’s Instagram

 

We got a recommendation from the hostel to try a place a block or two away for dinner.  Despite the fact that the menu was printed in Comic Sans font, it was legit.  We ordered Welsh, a traditional Lille dish, which turned out to be a slice of bread and a slice of ham in a casserole dish FILLED WITH CHEESE and served with a basket of fries.  After dinner we grabbed a few drinks from a bar towards the city center.  Really, we should’ve gone straight back to the hostel, because when we got back for the night their bar was more popular than most of the other places we saw that night.

Sunday morning we headed straight for the market in Wazemmes.  It’s a really big deal in Lille, and Lisa and I didn’t realize how big.  It is HUGE!  Overwhelming.  And they sell everything.  I mean everything.  It goes on for blocks.  And it felt like the whole town was there.  Everybody.  To say the least, it was nuts. After we grabbed some fruit we decided to take a break from sensory overload and had some coffee accompanied by treats from Aux Merveilleux.  These tiny bits of meringue heaven were so delicate and so unbelievably delectable.  I will never forget them.

After that we went to the zoo and saw red pandas and capybaras (among others), and then we grabbed treats for the train and headed back to Paris.

Liz’s pro travel tip: turn your train ride into a first class experience by packing as much food as possible, and don’t forget plastic cups for your wine.

 

We spent Sunday night cheering on the Broncos at a bar in Bastille.  After that it was back to Bochum to gear back up for school and the real world again.

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Since I basically feel like a Lille evangelist now, here are some great resources that helped us decide where to go and what to see.  Also important to note is that Lisa is a master of the French language, which made our lives much easier.  I think part of Lille’s appeal is that it wasn’t crawling with tourists, but that also means English is spoken less frequently!

About Travel’s Top Attractions in and around Lille
Cultural City Guide from The Telegraph
WikiTravel’s Guide to Lille
UseIt Travel’s Lille Map