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.

The Clueless American’s Guide to Carnival

(I had this post all written and ready to go in February — oops)

Very early on, I knew that moving to North Rhine Westphalia would mean that Carnival (or Karneval as ze Germans say) would be a big deal in my life.  However, Carnival remained this murky holiday that I knew was a big deal that I wanted to celebrate, but I really didn’t know what exactly that would mean or what it would entail.  I knew that people dressed up and drank a lot, there were parades, and it was at a Carnival party where Katharina Blum met a guy who turned out to be a bank robber or something like that in a Heinrich Boll novel I read for a German lit course once.  So, to shine a little more light on Carnival and also share my personal experiences, I will present it to you in a fun, FAQ fashion.

What exactly is Carnival?
Technically, it is a religious holiday which celebrates the beginning of Lent.  Think Mardi Gras, but in Germany it lasts a bit longer and might be even crazier (I haven’t experienced Mardi Gras in Louisiana, so I can’t give details).  In reality, it is a weekend-long (or longer) street party where people dress up in crazy costumes, sing ridiculous songs celebrating the Devil being out on the loose or simply the joys of their city during Carnival time.  There are no longer any rules, and apparently what happens at Carnival, stays at Carnival, never to be spoken of again.

When is it?
Here in NRW, Carnival officially kicks off in November, but no one really celebrates until Weiberfastnacht, which is the Thursday before Lent.  The celebration goes until Rosenmontag, the Monday before Ash Wednesday.  Although there are parades and events in between, Thursday and Monday are the two biggest days.  Weiberfastnacht celebrates LADIES (insert “woo”s here) and reminds us of a time when all the washerwomen were like, “Down with the patriarchy!  Men are oppressing us!” and decided to have a good time.  On this day, women can kiss whoever they please and if a man is wearing a tie, they can cut it right off.  Unfortunately I had to work on this day, so I missed the big cutting ties and kissing part, but we did make it to Dusseldorf for some of the street party that night.  Rosenmontag is a big parade day (the one in Cologne lasts 5 hours). In between parades have different themes (one very frightening, relating to the Devil being out and about, and others being about children or gay pride).

Where should I celebrate Carnival?
Cologne and Dusseldorf are the big two, but other cities like Mainz and Munich celebrate as well (although they call it Fasching in some places and the days are different).  As the name suggests, my state is divided into the Rhine region and Westphalia.  The Westphalians do not really celebrate AT ALL.  Most of my students and coworkers scoffed when I asked them about Carnival, saying it was too crazy and those Rhineland people are so emotional and over the top.  Which might be true, but trust me, there was not a big Carnival party in Bochum.

What do you do?
Dress up!  Dance!  Drink!  Sing!  Party!  Watch a parade! Say Alaaf or Hellau (depending on which city you’re in)!  Seriously, it’s mostly just going out, well-supplied with beer (this is Germany, so you can buy your own at the supermarket and then bring it into the festivities with you, carrying it around as you walk), and taking in all the costumes and sights and smells.  Most people also have parties in their own home or host private parties in bars that they frequent.  As we weren’t really in with anybody having one of those, we were relegated to the streets with the rest of the commoners, but it was still fun to run and jump around singing about whatever city we were in.  We also celebrated beforehand with champagne brunch (um, yum… and the leftovers made great train sustenance).

What’s the big deal?
Honestly, there are tons and tons of people wandering the streets of these cities, most of them extremely intoxicated and then later they all cram on the train, making things super hot and sweaty and sometimes vomity for you.  However, it was such a fun weekend!  Most of the teaching assistants from the region stayed around, and my friend Alex (my faithful readers will remember him from my Belgium adventures) came over for the weekend.  We all ate, drank, and were merry together.  I also got to meet up with my friend Emily, with whom I studied abroad in Holzkirchen and who’s now a teacher in Dusseldorf!  It’s really completely unlike anything else I’ve ever seen.  The parade was insane; the time and effort put into group costumes and wagons was ridiculous, and really the scale of the people consistently out was amazing.  While I don’t think I have the energy that would help me to enjoy it every year, I had a ton of fun and I’m glad I got the Carnival experience in big cities like Cologne and Dusseldorf!

The ETA gang at the Rosenmontag Parade in Cologne

Alex and I in Cologne on Saturday night – please appreciate the awesome Primark onesies

Carnival parade floats are usually themed based around social or political commentary. This one was a critique on how we use social media.

Here’s a politically-themed float. It’s called the “Putinator”.

Prime parade spot. These guys had a party in their apartment, and then watched the parade from their windows.

These cuties were standing across from us during the parade. The bags are for the candy and flowers that get thrown at you during the parade!

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!

Thanksgiving in Deutschland

Exciting news you guys – I’m FINALLY up-to-date on the blog.  I realize I haven’t really talked a whole lot about my job (I do work, I promise) and where I live.  Someday.  But for now, let me tell you about my first Thanksgiving outside of the United States.

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday.  It is all about food, and food is my favorite.  My birthday is always close to Thanksgiving, so the delicious feast with my family is topped off with birthday cake (my grandma’s four layer chocolate cream cake — yum).  I love watching the Macy’s Parade on TV while we cook everything (my mom and I also do kick lines in the living room when the Rockettes come on — WE’RE NORMAL) and watching football while we try to digest the massive amounts of turkey and dressing.  So, I thought I’d be really depressed this year being away from home, but luckily I have lots of great friends who helped me not miss it all that much.

To first spread Thanksgiving cheer, I made pumpkin pie bars and pecan pie bars for the teachers at my school.  Easier said than done, as I had to roast and puree the pumpkin myself (no canned pumpkin in Germany), and corn syrup for pecan pie is basically nonexistent.  I spent an arm and a leg at Kaufland (Walmart-esque that stocks things like cheddar cheese), but it all turned out great and one of the teachers even asked for a recipe.  ‘Merica!

The main event, however, was Thanksgiving on Saturday night.  It was an international affair, hosted by a Swedish guy who did his undergrad at UNLV, and attended by two Germans, five British ETAs, and six Americans.  Gabby came over and made pies at my place Friday, and Saturday I woke up at nine to start cooking, which Gabby and I did all day until it was time to eat.  I loved cooking with Gabby, since she’s from Alabama we definitely bonded over southern comfort food!

Thomas downloaded the two Thanksgiving Day football games and was playing them on the TV.  We made hand print turkeys and played charades.  Our potluck had all the American favorites (turkey, dressing, gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, cranberry sauce, mac and cheese, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie, buttermilk pie, apple pie), and some British dishes snuck in as well (Yorkshire puddings, pigs in a blanket – which in England means sausage wrapped in BACON, Victoria Sponge).

Football!

Our delicious spread — notice the decorative turkeys in the background

Sunday Susanna, her friend Christian, and Gabby came over to my place and we ate leftovers with my roommates.  I was so glad they got to experience the leftovers, as those are almost as important as the holiday itself.  I really thought that on Thanksgiving I would be really depressed about having currywurst for dinner instead of turkey and dressing (that currywurst was delicious #noregrets).  It turns out I wasn’t depressed at all, because I have so, so much to be thankful for, and I was much too happy (and too full) to be sad.

Out and About

Early November was crazy busy for us.  The week after Berlin we went to Hamburg for a German Fulbright Alumni Association event, which included things like wine receptions at the US Consulate and “networking” – AKA hanging out with current Fulbrighters from the US and past Fulbrighters who had recently come back to Germany after their Fulbright year.  It was a really fun weekend, and we got to meet so many new people, but we spent a lot of time conferencing, so I’d love to go back to Hamburg sometime and see more of the city itself.

Gabby, Breanna, and I all dressed up for the reception at the consulate for the German Fulbright Alumni Association

The next weekend and the following week most of us decided to stay around the Ruhrpott to recuperate from all the galavanting across the country we’d been doing.  We hung out in Bochum and enjoyed some sunny weather, and Susanna, Gabby, Claire, and I spent the day cooking tasty food (because it is everything) and having a Lord of the Rings movie marathon.

Sunny days in Bochum

 

The next week the Christmas markets officially opened in all of their glory (they’d been open before, but the festivities really got underway after Totensonntag (Dead Sunday – an old Prussian holiday where you remember all of your dead loved ones on a day where you’re not allowed to play music or dance.  Afterwards you can celebrate Christmas!).  We saw the world’s largest Christmas tree lit up in Dortmund.  Jess and I went to the market in Herne, which was actually extremely sad… so sad we just got on the train and went to the one in Bochum.  We’ve spent a good few nights after class at the market in Bochum.  On my birthday, I went to the Essen market after class, where the crew bestowed me with one of those adorable little gingerbread hearts.  They’re the best.

Dortmund Christmas Market

Dortmund Christmas Market

Roommates made me a birthday cookie cake! “The best thing to come out of America. I mean, besides you, of course.”

My roommates also gave me a homemade advent calendar hanging above my bed. Too cool!

 

Birthday in Essen!