Berlin: Christmas Markets Edition

Although I'm still not thrilled we ended the trip on a bad note, there are some great pictures and memories I'd like to share from our trip to Berlin. One of the main goals of the trip was to check out some Christmas Markets, as they have multiple ones in the city. The loveliest of them all was right across the street from our hotel, sandwiched between two large churches, called Gendarmenmarkt.

Here's some shots:

 Super pretty! But very crowded at night when it's most lovely.

 The first time we went, we sat down in a tent restaurant, but the second time, we found the soup stand. Oh my, I cannot tell you how good this potato soup was, mmm!

 We also got a mug of gluhwein and tried Eierpunsch.

 This was in one of the larger shops that was all about Christmas ornaments. I couldn't decide on any unfortunately, I'm so indecisive! I wanted to get them all.

Live music outside of the concert hall was rockin!

We also got this amazing cheese bread thing. In the center of the picture you'll see some cheese, and that it's being slowly melted from above. When it's ready, the person gently scrapes the gooey mass onto a piece of bread and sprinkles it with a little seasoning. Awesome.

 Here's more of a daytime shot from outside the entry.

We also visited three other markets: Alexanderplatz, Potsdamer Platz, and the nostalgic Christmas market.

Here's Alexanderplatz, hanging out next to the ice skating rink.

 I already ate lunch, so I was bummed when I saw the noodle stand! So delicious! We did try the Quarkballe, though.

 Matt had some pretty tasty hot chocolate.

At the nostalgic market, there were live animals in the nativity scene!

We both tried some different varieties of hot wine - I got the raspberry and Matt got the apple. I think I liked Matt's a little better than mine, but still very good. We also got some currywurst, which Berlin is famous for. It's different than what we're used to in western Germany since it's a lighter, more vinegary sauce. I like both.

And here's Potsdamer Platz. Aside from the fact that it was this metro (the following day) when we got our wallets stolen, Matt and I enjoyed some good food and drinks. And checked out the fun:

 Curling!

For the next post, I'll show a few more of the sights we visited.

Happy Christmas week!