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!

The post I never thought I'd have to write.

I was really looking forward to using this post to talk about the first half of our trip to Berlin, which Matt and I just returned from on Thursday after spending time there since taking the train over on Sunday. I was preparing to tell you about all the awesome things we did, places we went, and tasty food we ate. I was itching to tell you that it was one of my favorite cities I visited.

I was going to do all of this until, on our way to the train station yesterday morning, Matt and I got our wallets stolen.

We were walking up stairs from the subway station, hauling our suitcases (but not walking near each other), and BOTH of us got robbed. I didn't realize it at first, but Matt did, and then I checked inside my purse and it was gone. If this team put in half the effort they did in doing this to us (and probably some other people too), I'm sure they could get much better jobs to do instead. I consider myself a pretty compassionate person but I still find myself wishing them all the worst and more. It makes me sick that there are people like this in the world.

What we still had were our passports, tablet, both cell phones, camera, and headphones. And a few coins of cash.

Oh, and some snacks for the train. But all in all, definitely enough cards and cash to be put into a really bad mood. 

Although it could have been so much worse, it definitely ruined the entire trip for me. A black cloud is completely over traveling right now in my mind. I'd just like to put out a PSA to everyone who reads this, that it can happen to anyone. Matt and I consider ourselves pretty seasoned travelers so we were (and are) pretty ticked off. 

I'm hoping that I'll be in a better mood next week to post the rest of the trip, but it's really all I can concentrate on at the moment. We'll be spending the better part of the day getting new IDs lined up, after spending a few hours last night on the phone with credit card companies. 

Here's one though - it's in the Reichstag building, which is Germany's Parliament headquarters (now known as the Bundestag).

I'm certainly happy that milk is less than a Euro here, so when I go buy some it won't look as pathetic when I use coins. Hopefully we'll have our ATM cards soon so we don't have to feel so poor.

Hope everyone is having a better day!

Year in Review: Counting Countries and Cities

Countries, in order:

1. Germany
2. Czech Republic
3. France
4. Italy (again, but a different part)
5. Austria
6. Liechtenstein
7. Switzerland
8. Belgium
9. United Kingdom (for real, not just Heathrow Airport)
10. Monaco

German Cities Visited (in no particular order):

• Frankfurt
• Berlin
• Munich
• Mainz
• Wiesbaden
• Trier
• St Martins
• Limburg
• Oppenheim
• Rüsselheim
• Würzburg
• Köln

Can't wait to visit more!!

Year in Review: Randoms

Woah I did a lot this year!

• Got married
• Moved to Germany
• Presented for the first time at a NALP Conference
• Went on a champagne tour, in Champagne
• Served as a bridesmaid for the first time
• Drove on the autobahn
• Started grad school
• Took a German language class
• Went on numerous adventures
• Spent time in about 10 countries

Just looking at this makes me tired.... definitely nap time.

Woo hoo! Post #100!

It's hard to believe I've posted so many times since being here! I've been going through some of my past posts and they really help me remember how much fun I've had since moving to Germany. It's been a super adventure and I'm looking forward to what new and exciting things happen next year.

I hope you've been enjoying it as well - if you want to see more of something, let me know! More pictures, guest poster, more videos, more antics, what do you want?

In the meantime, here is a throwback to our first month. It doesn't usually snow much here, so it was especially pretty. Hope to see some of this soon!

Next week on Monday and Wednesday I'll have new posts, but I might not have time to link them on Facebook, so check them out directly if you get a chance :-)

Best of Matt

Looking back this year I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures of my cutie of a husband, Matt:

Prague.

 Wine Hikes:

 Chocolate croissant-eating.

Wine drinking breaks...

Train beers!

He thinks he's so cool.

He likes driving close to pretty lakes in Switzerland.

 He does very well driving complicated mountain passes.

And we didn't know it, but he's most peaceful when he drives a boat. I think we'll have to get a boat sometime, or live very close to somewhere with boat access.

He also loves grillin'

It was sooo fun getting to help him pick out his lederhosen!

Lookin good, Matt! That beard is working for you.

You look good on bikes, too!

And that's a great hat.

Can't wait to take more pictures of my hubby on more adventures!

Würzburg Christmas Market

On Saturday I went down to Würzburg with Steve and Susan, my Christmas market partners in crime. I was excited to see snow on the side of the road on the way down, as we haven't had any around town yet. Although it was overcast, it was such a good market!

I was definitely most impressed with the glasses selection. Most of the city markets only have one kind of glass or mug for the gluhwein, but here, there were at least a dozen. I walked away with two different kinds, but I gotta go back for more!

The food was delicious too. Susan and I had a big bowl of curly fries (curly fries! haven't had that in forever!) and Steve got this amazing looking pasta, sauerkraut, bacon and cheesy dish. We also got the wonderfully tasty Feuerzangenbowle. It's a rum-soaked sugar loaf that is lit on fire and drips into mulled wine. Then it's served piping hot. This version didn't have fruit as a garnish (like in Mainz), but it did come in neat terra cotta mugs with Santa embossed on the side :-)

I'd love to go back down there again and explore some more. Maybe when it's not so chilly, or when it's supposed to be sunnier. Yay for new cities!