The First Week of Advent

The First Day of Advent    

On Sunday I went to church with Alicia, Marion’s daughter, for the first Sunday of Advent. Afterwards we walked back to her house, and I helped her a bit with English before lending a hand in lunch preparations. Marion had already done most of the work, but I formed the dumplings and cut the threads off of the Roulade, a stuffed beef. All of the food was absolutely delicious, but I had to wait to eat my fruit until later since I was stuffed.

 

Roulade, dumplings, and red cabbage. Yum!

Alicia and I went on a walk to the bus stop so I can find my way through all of the twists and turns alone in the future, and then Marion and I had a nice chat. I got to look though her photo album from her year abroad in Montana and hear a few stories. Marion’s mother joined us and soon it was time for coffee and cake. More delicious treats!

Marion’s family decorated the house the day before so Christmas was everywhere, and I couldn’t have been more delighted!

 

Christmas Star

Christmas Stars hang from the ceiling and are reminiscent of the star the magi followed to Bethlehem.

Everyone in Saxony seems to have at least one Rauchermann (rauchen=smoke, Mann= man). Rauchermänner are an Erzgebirge specialty.  These enchanting wooden figures of all kinds have open mouths and hollow stomachs so that you can lift off the tops, insert a cone of burning incense, place the top back on, and then marvel as a steam of Christmas smoke comes out of his (or her) mouth.

Rauchermann

Pyramide made by Tom and his dad. There are
figurines inside on each level that turn around.

While you won’t find Christmas lights strung around rooftops and wrapped around trees, Schwibbogen light up numerous windows with the glow of candlelight…or at least electric candles. Within the wooden arches you can find countless scenes.

Another delight was the Pyramide made by Tom, Marion’s husband, and his father year’s ago. Tom is a carpenter but working with wood was only a hobby for his father.

After the sunset all of the adults headed to the center of town to see the giant Pyramide light up and start turning. I rode the bus home with Marion’s mother and then walked with her to her apartment. She actually lives quite close to me, and I hope we see each other more often!

 

Marion and I at the giant Pyramide

St. Nicholas Day

Thursday I was warned more than once to clean my shoes that night. Friday was St. Nicholas Day, and everyone with clean shoes finds candy and small presents inside, while those with dirty shoes receive only a lump of coal.

I have never been so well rewarded for clean shoes! At the end of lessons on Friday, I went back to the Biology room to find socks and leg warms hanging out of the pocket of my coat and a bag of presents hanging from a button. Oh, and the wonders I found inside!

I was delighted to light everything, to see the candles glow, and watch the smoke billow out of my Rauchmann.

Unfortunately, less than an hour later my miniature Schwibbogen was burning. I was so sad, but at least it wasn’t completely destroyed. 

Caution: wood burns.

Baking 

I spent early Saturday afternoon with Tina. We went to the library, and then picked up a few groceries. It was time to bake Plätzchen!

Plätzchen are the traditional German Christmas cookies which come in all flavors, shapes, and sizes. We baked some which resemble the American sugar cookie with the addition of hazelnuts but only a fourth of the sugar. Although Germans consume an average of 21 kilograms of chocolate a year, their cookies and cakes lack the large quantity of sugar found in American baked goods. 

Tina baking

Our Plätzchen

Aurore's Birthday Cake

I also helped a little making a birthday cake for Aurore. I intended to arrive late to her party after the Alexander-von-Humbold Christmas Ball, but I never made it. The cake is adorable, though, right? Tina was the mastermind. I was the assistant.

The Christmas Ball

The Christmas Ball was truly lovely. Diana, an English (and French) teacher I work with invited me. She and her boyfriend picked me up, took me home, and paid my way. If that wasn't enough, she also lent me a dress to wear for the occasion so I wouldn't have to buy one.

Everyone was assigned a table, and the first order of business after sitting down was ordering drinks...of the alcoholic variety. Everyone moaned as I took pictures of the drink menu and glasses fearing for the German reputation. I couldn't help myself. They can't imagine school dances without alcohol, and I'd never imagined one with alcohol. Can you imagine standing at the bar behind your high school physics teacher at a school dance? Although the German, Meditaranian, and Sushi buffet was included in the 25 Euro entrance ticket, drinks were put on a tab which was paid at the end of the night.

Line Dancing

Before dinner was served the choir performed, a few poems were recited, and the ballroom dancers showed off their moves. After dinner a band began to play and the people danced the night away. The floor was usually full of people dancing standard ballroom dances. I kept wishing Ryan was there to lead me onto the dance floor and put our dance lessons from last summer to good use. Although I spent more of my time living vicariously through those on the dance floor, Angela, a Math and Geography teacher, lead me around for a song. I also joined a group of four line dancers who were dancing to Achy, Breaky Heart. And at the end of the night a nice, middle-aged gentlemen asked me to dance. I immediately said yes. We danced two songs together, and I wasn't terrible by the end. He was probably a parent of one of the students or an alumni. Truly, there were more adults at the school dance than students, who are welcome starting in ninth grade. 

An uncrowded dance floor

I usually turn into a pumpkin at 11 o'clock, but I managed to stay awake until I arrived home from the ball around half past midnight. Regrettably, I couldn't bring myself to leave again and never made it to Aurore's Birthday party. Instead I feel into a peaceful night's sleep.

An American Thanksgiving in Germany

November 30, 2013

While everyone back home gathered around a turkey last Thursday, a group of twelve Americans, Germans, and a French girl celebrated a great American Thanksgiving over a week ago. Wednesday was Buß- und Bettag, a religious and state holiday in Saxony, so we all had the day off. Nothing was opened so it was the perfect time to prepare a feast and enjoy. We also watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (It was my first time seeing it!) and Remember the Titans in German so that football would be a part of the festivities.

American food is difficult for me to describe. I refuse to claim McDonald’s as typical especially since I haven’t eaten it in years, rather I take great pleasure in dipping my spoon into the American melting pot and tasting cuisines from all over the world, slightly adapted for the American palate. While the following ingredients are certainly not confined to the United States, the Americas are abounding in sweet potatoes, corn meal, cranberries, squashes, Libby’s canned pumpkin, brown sugar, molasses, and vanilla extract. None of these ingredients are easy to find in Germany, and once found they are not cheap.

Although I love to make things from scratch, Libby’s canned pumpkin is a wonderful thing. However, it was not available so I had to make pumpkin purée in order to make pumpkin bread. Although good, it wasn’t as delicious as when my Aunt makes it. I blame it on the different pumpkins available here. When making my Aunt Mary’s addictive Corn Bread Stuffing, I also made my own corn bread and biscuits. And of course no Thanksgiving meal is complete without cranberry sauce so fresh cranberries were cooked in sugar and orange juice until they popped into a bright red sauce. I also contributed an apple pie that looked more like a tart. We don’t have a pie pan and Chris (the American who hosted the event and was in charge of Turkey, more stuffing, mash potatoes, gravy, and a green bean casserole) let me borrow a tart dish. I work with the tools available to me.

I don’t think I’ve ever fully explained the craftiness required to cook in our kitchen. My apartment came partly furnished. Partly is particularly noticeable in the kitchen. Early on I bought a bowl for fruit, a loaf pan, a range of Tupperware containers, and a strainer. (A grater was soon added to my collection. No one has enough time to “grate” with a paring knife.)

My fruit bowl soon developed the ability to turn into a mixing bowl, and my loaf pan into a baking dish for delicious fish and baked chicken. The wire rack shelf in the oven now doubles as a cooling rack. We have only one measuring devise. I can easily use it to find 300 g of sugar or estimate 120 g of flour, but what about pumpkin purée? Setting the oven temperature is another concern. It’s not as simple as turning the dial to the correct temperature. The type of heat must also be chosen. Cooking and baking is thus a guessing game; everything is estimated and approximated. The constant uncertainty makes anything that turns out a cause for celebration!

On Tuesday the Christmas Markets opened! I went briefly with Judith, a friend from choir, and her friends to see the giant Christmas tree light up and hear the band of children play Christmas songs. After an hour or so, we left the festivities for our now weekly language exchange. She helps me with German, I help her with English, and we both get to know each other in the process. It is a wonderful time!

In the last few weeks, opportunities to improve my German have increased dramatically. I have two German language classes on Thursdays, I meet with Judith on Tuesdays, and I will hopefully have a set weekly time with my new Sprachtandum partner shortly. The Sprachtandem program is through the local university and is essentially a formal version of what Judith and I are doing.

Oh! I almost forgot to share the biggest news from the last week. On Tuesday, the same day the Christmas markets opened, we finally got Internet in our apartment! The next morning I woke up sick. I don’t think the two are related; however, it is nice to have a connection to the outside world while I confine myself to my room. I hope I feel better soon, though, the Christmas Markets are not to be missed!

Polish Basketball & The Gospel to Jazz

November 11, 2013

The bridge between Germany and Poland.
People freely walk between the boarders.

On Saturday eleven ‘loud’ Americans climbed on a train headed for Görlitz, Sachsen. Görlitz is the eastern most city in Germany. It’s sister city, Zgorzelec, Poland is just over a bridge but there is a stark architectural contrast between the two sides of the river. I still don’t feel like I can say I’ve been to Poland. Just like I don’t count my half-day trip to a boarder town Mexico as having seen the country. However, I now have a strong desire to go back to the country and find a plum pierogi. 

Most of our time was spent in Görlitz. Of course, we looked at the local churches and town hall. Eleven people is a lot to coordinate in a democratic group with no set agenda so we naturally split into two groups when lunch time rolled around.

A view into Poland from Germany

The whole group was reunited just before tip off at the professional basketball game in Poland. That’s right. We cheered for the Turow’s and the two Americans #21 and #30 on their team. I enjoyed it a lot, even though I am not usually a sports fan. At halftime two teams of little boys swarmed the court for a quick match. It was adorable. Most of the children couldn’t throw the ball high enough to reach the net, let alone get it inside. So, when one blond-haired boy scored he had every reason to smile and dance around the court.

A street in Görlitz

Unfortunately the combination of a big group, miscommunication, and an absence of my usually compulsive planning meant that four of us had an hour layover in Dresden before we could catch a train to Chemnitz. Monika and I still couldn’t take a train back to Zwickau until 7:32 in the morning (Okay, the first one was at 5:00.) so Hannah graciously let us sleep on her floor for six hours. We both slept surprisingly well. I’m sure waking up at 4:30 the previous morning helped make the hardwood floor padded with sweatshirts feel a little more luxurious.

I arrived back in Zwickau early Sunday morning while Monika stayed in Chemnitz a few more hours to visit her family there. Sunday was a truly wonderful day. The train ride was quite and relaxing. I read and ate the last of my Polish baked goods for breakfast. 

Once back at home I got some writing done before heading over to Tina’s. On the cold walk over rain poured on my umbrella. Perhaps my umbrella will outline my view of the world for the next month until all of the rain turns to snow.

When I arrived at Tina’s snuggly house shoes, warm pumpkin soup, and bread fresh out of the oven greeted me. For dessert we ate the fruit salad I brought and some coffee/hot chocolate. Properly nourished we were ready to get to work on our lanterns. Last weekend we attended a Fakelzauber festival in Mariental together with Marie. Long ago large bonfires would burn at the end of the harvest season to scare away the evil spirits. Today a hundreds and hundreds of adults and children with their lanterns parade to the town square where a small bonfire is carefully controlled by two firefighters and fireworks light up the night sky. We’re not sure we used the proper materials for our lanterns, but I’ll have to let you know later since our papier-mâché balloons are currently dying.

After our arts and crafts Monika joined us for a wonderful concert at Pauluskirche. Maria, the first act, was my favorite. It was the story of Jesus’ life seen through Mary’s eyes with occasional input from Joseph and the “crowd.” It was all in German and in a Jazz style. I wish I could have bought a CD.

Afterwards I went back to Tina’s to use her Internet in order to skype with Ryan. (That’s right, I still don’t have Internet in my apartment. I should have Internet within 10-15 days…but I’ve been told that before.)

Fall Break: The Northwest Adventure

The old city of Bremen

 Bremen

After ridding the train back from Prague, I spent the night on Hannah’s floor. It wasn’t the most comfortable sleeping arrangement, but we didn’t have long to sleep anyways since our train left early Friday morning.

Sofia and Hannah in an
ally in the Schnoor district

Sofia, the Russian language assistant in Zwickau, also decided to join us on our ‘Northwest Adventure,’ and it was very good that she did. Whenever we were tired and tempted to stay indoors, she got us out of bed and seeing the sights.

The historic city center was beautiful. A simplified medieval fair was going on adding to the overall charm. Of course, there were also delicious things to eat and interesting things to look at. Later that evening we walked around the adorable Schnoor district with its narrow allies and buildings dating back to the Middle Ages. The buildings are literally order than my country. I will always remember the old city of Bremen fondly.

When darkness settled in, we headed to the Frei Markt, our only mistake. Before we entered the chaos, we designated a met up spot incase we got separated, which we did. As soon as I stepped into the ‘State Fair from Hell,’ I wanted out. Plenty of people were enjoying the chaos, but not me. Imagine the last state fair you attended. Take away all the crafts, contests, and open container laws. Add a hundred times the food booths and rides, a thousand times the people, and a legal drinking age of 16. Oh, and make sure you don’t absentmindedly make the area any bigger.

Hamburg 

Tour of Hamburg

We planned our ‘Northwest Adventure’ around Hamburg. On our first full day in the city we went on a “free” walking tour. As we walked around the city, we were stuck by how distant we felt from the city. Usually there is more of a warm and inviting vibe, especially in the old town where buildings are worn in, well cared for, and the pathways are narrow. Eventually we decided the tall, modern building, and loss of so many of the old buildings in the “great fire of 1842” were largely to blame. If there is one thing I learned from the tour of Hamburg it is that a third of the city was “destroyed in the great fire of 1842.”  That phrase was continually repeated throughout the tour.

Some awesome architecture

I’m sure our impression of the city was not helped by the constant cold, frequent rain, and strong winds…and this coming from a girl who lives in the land where the “wind comes sweeping down the plains.” I seriously had to lean into the wind so I would not be blown back and could slowly fight to put one foot in front of the other. The storm also caused my trains to be cancelled and ours to be delayed by 55 minutes since fallen trees were blocking tracks.

But not all in Hamburg was a disaster. The last 18 hours made the trip worth it. Monday night we went to Miniature Wonderland, and it was truly wonderful. I cannot adequately descript the joy of seeing tiny replicas of beautiful lands, watching the sunset/sunrise every ten minutes and tiny trains, planes, trucks, and automobiles zoom around. Oh, they also speed up when they approach a yellow light and stop for red. Isn’t that adorable?

A scene from the Miniature Wonderland Airport

At the beginning of the museum there was a History of Germany section with a tiny replication of a German community as it developed over the centuries. After spending about 30 minutes listening to the first four interesting and informative recordings, Hannah gently nudged me to leave it behind. We still had three other floors of miniature marvels to see. I resolved to pick up a copy of the DVD in the gift shop before we left. Unfortunately, they were not selling this DVD. I was so sad until I found it for free online. Yay!

This is the model of a city during The Third Reich.
Notice that no swastikas are displayed since it is forbidden in Germany.  

The next area had models of how the 6 largest political parties in Germany would envision their ideal society with some party member explaining the significance of everything. I credit those displays with my limited knowledge of the German political parties. 

Our last stop before going to the train station was the Kunsthalle or Art Museum, which was lovely.

Lübeck

Our next stop was in Lübeck, where we took life easy. It is a beautiful city to simple walk around, but the Lübecker-Marzipan-Speicher was a special treat. First, we looked around the small museum as we waited for the ‘show’ to begin. After a short history lesson about Marzipan, we learned how to make simple little creations. Of course, we had to buy things at the gift shop and later café.

Schwerin

Our directions from the main train station in Schwerin to our hostel were by far the best we encountered on our trip; however, arriving at the hostel was a little strange. A note on the door gave a number to call, and we were then given the code to a key box containing the key to the hostel and our room. Bed linens were waiting on a chest just inside the door. No one was in sight and no one was coming. Still, we had to climb 4 flights of stairs to reach our freezing room.

The next morning we headed towards the castle, looking for breakfast along the way. We passed one person, and not a single car. Every building we passed was dark. Soon we learned that Reformation day is a holiday in five German states, including Mecklenberg-Vorpommern, where we were, and Sachsen, where we live, meaning very few things would be open. I had four pieces of bread in my backpack, and upon reaching the castle we each decided to eat a piece while we searched for food. It could have been a large and arduous journey. As we bite into the bread, a swarm of sea gulls surrounded us and began squawking. They flew far too close for comfort. Fortunately, we escaped their claws and found a bakery.

The castle grounds and interior was beautiful.

After returning from Schloß Schwerin, we made human contact at the hostel and paid for our rooms before heading back home. It was a successful trip.