...as the Germans would say it (well, and in German, i.e. a direct word-for-word translation of what I put up). Gotta love German verbs, they are great: to christmas, to breakfast, to music (musicate?). Anyway, this gingerbread house was part of a large display outside of the Kieler Nachrichten, the city newspaper, whose office lies near the theater. AND, this particular house was made by 9 to 11-year-olds! Such fun things German kids do at Christmas! I also so them skating on the open-air skating rink outside the theater during the day, too. I guess Germany's dark and embarrassing past comes in the later classes...oh no, not gonna go there...

Speaking of Christmas, I went to the well-known Lübecker Weihnachtsmarkt, the Christmas market in the historic center of Lübeck, about an hour away from Hamburg (or Kiel). For those who don't already know, Christmas markets are an age-old tradition in Germany, where friends and family (and strangers) gather to drink and eat and be merry, as well as buy and sell mostly handmade crafts (like wooden incense men, straw Christmas tree stars, metal or ceramic figurines, herbs, sweets, candles made from honey, or just plain old honey). Lübeck's market is in the historic town center, at the city hall, with some nearby streets also hosting the stands that don't fit on the square. What makes Lübeck special are the special displays that you don't usually see at the markets - for example, in the "historic" section of the market, many traditional German fairy tales (mostly from the Brothers Grimm tales) were depicted through puppets in small window displays with some moving parts. A few stands also sold older items from Germany, like old pictures and paintings.

Luckily we (I went with a group) got there early enough, and it was a Monday so we all had off work, so we actually had space to walk around, and even got a seat for our Glühwein (mulled, spiced hot wine)! Some people had some hot egg nog (or what I believe to be hot egg nog) later, but I thought it tasted a little gross - maybe it's an acquired taste. Some ate some little Dutch hot pastries (kinda like thick, but light, mini pancakes), some had Feuerzangenbowle, a tradition of burning a sugar cube/cone soaked in rum over wine and then drinking the result (generally more a New Year's Eve drink), some ate toasted glazed almonds, some ate vanilla almonds. I also learned what a Lumumba is, which is basically hot chocolate with a shot of rum. You can also get Glühwein with a shot of rum too. Smelled like the egg nog had some in it too. Seems like at the Christmas market everything is with a shot of rum...

In walking around, we also saw a store for which I have also see signs in Hamburg: T.K. Maxx. Sound familiar? Yeah, seems like somebody stole everything from T.J. Maxx - the font is the same kind and color, same idea, and the store even looks the same! Wow, even the websites are surprisingly similar. Kinda like a previous post when I mentioned Balzac, a coffee house chain here in Northern Germany, which I later found out was started by an entrepreneur after her internship at Starbucks - check it out (logo, products, product names, and if you could only see the shops)! Guess they know a good idea when the have it. All I can say is, I really had NO IDEA how much influence the US has had on Europe, especially Germany, until I came here in my exchange year. And now, geez, everyone has an opinion about America!

On that note, before I ruin this nice Christmas-y post with political gab, I wish you all a Happy December!

 

 

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