Holidays in Germany! Trips to corners of the House of Habsburg!



The temperature is below freezing, the air quality is moderate to poor, and the sun sets before 4 pm. But the Christmas bells are kling-a-linging, the children are sing-a-linging, and it IS the most wonderful time of the year. Just two weeks before my annual existential crisis about the coming of a yet another year, I am happy to bring you another blog update about my time abroad.

In this post, I'll be sharing some key differences between holiday celebrations in Germany versus in the U.S., as well as about some exciting times in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Barcelona, Spain. 

Thanksgiving 

I learned in school at some point that Thanksgiving was called "Erntedankfest" in German, but I didn't hear that word once because Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Germany. It's just not where the Mayflower landed. Still, I had not one but two Thanksgiving celebrations, or rather "Friendsgivings." The first one was with three other Americans and the cuisine was chicken, sweet potato casserole, bread, and green beans (I made the green beans). 

The second one was with folks from around Europe, so I had things I would never cook on a holiday, like pierogi and lentil soup. But the highlight was a fancy schmancy charcuterie board with various spiced kinds of cheese and the type of sausage where you have to peel off the paper around it. 

Advent season 

Does Germany do Christmas better than the U.S.? Christmas has not yet occurred yet, but I have truly enjoyed the magical Adventszeit (the four weeks before Christmas) in Berlin. 

Berlin does win the Christmas markets, these big fairs throughout that city with plenty of vendors, amusement rides, and local businesses. My favorite thing to get at a  market is spiced hot wine or the non-alcoholic variation called Kinderpunsch, roasted chestnuts, and maybe a cute ornament (even though I don't have a Christmas tree).

I had a splendid time at the Christmas market by the Rotes Rathaus / red city hall. I bought gourmet hot sauce, sauerkraut noodles, Gluhwein/ mulled wine, and spiked hot chocolate.  I only fell once when I went ice skating, and that was because somebody knocked me down. I even rode a fabulous Ferris wheel.


I haven't seen any children sitting on Santa's lap, but that could also because I am looking for a Santa (der Weihnachtsmann). I think that is one Christmas tradition that is worth doing without.

Germany also wins the competition when it comes to Christmas bakes. I very much enjoyed cinnamon/gingerbread stars and Bratapfel, which is really just whole roasted apples with sugar and spices. So simple, yet so delicious. I did not actually buy an Advent calendar for myself, but it's for the best: I do not need more sugar in these veins.

However, Christmas movies are very much an American thing. At least a lot of Hallmark or Hallmark-esque movies are on Netflix in Germany. 

I asked a German what Christmas movies they like and they replied Sissi, a movie trilogy that comes on around the holidays but doesn't actually have anything to do with Christmas. Sissi is a romanticized film from the 1950s about how the young Princess Elisabeth of Bayern became engaged to Emperor Franz Joseph of Austro-Hungary. The real "Sisi" was thrust into court life at age 16 and reigned as empress for 44 years, from 1854 to 1898. 

BONUS TRIP TO AMSTERDAM

I was in Amsterdam between 11. November and 13. November with some friends. It was a beautiful city of canals and bicycles. We went to the Rijksmuseum, an art museum where I learned a lot about Dutch colonialism and slavery.


This is The Threatened Swan by Dutch Golden Age painter Jan Asselijn.


 I also found the language very funny, somewhere between German and English. But I still had a hard time understanding it. A great example is this plaque under what appears to be a rat journalist statue.


However, we did miss a train connection on the way back and ended up stuck at various German train stations, including Frankfurt. Below is me at a model train station at the Krefeld station.



BONUS TRIP TO BARCELONA

I met the family in Barcelona for some gift exchange and mild Spanish sun. We mostly explored the architectural and design feats of the great Gaudi. Here are some examples.

The crucifixion side of the Sagrada Familia, a church that has been in the works for 140 years, mostly through the vision of Gaudi, who died working on it. It is magnificent.



Casa Bottla by Gaudi is inspired by the ocean and being underwater.


I also enjoyed being in structures that had been around since the 1400s or earlier.

Some pieces of this gothic cathedral's portals date back to the 11th century. 

 This space houses the document where Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain told Christopher Columbus, "Sure, you can take the other ocean to India. Furthermore, you can claim the land and resources there if it's like, a different India that the other European countries haven't been to yet." That is a direct quote.  

What can I say, I love a medieval romanesque/early gothic forum. This is where a lof of bureaucratic buildings still are in Barcelona. 


This Habsburg Dynasty tour will continue this Christmas when I go to AUSTRIA to spend some time with a cousin. Hopefully, I will have also finished my book about the Habsburg Dynasty by then.  Check out my Goodreads to stay updated.

Here is a map of Habsburger territory in 1556 that you can contemplate until the new year. 




P.S. Every now and then I think about how the Netherlands was Spain and get confused, because I never took AP European History, and I get a disproportionate amount of knowledge from period pieces. So you're telling me France is just in the middle and they were like "hola como esta" in Belgium? Is this what happens when you keep marrying cousins? Just suspicious, that's all.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
-camille 




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