Holidays are coming.

It is the end of the third weekend of Advent which means it is also the end of the third weekend of Christmas markets. Reubs came to visit for the week which meant I had the perfect excuse to visit plenty of Christmas markets. Not that I really needed an excuse. I was definitely the more enthusiastic, but that is more a testament to my unrelenting enthusiasm for all things Christmassy than a comment on Reubs. The Weihnachtsmarkt concept was introduced with a trip to Hildesheim which is not my favourite market but fun nonetheless. The town square has a lovely atmosphere but the rest of the city is a bit too city like to do 'Christmas magic'.

It will come as no surprise that we went travelling at the end of the week, stopping off at Goslar for a couple of hours on our way to Wernigerode. Yes, I ventured out of Niedersachsen and into Sachsen-Anhalt. Wernigerode is just on the edge of the Harz mountains and known as one of the best small Christmas markets. Our hotel was wonderfully close to the Weihnachtsmarkt. However, as we wandered along the main street we came across another Weihnachtsmarkt... there were two! Amazing! I had Glühwein from a boot shaped mug, Reubs had white hot chocolate and we wandered the Christmas markets. Although there was nothing particularly unusual about Wernigerode Weihnachtsmarkt, the setting and atmosphere were brilliant. The following morning we walked up to Wernigerode Castle, standing on a hill overlooking the town. Predictably the views were lovely, straight into the mountains.

Wernigerode Rathaus // Schloss // Märchenwald

Goslar is my favourite Weihnachtsmarkt. This sounds like a bold and foolish statement, but I promise you, it is AMAZING. There are all the usual stalls selling roasted almonds, Lebkuchen, Glühwein, the best cheese pretzel I have tasted in my life, Schneeballen ('snowballs' made of holly-leaf shaped pastry held together with marmalade and dusted in icing sugar), half metre sausages, mushroom stir fry and then there's a bakery. An actual bakery, with bread ovens and bakers kneading the dough in the middle of the square. Genius.

Christmas markets smell incredible and it is primarily thanks to the sweet stalls. They are adorned with hanging Lebkuchen and the counter is full of roasted almonds, some sugared, some mixed with cinnamon, some with desiccated coconut. 

Goslar Weihnachtswald // Feuerzangenbowle // Bakery // Weihnachtsmarkt

As mentioned in my previous post about Goslar Weihnachtsmarkt, there is also a Christmas forest. The idea is that you buy your Glühwein/alternative alcoholic beverage and enjoy drinking it in a forest, conveniently located just off the main square. In case you hadn't noticed, I am absolutely obsessed with the Weihnachtswald [Christmas forest]. I think that all towns should have one. Fetcham may be a disappointment.

Just to confirm Goslar as the most wonderfully Christmassy place to be in the world, by pure coincidence the Coca Cola Christmas truck stopped there that day! Explanation:

Basically, the Coca Cola trucks (as seen in the Christmas advert) go on tour during the build up to Christmas. You can go along, get your name printed on a coke can and generally enjoy what happens when Coca Cola and Christmas collide.

That's it for another week. This time next weekend I should be on a plane whizzing back to England! Wow! But do not fear, there is plenty to do between now and next weekend...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it hurricane.

Orkan Xaver. [Hurricane Xaver]. It might have a fabulous name but that is the only thing I appreciate about it. There were severe weather warnings for all of Northern Germany, so school was closed on Friday (not that I was going to be working anyway) and my walk to the supermarket on Thursday was horrendously windy. Suddenly it became acceptable to open a conversation with a comment about the weather. In fact everyone was so preoccupied with the weather that it felt like I was in England! To quote one news article: "flights, trains, schools and Christmas markets were closed". You know it's serious when the Christmas markets are closed.

On Friday when I opened my front door I was greeted by a little wicker basket filled with chocolate. I was slightly confused, then realised that it was 6th December and the basket had probably been left for me by St. Nikolaus because I had forgotten to leave a shoe outside. In Germany, 6th December is St. Nikolaus' Day. Every year, on 5th December, children are supposed to clean their shoes and leave them outside their doors. Overnight St. Nikolaus appears, filling the shoes of 'good' children with sweets and toys and those of 'bad' children with twigs. A lovely tradition, and one that I was surprised to get the opportunity to experience. I asked my landlady to pass on my thanks to St. Nikolaus!

The happiness and joy of Christmas continued in the most unexpected of places: the train from Bad Salzdetfurth to Hildesheim. As a Christmas present, Nord West Bahn (my local rail company) are giving out train shaped cookie cutters! Brilliant!

Hannover Weihnachtsmarkt // Prezzies from St. Nikolaus // Bad Salzdetfurth Weihnachtsmarkt

Unfortunately the weather was too rubbish to go exploring. I went to Hildesheim to have a peruse around the Weihnachtsmarkt but gave up due to snow and high winds (and fear of the train line being closed). The following day I attempted Christmas shopping in Hannover which was awful. Do not mess with shoppers on a mission. Primark in Hannover on the second Saturday of Advent was the worst idea I have had in a very long time. As for the Weihnachtsmarkt, it will have to be saved for another day as I walked through it but couldn't even see the stalls. In the end I decided that it was much better at home, so finished the weekend with a wander to the Bad Salzdetfurth Weihnachstmarkt... nothing like as impressive but pretty cute.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

It is December! The advent calendar had begun, the Christmas jumper has been worn out of the house, the first slice of Christmas cake has been eaten and I'm writing this whilst listening to carols. Fortunately, Germany's level of excitement for all things Christmas seems to be as high as mine. The pupils have organised secret Santa, there are fairy lights everywhere and the bakeries are going Lebkuchen crazy. But possibly the most famous thing about German Christmas is the Weihnachtsmarkt [Christmas Market]. Therefore, this December I want to experience real German Christmas markets in Germany (as opposed to Birmingham). The markets open at different times in different areas, but the Niedersachsen ones opened on the first weekend of advent. Joined by my parents, the quest to visit the Christmas Markets began.

Braunschweig Weihnachtsmarkt

German Christmas markets have apparently become a bit of a cliche, springing up everywhere and offering exactly the same stalls regardless of whether you are in Berlin, Birmingham or Chicago. However, my experience here has been nothing like that. Obviously there are set types of stall; no self-respecting German Christmas market would be without Bratwurst, Glühwein and Lebkuchen but there is still variety. For me, the thing that makes German Christmas markets special is the setting, and beautiful historic town squares is something that Niedersachsen seems to specialise in. It didn't matter that my hands were freezing, my nose was numb and it was pouring with rain: the markets still looked wonderful. I should also apologise for the lack of photos... it was getting too rainy to use the camera!

BRAUNSCHWEIG.
The first and biggest Weihnachtsmarkt that we visited. We wasted no time at all in buying our first mug of Glühwein and sheltered underneath the Weihnachtspyramide to drink it. The market smelt amazing: either of cooking sausages or sugared almonds depending on which stall you were walking past. Unfortunately the weather was so bad that we retreated into a museum so it looks like I will have to go back to Braunschweig sometime before Christmas.

WOLFENBÜTTEL.
A much smaller place with a much smaller market. The rain continued so we went to an indoor Christmas craft market in the residential palace before braving outside. It was beginning to get dark, so the market looked really pretty as we drank apple Glühwein (mixing things up).

Braunschweig Weihnachtspyramide // Wolfenbüttel Weihnachtsmarkt // Hameln Weihnachtsmarkt // Goslar nativity // Hameln // Goslar Weihnachtswald

GOSLAR.
The best Christmas market ever. I loved Goslar on my previous visit but this one was even better (we went twice in two days). The highlight has to be the Weihnachtswald [Christmas forest]. Yes, they bring lots of enormous fir trees into the market (we're talking 30ft) and assemble a forest by the main square. The idea is that you buy a Glühwein and enjoy it standing in a forest. Incredible. There was also a nativity with real llamas and donkeys, and more types of sausage than I have seen in my entire life. Of course we had to try the food so had a couple of sausages and Kartoffelpuffer (according to google 'potato pancakes') with apple sauce... surprisingly tasty. And all this against the backdrop of a medieval square...

HAMELN.
The final market and the only one seen in sunshine. The market was much smaller than those Goslar or Braunschweig but was still pretty. We had some Glühwein, Bratwurst and deep fried cauliflower (?) before it was time to head home.

Rather than staying in Bad Salzdetfurth, the parents and I spent two nights in Zellerfeld, a village in the Harz Mountains. So on Friday night, after my choir rehearsal, we set off driving into the mountains. The roads were understandably deserted and all we could see was blackness. As we entered the village it began to snow, progressing to a blizzard whilst we unloaded the car. After checking in we went for a walk in deserted, snowy Zellerfeld. A truly magical way to see my first German snow.

Up in the mountains the visibility was ridiculously limited (about 10 metres). Each day we drove off into white nothingness as all you could see was snow and cloud.

Clausthal-Zellerfeld

In amongst all the Christmas markets and snowy-ness was my choir Christmas concert in Hildesheim. It went really well, and there was only one song I needed the words for (to be fair it was Ukrainian). Mum and Dad came along and got to meet my friends from Ö-Chor as well as enjoy the concert. The audience participation on Leise rieselt der Schnee might have been asking a bit much but I think they had a good evening... it certainly put me in a Christmassy mood.

So, the first weekend of advent is over and it was brilliant. I look forward to the next three!