Both of us agree that it is wonderful simply to be back in Europe. Even though we've never been to Berlin, the sights, smells, and sounds were all famaliar, and we've felt very much at home here. On several occassions I've mentioned to Lyssa just how happy I am with the weather: pure autumn, overcast and in the 40s (which after a year and a half in the Middle East is a welcome change). Here are some of our favorites about being in Germany for the holidays.
Christmastime
Christmas Market in Dresden
Late November to the end of December is a fantastic time to visit Germany since they take Christmas very seriously here and Weihnachtsmarkts (Christmas markets) pop up everywhere, selling gifts, decorations, and traditional food. Now, we'd been to similar markets in Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia, but they just don't compare to German ones in scale or in quality. We've bought several ornaments to hang on the tree and a ton of food. In fact, I'm sure most of our meals have been eaten standing up in the cold at a Weihnachtsmarkt. Our favorites? We can't get enough bratwurst, especially since the mustard is so good. We've also enjoyed the occasional boulette (kind of a cross between meatloaf and a hamburger), crepes, chocolate-covered fruit, potato soup, potato pancakes, and of course the Berlin classic, currywurst (sausage covered in curry powder and drenched in curry ketchup). And since we're on the topic of buying things...
Shopping
Christmas tree that is more ornament than tree at the KaDeWe department store
We've bought a ton of gifts for little Christian that we hope he's going to love. He's been pretty keen on toy cars recently, so we couldn’t resist picking up a Hot Wheels-style ambulance, fire engine, and two police cars (one of which is a tiny "smart car"). All of them have the writing in German, which is pretty cool. Even though it's pure kitsch, I also bought him a slightly larger toy Trabbant, the infamous car produced under the GDR. I've looked everywhere at children's books also, wanting to get him something in German, but that wouldn't be too difficult. We settled on one which teaches the colors in German, which I thought would make for a good start. And speaking of the German language...
Language
One of my favorite things is how much I've been able to speak German. When I came here five years ago, I couldn't even ask for a train ticket. Don’t get me wrong, my German still isn't very good, but I have been able to order food and take care of other business, which is good, since it seems that no one over 30 here speaks any English.
Museums
Ishtar Gate
We've been able to visit some very good museums. For Lyssa, the highlight has been the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, with the massive Pergamon altar. Christian loved it since you're allowed to go up on it, and he climbed all the way to the top. Even though the museum gets its name from the altar, Lyssa's favorite was seeing the beautiful and blue Ishtar Gate, the original entrance to the ancient city of Babylon. I personally enjoyed the Jewish museum, which illustrates the lives of German Jews since the Middle Ages to modern times. Other noteworthy highlights included seeing Bruegel the Elder's Netherlandish Proverbs at the Gemäldegalerie and then seeing Raphael's Sistine Madonna with its famous cherubs at the Zwinger in Dresden.
Note the cherubs at the bottom of the painting
This is our friend Jason's favorite painting. I hope he is crazy jealous.
Getting to take Lyssa someplace I've already been
Enjoying a pretzel in Dresden
If you look back far enough in this blog, all the way back to 2004, you'll see that I went to Dresden (but not Berlin) five years ago. When we lived in Hungary after getting married, I took Lyssa to several places I'd visited before, but we never made it as far as Germany. So it was pretty exciting for me to take her to Dresden and then to the LDS temple in Freiberg, both of which I'd already been to. To be honest, the first time I came here though I wasn't the master traveller I am now, and basically just wasted time and wandered around. I didn't even realize there was a really famous painting in Dresden until I was getting ready to leave and saw pictures of it all over a tourism office. When I went to the temple, I walked all the way from the train station (about 1 1/2 miles) with all my bags (since I didn't realize I could put them in lockers at the Dresden train station). I had just barely missed the session, but instead of staying for the next one (or even dropping off my bags) I walked back into town, trying in vain to find some breakfast. I ended up hiding in a public restroom in the park for about 40 minutes, just to stay warm (I pointed the same restroom out to Lyssa as we walked by it).
Outside the Freiberg Temple
The trip this time went much smoother, though we did have to rush a bit. We got into Freiberg in the nick of time and opted to take a taxi to the temple, just to make sure we wouldn't miss the session. I went to the 8am session by myself while Lyssa watched Christian in the temple hostel, then she went to the 10:30 session. We then went to a Christmas market in town, before heading back to Dresden.
In front of Dresden's recently rebuilt Marienkirche
But it hasn't all been good times
We almost didn't make our flight, since we were stuck in the passport control line for at least an hour in Doha. The line simply wasn't moving, but we somehow got through in time to make it to the gate. When we got to our first pension, the place seemed pretty much abandoned. We kept ringing the bell, but no one for reception responded. As it turns out, the woman who owns the place is only comes in the mornings. She left our key for us in the cafe next door, but we had no clue. We sat out there for at least half an hour, frustrated, until another guy with the same problem called her and got it straightened out. Other than that (and that she put us in the wrong room without a bathroom for the first night) everything was fine.
Adorable, but unhappy
Christian has been a real handful the whole trip also. The problem is that he's big enough to walk and explore, but too little to appreciate the things we want to see. So if we let him on his own he'll go places he shouldn't (a big no-no in museums) but if we hold him or keep him in his stroller he freaks out. He also hates having to put his big coat on, which is such a shame because he looks crazy adorable in it.
There were probably a couple other annoyances also, like the guy who wanted to sell me 20ml of Cola for 4 euros at a Weihnachtsmarkt. Sure, 2.50 of that was for the glass, but isn't that still a little overpriced for a glass that only holds up to 20ml?!?
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