My German Christmas

As mentioned in my last post, I spent Christmas this year with a good friend that I worked with on the NPH Int'l medical team. He is from Hänigsen, about half an hour NE of Hanover (in Lower Saxony). A cute little village in rural Germany. The train ride was beautiful (however I had to stand as there were no longer any seats left. I was surprised to discover that they sell more tickets than available seats for the journey. Lesson learned. Reserve a seat for the next trip, which is 6 hours long. I will NOT stand for that journey. Paying 3 Euros is well worth it for that trip.) Anyways, it was a nice ride through the snow-covered countryside.


Day 1: December 23 - Shortly after I arrived, Jan's mother served us a typical northern German meal of sausage, kale and potatoes, which was exceptionally delicious. This was only the second time during my four months in Germany that I've had a true German dish (a little embarrassing, I know). After my stay with Jan's family, I wonder why I haven't had it more often. It's quite delicious. Following lunch, Jan, his sister Kristina, and I decorated the Weihnachtbaum (Christmas tree), and in the evening we went to a Christmas Market in Celle, another small village in the area, to enjoy a mug or two of Gluhwein. That night I was introduced to another version, complete with rum-soaked cherries. Tasty. We then went to Jan's girlfriend's place to set up their tree and hang out for a bit.


Day 2: December 24 - This is the day that Christmas is typically celebrated all over the country. Our day started out by sleeping in until we couldn't possibly sleep any longer (well, maybe Jan could have...) We spent the day just hanging out with his family, and went for an afternoon Christmas walk in the forest near their home. The previous day we had quite a bit of freezing rain, which made for a slippery walk, but sure made the trees even prettier.


In the evening we lit the Weihnachtbaum (actually burned the candles - I'd never seen real candles burning on a tree! quite pretty actually), and then the gifts were opened. Our Christmas dinner was a meat fondue (didn't even know that existed). We cooked beef, pork, turkey, chicken, salmon and shrimp - yes, it was quite the meal! It was of course accompanied by some delicious homemade sauces, potatoes, tomatoes, mushrooms and bread.

After dinner we headed to Burgdorf, a nearby town, and met up with some of their friends from high school at the local Christmas Eve meeting point...a bar that gets so crowded that the majority of the people have to stand outside in the snow. Needless to say, we didn't last too long there...


Day 3: December 25 (the REAL Christmas day!) - Following tradition, we went to Jan's aunt and uncle's place in Harz (mountain range in Northern Germany, on a good day about a 1.5 hour drive from Jan's place, however the weather slowed us down a bit...). The family gets together every year on the 25th to share cake and coffee (and wow - this family sure know how to make amazing cakes!). Following the cake, Jan, his sister, one of their cousins and myself took off for the mountains to enjoy some Christmas sledding. I've never seen so many adults on sleds in my life. Man, it certainly was a great time! Then, to finish the day off, we had some more delicious German food - a special bratwurst that is only made at Christmas time (forget the name...), along with potato and pasta salad. And don't forget the bier, schnapps and Schierker Feuerstein (a local drink, comparable to Jägermeister).

The Christmas experience was complete when I got to skype with my family in Iowa. They were all together on Christmas day to have lunch and exchange gifts. It's always so nice to be able to video chat with them while they're together, but of course, it's nothing like actually being there! Really miss you guys!