My host family invited me to visit and spend Christmas with them so I wasn’t alone. The night that I got into Berlin, Saturday the 22nd, my host dad picked me up from the Wannseebahnhof (the area where I/they lived/live). They were invited to a dinner at a neighbor’s place and when they knew for sure I was coming, I was invited too. I got in and we went straight to the neighbors. I lived in the building for 4 months and had never met these neighbors but they were wonderful. It was a light dinner of oriental lentil soup, salad, breads and cheeses. It was delicious. Despite being tired after being on a train for 5 hours, this dinner was exactly what I needed. It became an unspoken thing that throughout the week, we would speak German and I would only speak English if I didn’t know a word or phrase, starting with this dinner. We talked about politics, both within Germany and the U.S, and everyday life happenings. On Sunday, my host mom and I decorated the Weihnachtsbaum* with ornaments, fake candles, and real candles. I don’t know about the rest of you who might be reading this, but I have never put real candles on a Weihnachtsbaum in the States. We didn’t light them up after we were done decorating, but waited until Heiligabend*.
Weihnachtsbaum with just the real candles lit.
On Monday, Heiligabend, we went and picked up Tante* Ruth, my host mom’s aunt. She is an 86 year old German lady. She was precious. We picked her up on the way to a church service at the Berliner Dom, a large church in the middle of Berlin on Museum Insel*. The church can hold thousands but it fills in quickly for this service, so we had to get there about an hour and a half before it actually started to wait in line. Once in, we found our seats and waited. They played carols that we could sing along with while we were waiting for the service to start. The actual service only lasted about an hour and was filled with songs and a sermon that lasted only about 30 minutes. It was nice to go to with everyone; even my host brother came along. After the service, it was back home for coffee and cookies. This whole coffee and cookies deal happens every day like clockwork. It’s a nice way to pass the time and hunger between lunch and dinner, or in this case, brunch and dinner. We had a simple dinner of Wurst* and Kartoffelsalat*. Afterwards, I experienced the ways in which German Christmas and American Christmas differ. In the U.S, gifts are usually opened on Christmas day in the morning. In Germany, they are opened on Heligeabend. So we lit the candles on the tree, sat around the tree and my host dad read a German Weihnachtsgeschichte*. Afterwards, with a toast of Prosecco, we opened gifts. I didn’t expect to really get anything, but my host parents took care of that. My host mom knitted me a pair of socks, bought me a cookie cutter in the shape of the Brandenburger Tor and gave me some awesome hand creme. My host dad bought me a mini Taschenmesser* that has scissors in it and a blade small enough I can bring it on the plane. After the gift part was done and my host brother left, we played Rummy. Instead of playing it with cards, we played it with tiles. After an hour or so, we all called it a night.
On Christmas day, we ate brunch, sat around and played Rummy and got ready for Christmas dinner. My host brother’s girlfriend and her family invited everyone for dinner. We had turkey, Knödel* and some vegetables. The next few days were spent relaxing and enjoying the company of my host family. I was sad when we had to drop Tante Ruth back off, but we stayed for coffee and cake. During this time, she showed me pictures from her childhood and my host mom's childhood. I couldn't get enough of the pictures.
The day or so before New Years, I went to my friend's apartment to stay with them. I said goodbye to my host parents and promised to see them again soon. We marathon-ed all of the Lord of the Rings movies just because we could and ate delicious Indian food. On New Years Eve, we went down to the Brandenburg Gate to watch the fireworks. A few days earlier, we had decided that we should go to Hamburg. We had never been and figured, why not? So our new year started of with staying in an old bordello in the "red light" district of Hamburg. It was a pretty interesting experience. Our room had red satin sheets, red walls, and a red ceiling lamp.
We did a tour of the Hafen* and a free walking tour the following day. It was a pretty chill trip, just an overnight. Fun fact for everyone. There is only one block or so now that is officially the Red Light District. Women aren't allowed down the street because it's automatically assumed that they are unlicensed prostitutes.The rest is just a place for partying, food places, sex shops and other various adult entertainment places. An interesting place to walk through at night. We were able to get a fabulous view of the Hafen at night after passing through a tunnel that ran under the water.
Back to Berlin we went and a few days later, back to Nürnberg for me. Well, that was my wonderful adventure for Christmas break :)
Danke und bis bald!
Vocabulary:
Weihnachtsbaum: Christmas tree
Heilige Abend: Christmas Eve; Holy night
Tante: Aunt
Insel: Island
Wurst: Sausage
Kartoffelsalat: Potato salad
Weihnachtsgeschichte: Christmas story
Taschenmesser: Pocket knife
Knödel: potato or bread dumplings
Hafen: Harbor
On Christmas day, we ate brunch, sat around and played Rummy and got ready for Christmas dinner. My host brother’s girlfriend and her family invited everyone for dinner. We had turkey, Knödel* and some vegetables. The next few days were spent relaxing and enjoying the company of my host family. I was sad when we had to drop Tante Ruth back off, but we stayed for coffee and cake. During this time, she showed me pictures from her childhood and my host mom's childhood. I couldn't get enough of the pictures.
The day or so before New Years, I went to my friend's apartment to stay with them. I said goodbye to my host parents and promised to see them again soon. We marathon-ed all of the Lord of the Rings movies just because we could and ate delicious Indian food. On New Years Eve, we went down to the Brandenburg Gate to watch the fireworks. A few days earlier, we had decided that we should go to Hamburg. We had never been and figured, why not? So our new year started of with staying in an old bordello in the "red light" district of Hamburg. It was a pretty interesting experience. Our room had red satin sheets, red walls, and a red ceiling lamp.
We did a tour of the Hafen* and a free walking tour the following day. It was a pretty chill trip, just an overnight. Fun fact for everyone. There is only one block or so now that is officially the Red Light District. Women aren't allowed down the street because it's automatically assumed that they are unlicensed prostitutes.The rest is just a place for partying, food places, sex shops and other various adult entertainment places. An interesting place to walk through at night. We were able to get a fabulous view of the Hafen at night after passing through a tunnel that ran under the water.
Back to Berlin we went and a few days later, back to Nürnberg for me. Well, that was my wonderful adventure for Christmas break :)
Danke und bis bald!
Vocabulary:
Weihnachtsbaum: Christmas tree
Heilige Abend: Christmas Eve; Holy night
Tante: Aunt
Insel: Island
Wurst: Sausage
Kartoffelsalat: Potato salad
Weihnachtsgeschichte: Christmas story
Taschenmesser: Pocket knife
Knödel: potato or bread dumplings
Hafen: Harbor
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