Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a happy 2012! We just welcomed the new year by joining many other people in the street as they lit fireworks. We discovered that we didn't need to go into Frankfurt, but could just step outside to watch many people and families lighting their own fireworks. Around the apartments where my parents have been staying there were so many people out! And the fog was quite thick, which added with all the smoke made a really neat atmosphere. What a way to celebrate the new year!

And now tomorrow (well I guess today) my parents are off home and Christie and I head to Florence for 5 nights. Will try to keep on top of the updates!

Christmas Update

We have had a lovely Christmas here in Germany. We have spent some time relaxing, but also been busy seeing various things and places. Even with all the time relaxing, I haven't managed to update the blog though. We've spent some more time in Frankfurt (shopping, at the Jewish museum, celebrating Christmas Eve...), to Darmstadt, Oberursel and finally today to Heidelberg. Since that would be a lot to write about, instead I am going to post a bunch of photos. I will try to update the post with labels for all the photos soon. For now, enjoy the pictures!

Christmas Eve: A German goose lunch at Wagner's in Sachsenhausen. Delicious meal and great atmosphere- complete with a guy playing an accordian wandering around and lots of other people joining in the singing. However, since much of it was in German we only could sing the occasional Christmas carol in English.

Mum and Dad enjoying their goose, with lots of Sauerkraut

Amazingly we finished most of the bowl of Sauerkraut. Behind them you can see all the other people in the part of the restaurant we were in (this place is huge and was packed). Some people were even rocking back and forth while singing along to the music.

Outside the restaurant. Ready to go explore Frankfurt while waiting to go hear the bells ring at 5.

We took the tram up to Bockenheim and then wandered along Leipziger Strasse a bit. Discovered a real dollar store, I was pretty excited! Then took the U-bahn back through the Westend. Got off to check out this synagogue (the Westend Synagogue) that Dad and I had been reading about in the Jewish museum. It was one of the only ones that survived the war.

Back to the Römerberg to hear the bells ring

 We did not expect the amount of people that were there. The place was packed and overflowing! It was very pretty listening to the bells and the scenery was too as the buildings were lit up in the dark.

Nikolaikirche all lit up. You can see all the heads of the people!

This is about the place were we first say the "meteor/star/thing" go through the sky. We, along with a lot of other people, thought it was part of the show. However from looking on the Internet it took us a long time to figure out what it was. You can see it here: http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=DE#/watch?feature=m-trends&v=QRY8hW2ya7E. There were a bunch of different theories. I found out today it was probably a stage coming down from a manned rocket sent up last. 

Wednesday: Keeping up the Christmas tradition of Gingerbread. This year we just made cookies and decorated them after dinner on Christmas day. I don't have many pictures of our Christmas. We got up and had our usual breakfast of eggs benedict with smoked salmon. Then after openings some presents we went for a walk around Steinbach. The weather has not been great so it was not the longest of walks. For dinner we did manage to make a turkey dinner, with a rather small turkey. And then after we ate more of our cookies! (Gingerbread and shortbread)

The next day I don't have any photos from. Walked from my place up to Oberursel. Very pretty old town in the centre. However because of it being 2nd Weihnachtstag (ie. boxing day) almost nothing was open. We did finally find a cafe open and had some hot drinks and cake before trekking back.

Darmstadt castle. I have to admit what we saw of the town was about as boring as the castle...

One nice area we found - the Mathildenhöhe. This area was set up as an artists area, with their houses still standing. This Russian Orthodox chapel was quite beautiful. We went inside the chapel but not the art gallery behind (with the random hand-like tower). We had a look, but were not that interested in the exhibits...

Looking up train times at Darmstadt Nord

We headed to Kranichstein on the edge of Darmstadt to check out the train museum there. Unfortunately that was a bust as it was all closed, except for a small model train exhibit. Instead we hopped on a tram and got a bit of a tour of Darmstadt before heading back home.

On Wednesday we spent the day shopping in Frankfurt. Mum bought some European towels to take home - she has to fill all the room in her suitcase from stuff she brought for me :) We had lunch in the Hauptwache cafe, right in the centre of the Hauptwache square. 

And on Thursday ... off to Heidelberg for the day!

Dad at the top of the church in the above photo, Heiliggeistkirche with a view of the Neckar River

Dad and I climbed up the tower to the view point. Lots of spiral stairs and low ceilings to get there.

Eating Schneeballen. Pastry balls with either filling or something sprinkled on the outside. Not as good as they look, and they left our hands rather cold!

Heidelberg castle was home to the elector of the Palatinate (ie. a very important prince) but was destroyed by the French in the 17th C. Some of it has been partially rebuilt since, but not much. We went on a guided tour and learned what various parts were. Apparently it was one castle that people kept adding new wings too, so was rather crowded. Above was the English palace (built for a prince's English wife). The tower on the end was the thick tower, and a key part of the defence of the castle. However they built a hall on top for parties! I guess they wanted the great view of the city and river. 

One of the fancy façades. It didn't really match some of the other parts of the castle. The whole place was definitely a mix and match of what different people built.

A wine barrel, the largest in the world, that would have held 220,000 L! However it was a bit leaky and bad quality wine. But it did have a dance floor on top :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays. And Happy New Year too!

Wiesbaden and Mainz

Yesterday we took a day trip on the SBahn out to Wiesbaden and Mainz. An hour on the S-bahn from my house and we were in a whole new city, on a different river! It was my first view of the Rhein since I've been living in Germany. We started out in Wiesbaden where we walked through a Christmas market (of course!) and ate some lunch.

Some nice looking façades of Wiesbaden apartments

Lunch in the Christmas market, in front of the carousel. 

Mum had already made two purchases by this point, and both for herself! Not much snow left by this point, just some small patches left from Tuesday. After lunch we decided to head to Mainz, as we wanted to go into the Landesmuseum there. We had some time before the S-bahn, so we wandered back to the station. We came across a monument to the battle of Waterloo:

In Mainz, the museum was great, with a little bit of everything. History of the area (even some from Roman times), art work, furniture, glass work, dutch paintings! I found a painted wooden screen that I could quite happily have taken home. The wood itself was beautifully made with carved leaves at the top. Then the four panels were each painted with a scene from the four seasons. 

After the museum we wandered along the Rhein. We enjoyed the grand old houses that are built along the river. When we got to the rathaus we walked into a Christmas market and a nice square in the city. 

Christie taking a picture of my parents... the pictures didn't turn out so I have to post the one I took. 

A busy Christmas market all nicely lit up

By this time we were all rather hungry, so we had an early dinner... in McDonald's. There are some times when McDonald's is just what is needed. Us on the way back to Frankfurt:

Today (Robert's birthday!) we stayed in Frankfurt. The weather has not been great so we spent part of the day in the Städel art gallery. The 19th C German paintings were popular with my family, especially with my dad. I liked the room with some impressionists as well. The more modern stuff (and some of the earlier works) were not as much our cups of tea. They had an exhibit on Alte Meister (old masters) which had some wonderful pieces as well. After a quick look in the communications museum and a stop at the Christmas market it was time to head back for a bit of a rest. Most of the Christmas markets close today. I will have to wait until next year for more! Though there will be other kinds of markets and festivals in between :) 

Christmas has arrived!

Yesterday my parents and sister arrived to visit me for the holidays!!! It was so exciting going to the airport to pick them up. Having just flown from Vancouver we took it easy the rest of the day. Checked into their hotel, wandered into the centre of the city along the water and had a bit of lunch at the Christmas markets. I showed them a few sights close by before we headed back to the hotel and met up with Haydn for dinner.

Glühwein and hot chocolate at the Christmas market

Today Haydn and my family came out to my apartment this morning. We then met up with Will and took the SBahn to Bad Homburg. We had lunch at the Christmas market there (and of course more Glühwein and hot chocolate!):

We had a busy afternoon after coming back from Bad Homburg. We went straight from the train to my friends' apartment where my parents will be staying in a couple days, and then to have tea with my landlords. Great day though, I love being able to spent time with my family and show them where I live! I am looking forward to taking them to school on Tuesday :)

Besides getting to see my parents, it has felt like Christmas because of all the stuff my Mum has brought me. Over the past two days she has started unpacking some of her suitcase. It is amazing how exciting it can be to get presents of molasses and crackers. Plus lots of stuff from the teacher store in Vancouver! 

Christmas time!

The past week has really made me feel like Christmas is coming. Starting last week with a visit from my friends Annie and Erin, who are teaching in Brussels. They came to check out the Frankfurt Christmas market. School is also winding down into Christmas. We had our Christmas concert, so the week also involved lots of practicing. And finally this week involved not one staff Christmas dinner, but two. The one last night was the official school one. Tomorrow we are having an unofficial one planned by Cara. 

So to start at the beginning: Annie and Erin's visit. They came Friday night, so Saturday morning we headed into Frankfurt to check out the market. We walked through the fields and had a great view of the city shining in the sun light. This was unusual - we've had so much rain and drizzle lately. We spent the day checking out the Christmas market, shopping, eating and wandering around the centre of downtown. We all bought some presents and crossed some things off our shopping lists. I showed them the Zeil, Alte Oper, Römer, Main and other things in that area. It was such a nice day! Annie and Erin also got to try some German food and drink. They had wurst for dinner, hot chocolate, glühwein, chocolate popcorn, brezels. There is so much food available at the Christmas markets it is always so tempting. 

Didn't take too many photos over the weekend, so stole some from Erin to share:

Erin and Annie with the Lebkuchen hearts

Erin and I in the Römer

Annie and Erin having some hot drinks

On Sunday I took them for a quick tour of my school in the morning. Then we again headed into Frankfurt. After some more Christmas shopping completed at the market I took them back to the airport for their flight back to Brussels. It was great having them here for the weekend. Thanks for coming! I can't wait to have more visitors next weekend - my family!!

This week at school has been quick and Christmas filled. We started off the week by practicing for the concert in our Monday morning assembly. I have been working with my class for the last few weeks getting ready for the concert on Wednesday. We performed "A Game of Letters". It was a poem, with each child speaking about the letter they were holding. In the end the letters spell Merry Christmas and we sung the chorus to We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The concert was yesterday and that took up most of the day. Sports was cancelled and we had a semi-full run through of the concert in the morning. Then after an early lunch the whole school walked down to the church in time for our 2.30 concert for parents. It was a great concert, even though a bit rough at the edges. For instance for some reason we were there at 2, and then had to sit and wait while trying to keep the kids under control. Also some of the parents were not that well behaved.... My favourite part was at the end when the teachers sang Deck the Halls. We hadn't told the kids we were going to and they were so excited. We had quite the applause at the end! 

A little side note about the week: On Tuesday afternoon we had a bit of excitement for a rainy day. Part way through the first period after lunch the fire alarm went off. So everyone evacuated into the parking lot. And then we all stood there. Without our coats, as it started to drizzle. I had my class, same as many others, jumping up and down trying to keep warm. Finally one of our heads came around (giving me the false hope we were going back inside) to tell us we were all walking down to the sports hall. The whole school then sat in the foyer and balcony of the sports hall waiting. In the foyer one of the teachers started singing camp song with the kids. I found out that the reason we couldn't go back inside was they couldn't turn the alarm off! Finally they did and we walked back to school, in some light rain. Bit of excitement to disrupt our afternoon :) On a good note, the school did a great job of following the plans they walked us through earlier in the year. 

Ok, back to Wednesday evening. After the Christmas concert I spent some time in hort with all of three students. Luckily the hort coordinator was there and let me go home early, because Kathrin picked me up just after six to drive into Frankfurt for our staff Christmas dinner. We were in a room at a restaurant right on the Römerberg, over looking the Christmas markets which was lovely. The dinner itself was good. Nothing too exciting, except riding the carousel in between our first and second course and Kathrin trying to catapult a chocolate across the room (without success). Nice to see everyone and have a traditional German goose dinner. 

Christmas Marketing in Hamburg and Lübeck

I spent this past weekend in Hamburg at their multiple Christmas markets. I went with four friends from school - Cara, Will, Andy and Lindsay. It was an amazing, if somewhat busy, weekend. We left school a bit early and walked (with a bit of running...) to catch the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof. The train to Hamburg took about three and a half hours. We had a cabin booked so just sat and chatted, mostly sharing funny school stories. Once we arrived in Hamburg we went straight across the street to a Christmas Market! The markets usually close by about 9, so we just stayed for a glühwein before heading to the hotel. The hotel was in the St. Pauli area, right beside the Dom fair. It was like a carnival/amusement park/christmas market all in one. There was even a haunted house ride and a water ride. The haunted house ride was amusing, especially the guy who would follow the people on the ride with a chain saw. The water ride was just stupid...it was running but of course no one was on it - way too cold! They even had fireworks for us :)

We got up early on Saturday and headed back to the train station. This time to take a regional train to Lübeck, only a 40 minute ride north east of Hamburg. And one thing I love about trains here - they left exactly on time! We were heading to Lübeck to their special Christmas craft market in the medieval Hospital of the Holy Spirit. The first part, when you come in, is in the church hall. This was a beautiful combination of the crafts on display and the building (left):

Then you entered the long hospital hall, where each stall is in a small cabin (right). I think each cabin was a hospital bed before, not just installed for the fair. There was also a part in the basement of the building. There I found a stall my dad would have loved. Wooden musical instruments, including some really neat looking xylophones. You can see on the right the interlocking keys, or on the left the single notes:

After this market we had lunch at an open air market in an old courtyard. 

 

 

So much good food and drink. I had a shrimp brötchen, as well as some hot chocolate and a nutella crepe. There were also more stalls of crafts and little gifts to buy. I like the stalls with all different kinds of brushes (for cleaning) - I find them amusing among all the food and Christmas crafts and decorations. 

We then headed back to Hamburg. I some how managed to nap the whole way back, something usual for me. Then had a bit of a break in the hotel before checking out yet more Christmas markets. In Hamburg, unlike Frankfurt, there isn't one or two markets. Instead there seem to be a new market down each street you turn. Ok I know this is not true, but it felt like it! 

We walked along the south side of the lake (not to be confused with the river) and then down to the market in the square by the town hall. I had dinner of deep fried cheese with cheese sauce on top! Delicious but a bit much... There were so many things I wanted to eat. 

The view of the Christmas tree in the lake, and more Christmas market stalls along the bank.

The town hall and the Christmas market and large light tree

The entrance to the Christmas market

We then headed to Reeperbahn to see the statues of the Beatles, where they use to play before becoming famous. And, of course, another Christmas market. It started to rain quite hard then so we stood under a tree and drank glühwein. After such a long day we then headed back to the hotel, cutting through the Dom fair, and played some triominoes. It is like playing dominoes but the pieces are triangles and have three numbers on them. 

Sunday morning Will, Andy and Lindsay had brunch with a friend, so Cara and I headed out to explore the city. We walked along the water and then just wandered where it took our fancy in the direction of the town hall. 

The view of the river and harbour. We walked to the left, but discovered that there wasn't really anywhere to walk along the river and mostly it was construction.

This annoying church. We could see the top of the spire behind some other buildings and were drawn towards it to have a look at the rest of the church. I love gothic architecture, but then we were disappointed to find that the rest of it was encased in scaffolding! 

Making us think of Amsterdam. I think this was foreshadowing what was to come. 

A lovely iron bridge - reminded me of Porto

Yet another church, with a Christmas market around the sides!

At the Christmas market Cara and I did a bit of shopping and had some lunch. We also had some more glühwein and hot chocolate. What is really neat about all the markets is the hot drinks come in decorated mugs. They have a picture and then the name, and sometimes date, of the market you are at. You pay a deposit (pfand) for them and then get it back when you return the mug. Or in the case that morning, I just kept the mug as a souvenir.

Some amazing chocolates we found at the Christmas market!

And now the fun begins... St. Michael's church.

Ok, so after wandering around the Christmas markets we decided it was time to head towards the Hauptbahnhof. We knew we had to head north east, so just started wandering in what we thought was the right direction. We bought some postcards, checked out the church above and then were walking through this pretty park. In the middle was a sign post, with a sign pointing to the Hauptbahnhof in the opposite direction to where we were walking! This was like Amsterdam, where we had many troubles trying to orient ourselves. As we were laughing over our map trying to figure out what had happened a nice gentleman asked us if we needed help. It turns out we had gone around the Christmas market before going in, and so managed to get completely turned around. We had almost walked back to the harbour! The man pointed us in the right direction and off we set. This time we had no problems, and even got to the station with time to check out another market:

We met up with the others on the platform. I love trains. We showed up about 6 minutes before the train was scheduled to leave and the train wasn't there. It pulled in a minute or two later and still left on time! Three and a half hours later (of mostly reading) we were back in Frankfurt. After such a nice weekend :)