Just a Typical Winter Weekend

Hi all! We are heading to Frankfurt for Silvester (New Year's Eve) to visit some new friends. I am really excited for the train ride and to check out another city. The only other place I've been to in Germany is Hamburg, so it will be interesting to check out an entirely different region of the country.

Here are a few photos from our ex-pat holiday week. As you can tell we spend quite a lot of time in our kitchen - it's one of the warmest rooms in the flat!

this is Jake's favorite new toy from the Weihnachtsmarkt:

(this lighting doesn't do it justice - it's really beautiful at night)

Post-Weihnachten, Pre-Silvester

Hello!

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday, and didn't get stuck in the "snowpocalypse" that hit the east coast. It's been snowing non-stop here for weeks, so there is a huge layer of snow blanketing the city. It made for a beautiful but coooold Christmas week.

Here are some pics (and video!) from the Weihnachtsmarkt at Alexanderplatz we went to on the 23rd. It was a HUGE market, complete with dozens and dozens of food stalls, craft booths, glühwein stations, and warming huts, plus an ice skating rink and a ferris wheel. It was absolutely packed - it seemed like the entire city arrived as soon as the sun went down. We ended up staying for several hours, and with the help of glühwein and jägertee, we made it past the point of being freezing, to just being blissfully numb ;)

Weihnachtsmarkt

One of the things Germany is famous for is the fabulous Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Markets). The Weihnachtsmarkts are basically large street fairs with booths selling crafts, gifts, Christmas decorations, and lots of yummy food and drinks. The most well known of these drinks is Glühwein, which is a mulled wine drink similar to grog. A mug of Glühwein definitely keeps you warm :)

The market closest to our house is at the Kulturbrauerei, which a an old brewery complex that has been converted into shops, restaurants, and a movie theater (www.lucia-weihnachtsmarkt.de).

One of the most popular attractions is the warming benches - a semi-circle of heavy coats atop radiators that are heated by a wood stove:

awesome :)

We've been back to this market several times since it's so convenient to us, and because they have the best Glühwein mugs:

 Glühwein is surprisingly strong, by the way.

The food stands offer very traditional fare, from Grünkohl (a seriously delicious kale dish), to Lebenkäse - which, as far as I can tell, is the German version of Spam:

(yes that is meat, not bread)

But the best food stand (for carnivores at least) is the "swinging grill," where they have everything from Bratwurst to massive steak sandwiches:

(feel free to make your own 'swinging sausage' jokes here)

So we are officially huge fans of the Weihnachtsmarkt! I can't wait to check out some of the other markets close by - supposedly there is one in every neighborhood.

Frohe Weihnachten!

Videos of the snow!

Seeing as I'm originally from Texas - and since I've spent the majority of the past 10 years in California - snow still fascinates me. It started really coming down today while I was working, so I immediately jumped up and rushed to the balcony to take a video. I guess giddy excitement is the best attitude to have, considering this weather is going to last for months... though I will say I'm very grateful I work from home! (Kudos to Jake for continuing to ride his bike to work every day; I could never be that hardcore.)

A shot of our neighbor's futile attempt to clear the walk:

and the view off the back balcony - you can hear the school kids still holding recess outside!

A couple of side-by-side comparisons

I'd say the view from my window has definitely changed a bit since I was here last:

(click to see the full size)

... and we're back!

Hello!

After several busy months of traveling - including that little trip to Mexico ;) - Jake and I are back in Berlin! Well, technically Jake has been back since November 5th, but I just arrived on December 3rd. When I left San Francisco, I knew I would be heading into wintery weather, but I had no idea that I would be flying straight into one of the worst winter storms Europe has seen for decades. After landing in Heathrow Wednesday afternoon, it became clear that I was stuck in London for the night. Luckily I was able to get out the next day, and after almost getting diverted to Dresden, I finally landed in Berlin! Just to give you an idea of how snowed-in the airports were, here is what we saw when we got off the plane:

Crazy! Thank goodness I stocked up on lots of winter gear before leaving San Francisco. The temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday were in the teens and low 20s; apparently it's Germany's coldest opening week of December on record.

But the temperatures haven't slowed anyone down! On Saturday we went out for lunch and stopped by our weekly farmer's market to see if it was open during the winter. Not only was it open, but it was packed!

Something that's really cute that we've seen is all the little kids on sleds, being pulled by their parents. I think this little guy got tired of running errands in the snow:

I am absolutely loving the Winter Wonderland feel of the whole city; the thick blanket of snow and festive atmosphere create a a true Christmas vibe - something you definitely don't get in SF!

So thrilled to be back! :D

How do you say "mimosa" in German?

This is what you get when you attempt to order one while at Frühstück ;)

Visitors! (part 2)

So Jake's good friend and long-time associate (that sounds so formal) Erik has moved to Berlin to join the team at SoundCloud. Yay! So now not only does Jake have a trusted co-worker, but also a friend to run-around with who shares the same interest in the Berlin music scene. Not to mention Erik is also an avid cyclist, so I'm sure they will all be planning some interesting rides soon.

Mindi is also in Berlin for a few weeks - she's in Europe to visit family in Switzerland and to see her brother compete in traditional Swiss wrestling (not sure how to explain what that is, but apparently Martin is a Really Big Deal in the world of traditional Swiss wrestling... Go Martin!) Anyway, since there wasn't much happening in the tiny village of Goldau, she hopped on the train and headed here.

Cliff arrived in town on Thursday, and we all had a really great, laid-back weekend that included a huge food & beer festival that stretched on for several city blocks along Karl-Marx Alle. Needless to say we only made it about 200 feet before we parked ourselves at a table and spent the rest of the afternoon people watching and drinking kirsch-bier and bovla.

Here are some pics from the weekend that Erik graciously shared with me :)

Visitors!

Ashley came out to visit a few weeks ago - right when the temperatures were spiking to over 100 degrees. We had a blast running around together, though the heat and humidity made us both a little camera shy. I really wish she had been able to stay longer! Jake and I were both so incredibly swamped with work during the 3 days she was here, that it seems like the visit didn't really happen :( Come back Boo!