Weihnachten in Deutschland, zu drei Teilen

Christmas in Germany, in three parts


I am currently relaxing on my bed in a squeaky clean room, listening to Bob Dylan after a day of recuperation, cleaning and grocery shopping. I just returned from a thirteen-day trip around Germany and to Poland for Christmas, New Year’s and general gallivanting – I have so much to talk about, but I am going to start with my Christmas celebrations and hopefully follow with individual entries about Krakow, New Year’s in Berlin and Hamburg.

So, without further ado:

Teil I: Weihnachtsmärkte
Part I: Christmas Markets

One of my favorite parts about Christmas in this country was the Christmas markets. Depending on the size of the city (and most cities and towns have at least one), these markets can be anywhere from quaint to absolutely huge. Though every one is unique, every Weihnachtsmarkt that I visited had at least a few common denominators:

-Glühwein, a hot spiced wine served in a coffee mug. Absolutely wonderful in cold weather. There are other variations, including Glühpunsch which is made with rum, Eierpunsch (eggnog) and various flavors of the original.
-Food, of course – most commonly Wurst and handmade pretzels, but also Spießbraten, which is basically a rotisserie-cooked chunk of pork served on a Brötchen with onions. There are also sweet gebratenen Mandeln (roasted almonds) and also other little kiosks with people selling cakes, cookies, cheese, bread, etc...
-Handmade stuff - and by “stuff” I mean everything from wooden Christmas ornaments to candles. I was far less interested in the stuff than the food and the Glühwein, so I have less to say about this. =)

Anyway, you get the idea – these places are a great way to pass a few hours with friends, eating, drinking and walking around. The Christmas market in Mainz is really cute, and I have some pictures that I took a few weeks ago below.






My Mainz buddies, Nathan and Lena.
The aforementioned Spießbraten.

Because one Weihnachtsmarkt is never enough, I took a trip to München to visit my friend and fellow Fulbright chemist Shane to go to the famous Nürnberg Weihnachtsmarkt with another of our Fulbright buddies, Marty. The Nürnberg market was about ten times as large as the one in Mainz (and is supposedly the largest in the country), and we had a great time passing the day there. As I said earlier, there were plenty of really cool things to buy, but our trip was focused almost solely on the food and drink. =)



We found the only store in Germany open on a Sunday.

The boys with their Glühpunsch and Eierpunsch.

Marty, indulging in some free hugs.






I screw something up every time I attempt one of these "point the camera toward yourself" shots - this time I covered the flash. Nonetheless - the only group shot I have.

Enjoying some Dampfnudeln - a ball of dough drenched in vanilla sauce and covered with ice cream and cherries. Lecker.


This picture could not be any more adorable if it tried.

And on the train on the ride home, Marty and I traded knitting tips.
I give Weihnachtsmärkte a hearty recommendation, if you are ever in Germany around Christmastime.

Teil II: Polymer Scientists Gone Wild
Part II: Self-explanatory.

From the time I started at the MPI back in October, I’d heard lots of wonderful things about the Institute’s annual Christmas party. Even though I knew that it was supposed to be a big deal, I must say that I was absolutely blown away by the elaborate nature of the event and how much fun it was. As I’ve described earlier, there are five research groups at the MPI, and the responsibility for the Christmas show rotates among the research groups and their constituent grad students and post-docs. This year the polymer theory group decorated the entire institute, put together various skits/songs/videos and coordinated a ridiculous amount of food.

The day started around 3:30 PM with coffee and cakes in the lobby and there were even people singing Christmas carols. From there, everyone (which included not only the MPI researchers but also their spouses and families) we went to the main lecture hall where we watched about an hour’s worth of skits and videos that poked some good-natured fun at the institute and its members.

I was also (un)lucky enough to be subjected to the theory group’s shenanigans – a few weeks prior when they were filming all of the videos to be shown at the Christmas party, I showed up to work on my bike, only to see a man wearing a tuxedo vest, white gloves and a bow tie standing outside of the bike parking enclosure next to a sign that said, “Bike parking – 1 Euro.” My exchange with the guy went something like this:

Guy: Where do you want your bike parked?
Ashlan:Excuse me?
G: In the front, or in the back?
A: Um...I suppose it doesn’t matter...
G: [Taking my bike away from me] Okay, way in the back then
A: Wait, wait! Can you turn the light off? I left the light on.
G: That costs extra. [Proceeds to take a Euro coin from me.]


As I walk away rolling my eyes and shaking my head, the guy comes chasing after me with my coin, laughing, and says, “You’re a good actor.” This is point at which I realize the whole thing was videotaped and recorded and subsequently shown at the Christmas show as part of a montage of other unsuspecting bike-riders. It wouldn’t be so bad, except that the conversation above started off in German, but switched to English at the point at which I asked him to turn the light off because I mistakenly said aufmachen instead of ausmachen (to open versus to turn off...what a difference a letter makes). Nonetheless, that must have been my fifteen minutes of fame based on the comments I got from people who I had never even met at the after-party. =P

However, my favorite part of the Christmas show, by far, was when the five directors of the institute were called up onto stage for an impromptu adaptation of Schneewitchen (Snow White), complete with wigs and costumes. It was pretty ridiculous, but everyone was a great sport and the place absolutely roared with laughter.

Pre-show disclaimer...

The directors of the MPI ala Schneewittchen, my personal favorite being Klaus Müllen (my boss, complete with his molecular toolkit) as Snow White herself.

The Weil lab, minus myself. (L to R) Radu, Klaus, Anne, Jörg.

Some of my Müllen group buddies.

Everyone enjoying the MPI band's live performance/forgetting about science for an evening.

Me and my University of Florida friends, Giovanni and Kate.

After the show, we had a huge meal and there was plenty of free beer and Glühwein and most people stayed really late to listen to the band and dance. It was really a great party and so much fun to hang out with my co-workers in a less formal setting.

Teil III: Weihnachten mit der Familie Bopp
Christmas with the Bopp Family

To complete my experience of Christmastime in Germany, I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at home with my roommate Valerie and her family. Vallie lives in a small town about four hours away from Mainz by train, and I joined her and her relatives on the afternoon of the 24th. I went to church with Vallie and her parents and brother and sister and grandparents. The church service was interesting because people from different countries talked about how Christmas is celebrated in their homelands, and there were also some readings on the same subject. It was also so much fun to sing Christmas Carols in German – some new ones that I had never heard before, as well as some that I was familiar with (I had Herbei, o ihr Gläubigen - O Come, All Ye Faithful – stuck in my head for a good week afterwards).

After church, Vallie’s immediate family as well as her aunt, uncle and two cousins, met at her grandparents’ house, where we sang some more songs, exchanged gifts and ate a beautiful meal of fondue. Overall, the evening was beautiful – I deeply appreciated the simplicity of the whole holiday, and I truly feel thankful that I was able to escape a great deal of the hectic commercialism that I have bombarded with for the twenty-first Christmases of my life in America. Vallie’s family was so overwhelmingly welcoming and warm I feel so lucky to have been able to experience Christmas with a German family.

As far as the language goes - It was difficult for me, at times, to communicate with the whole family (I actually was doing okay until Vallie’s grandfather asked me to explain my research project in German... “Ich mache...proteins?”), but most of the time we just laughed when we couldn’t understand one another. Vallie’s dad and younger sister, Stephanie, got a huge kick out of trying to get me to guess the correct words in the German version of the game Taboo. I’m really bummed that I didn’t take any pictures of me and Vallie together on this occasion, so I will have to post some later. She is a super sweet girl and I could not have asked for a better roommate.

Vallie's Opa, reading the Christmas story.

The Bopp Family Orchestra.

The Geschenkszimmer, where everyone had their own little Geschenksecke (gift nook), myself included.

The dinner table, awaiting the fondue pots.

Relaxing after a delicious dinner.

Again, I am ending a blog entry feeling overwhelmingly grateful for my current circumstances and opportunity to live in this country. My time at the MPI has been unbelievably challenging, both intellectually and emotionally, but I would never give it up for anything. I am incredibly, incredibly blessed.

My subsequent entries, when I have time to post them, will be all about Krakow, New Year’s Eve in Berlin and Hamburg and the amazing Fulbright friends who I traveled with.

Bis bald,

Ashlan