Leeds to Mannheim

Fröhliche Weihnachten!

Well not quite but we are getting there. This week I finally got to start my advent calendar that’s been on my desk since October, and I’ve visited four different Weihnachtsmarkt! I’ve also done a lot of revision since my first two exams are Saturday.

My first proper Weihnachtsmarkt was the Mannheim one which I visited last Wednesday with Elena. There are actually we separate markets here; one that is more for children with food stalls and a fairy tale land with animatronics of different traditional German fairy stories; another which is full of handmade gifts and art; and a final big market in front of the Wasserturm with food, gifts and children’s rides. On my first trip with Elena, I had the first Bratwurst I’ve had since I’ve been here! After the Christmas market we went back to hers and had chamomile tea and biscuits.

On Thursday I spent most of the morning preparing for my Brexit presentation and most of the afternoon doing the actual presentation and going to my German class. The presentation went really well though, everyone was interested and I’m very pleased with my grade. In the evening I went back to the Christmas markets in a bigger group and managed to see some of the bits I’d missed the day before. After that we all went to an Indian Buffet to celebrate Lizzie’s birthday. It was a bit of a rip off as they do the same buffet at lunch for half the price, but it was really nice, and I ate far too much naan bread.

Friday was my last day of normal lectures and I was lucky as my 3-hour morning lecture finished two hours early. I spent most of the rest of the day writing up revision notes but in the evening Sam and I headed to another Weihnachtsmarkt. This was in Neustadt which was about 30-minutes away. When we first arrived, there was a tiny market with an ice rink and a couple of stalls and we thought we had made a mistake! However, we decided since we were there we should explore, and we eventually found a much bigger market with fire dancers, Christmas music and a huge Christmas tree as well as lots of food stalls. We both had a Dampfnudel with vanilla sauce and Langos with cheese and garlic. After we’d eaten, we explored some more and watched the show. It was an incredibly quaint town and was very Christmassy.

My next Christmas market was Heidelberg on Saturday. After writing up revision notes for six hours, I set off to meet Derek, Raina and Sam at the train station. Our first train was cancelled so we had to get a slightly later one which was incredibly busy. However, once we got there and got to the main street it was all worth it. The whole town was decorated and there were five different Christmas market areas. This market was mainly food though with very few gifts to buy. After a couple of hours exploring and watching the others drink Gluhwein, we went to find food. I had a Käseknacke which is basically a sausage with cheese in the middle. After looking round the market and eating, we walked up to the castle to get a view of the city and the markets at night. This was pretty, but it was a bit too dark to really see anything and the markets were quite hidden.

Sunday was a full revision day, but Monday was another Christmas Market day. This was a full day in Nuremberg, so I could also explore the city. When we first arrived, we decided to explore the city, we visited a few cathedrals and looked round the castle which was absolutely beautiful and traditional. We also visited the University and walked along the river. We wanted to see the market at night, so we decided to visit the courts of the Nuremberg trials first. By this point it was absolutely pouring it down, but we walked 40 minutes in the rain to find it, knowing that when we got there at least it would be warm and inside. The first floor was the actual court room where the trials were held. It had been changed back to its original style, but the audio guide explained how and why it had been changed in 1945. After seeing the court room, we moved on to the main museum exhibit. This was incredibly interesting and gave a full explanation of international courts and the story of the trial. Unfortunately, it was so comprehensive that we didn’t have time to listen to it all if we wanted to get back in time to see the markets before the train home.

We walked back while it was still chucking it down and decided to stop in a cosy, traditional German restaurant for tea. We both had Nuremberg Bratwurst (which are the best ones), sauerkraut and pretzels. After we had had chance to warm up a bit we went around the markets and they were absolutely amazing. I think that the Nuremberg market is supposed to be one of the best in Germany and I can see why. This was a lot more focused on traditional Christmas gifts and general Christmassy atmosphere compared to the others I’d visited which were mainly food. There were so many stalls to go around and everyone was so friendly. We were also quite lucky that it was raining as it meant there weren’t many people around, so we could see everything. Before we got back on the train, we both bought a sweet Langos and explored some of the decorated city streets. It was a really good day, despite the weather.

After having a full day off revision, there was a lot of work to do. I had a problem immediately as I’d taken my notes to Nuremberg and my bag had got so wet that they were effectively ruined. However, it’s probably easier to learn if I write them out again so it’s not the end of the world! I spent the day re-writing notes and practising questions. In the evening, I went to Natalie’s house and a group of us watched Nativity, ate garlic bread lasagne and Christmassy snacks.

Today is another revision day but I did find time this morning to do a bit of Christmas shopping! I have at least three more Christmas markets to visit next week but also 4 exams to write before I come home so I’m going to be even busier!