A Well Kept Man

In December, Alli and I spent a weekend up in Germany with our neighbors Katie and Tom from Minneapolis. Since they were able to come visit us in Switzerland we thought we'd repay the favor and go to Germany. Tom is a dentist who is on a one-year contract with the Army to do dentist things for our troops (he is part of the movement to rid our nation's finest mouths of harmful terrorist tartar, plaque, and the dreaded gum disease gingivitis). They live in a town called Rattlesdorf (at least for the next few weeks until they move into their new digs in Bamberg) in an upstairs apartment of an elderly German couple. We spent the weekend with them visiting some nearby sites, visiting Christmas markets, and drinking glühwein (a spiced German red wine that is hot and delicious!).

Our first night in town we wandered around downtown Bamberg, a beautiful town which houses nine breweries, one of which makes the famous Rauchbier which I strongly encourage you not to drink (it is smoked beer, which for those wanting to know what that means, imagine drinking a beer that tastes like someone stuck a smoked sausage in it for about a month, and then took it out prior to you drinking it. Unless you are really into smoked flavoring, especially of beverages, your stomach will thank you for avoiding it. I did try it as they sent me home with a bottle of the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, but unfortunately it was so strongly flavored I barely made it half-way through the bottle before deciding I had enough). We ate a lovely restaurant in town which Tom & Katie call Feathers although it has a name that nobody in our group seems to remember (you can probably guess from the picture above right why they call it what they do..if you can't because the picture is too busy...there are feathers hanging from the ceiling).

The next day we drove to some nearby sites including Banz Abbey (Bad Staffelstein), Schloss Coburg (Coburg), and spent the evening at the Nürnberg (Nuremburg) Christmas Market. The Banz Abbey is of Baroque design, and we were able to go into the main chapel briefly for pictures (this was not normal we were told) before deciding to scurry away to go play in the forest. The entire area surrounding the abbey had recently been covered with snow so the four of us went for a walk, which provided some amazing scenery. After deciding we needed to head for warmth, we drove up to the Veste Coburg for some lunch and tour of the facilities. Martin Luther hid out in this massive fortress around 1530 while the Catholic church was trying to figure out how to get rid of him. This place was so big that I think even if they wanted to try and find him in the castle, it would have taken them months to corner him...I spent most of my time trying to take pictures incognito as I was under the impression photography wasn't allowed, although it was...so I felt kind of dumb when I realized it. The castle had room after room of old furniture, glass, weapons, sleds, carvings, art, etc., and it was truly worth us all pretending to be a family so we could get the family discount and save 20 Euro (yes, Alli and I pretended to be their kids...which meant no smooching or hand-holding while in the castle, although I was allowed to annoy her and call her names).

The Christmas Market in Nürnberg was a mob scene, easily a fire hazard waiting to happen. It was nearly impossible to walk up and down the rows of booths without getting frisked (unintentionally) by someone. The highlight was definitely just sharing a hot glühwein with Katie and Tom while enjoying the crisp December evening. On the way up we also stopped at the Stuttgart Christmas Market, which appeared to be quite fun. Although we only stayed for a short time, it was worth the stop just to see how Alli's sister's special friend (that's old people talk for boyfriend) spends his December nights (he likes near Stuttgart, so we thought we'd surprise him just to make sure he was behaving himself...except we didn't call him, and Stuttgart is big, so we didn't see him, and we don't speak German so we couldn't ask people if they had seen him. Maybe next time we will plan ahead...)

Madrid's Christmas markets were peculiar in the fact that it seemed that every day a new one appeared were there was none the day before. The main market was in the Plaza Mayor, and contained mostly items for Nativity scenes and decorating the house. Unlike Barcelona, Madrid did not have weird traditions such as the Caganer. The crowds were also substantially less, um, crowded.  Various other parts of the city sported artisan Christmas markets (with beeswax candles, trinkets, bowls, etc.), gourmet food, as well as normal items that one might purchase for Christmas. If nothing else, the Madrid Christmas market scene appeared more like a giant farmer's market/craft fair/antique road show spread throughout the plazas and streets. I think the Madrileños were more interested in the national Christmas pastime of Spain....the Christmas Lottery. The most interesting food item was not the hot roasted chestnuts (we've covered them previously, but if you missed the post...stay away from the hot roasted chestnuts) but the roasted sweet corn and grilled sweet potatoes. They were as pervasive as the Serrano hams hanging in the carnicerias (butcher shops).

The Christmas Lottery in Spain, or Sorteo de Navidad or Lotería de Navidad, is one of the biggest lotteries in the entire galaxy (I am fairly confident the Martians and Venusians have rather insignificant lotteries). According to my sources, this lottery started in 1812 as means to alleviate boredom following the Crusades. While the top payout is no larger than a traditional lottery (with top prizes in the millions of Euros), the total pool of money is well into the billions of euros (that's a lot of churros!)!!

Every day as I walked around Madrid, hundreds of people would be lined up around the booths selling the tickets. I counted one line with well over 200 people, and the lines seemed to be there all day. Reporters were interviewing the various citizens trying to figure out what they would do with their winnings, and while it wasn't easy for me to understand everything they were saying it seemed that most planned on buying a retirement home in The Villages. (I really don't know what they were going to buy, I made that last part up to see if Alli's Aunt and Uncle really do read this blog as often as they say they do.)

The lottery is fairly complex but there are multiple prizes so instead of one person winning the billion dollar pool, many people share the prizes. It's kind of like socialism for lotteries if that makes sense. I recommend going out onto the internet to find out the specifics of the lottery. Madrid's general Christmas feel seems mostly to center around the Christmas Lottery, with the whole baby Jesus thing coming secondary. Especially this year due to the World-Wide Economic issues I think more people are investing (foolishly) in lottery tickets. Sure, some will win big, but for most it will merely be a waste of good money. (I'll go put away my soapbox now).

The Barcelona Christmas Market, or Fira de Santa Llúcia was one of the best markets I have been to thus far. The ambiance and atmosphere truly made it an exceptional marketplace. The streets of Barcelona were packed with people looking for the perfect items for their Nativity scenes. The biggest difference with this particular Christmas market was the lack of trinkets and knick-knacks. Instead of going to a store like Target or Christmas-Decorations-R-Us, the Catalans (aka people living in and around Barcelona) shop at these Christmas markets to find the perfect baby Jesus, as well as goats, sheep, Wise Guys, and the lot. One could find anything from a very North African scene, to the barn-like Nativity most of us are used to.

Booths had basically one of about five or six things. The first was the Nativity setting and associated paraphernalia. Trees, straw, moss, pebbles, mangers, huts, coves, caves, palaces, and saw dust filled about 10% of the stalls. I was impressed by the variety and creativity of birth-scenes for Jesus. The next booths contained every imaginable size, shape, and look of Nativity figures. The biggest were probably around the size of a Barbie doll, the smallest were around the size of your thumb (if your thumb is about two inches long). These booths represented closer to 25-40% of the stalls. The stalls containing live trees, mistletoe, and holly decorations represented another 10% or so (we are now up to 45-60% of the marketplace so far). About 15% had other Christmas decorations of the commercial variety (Santa Claus stuff, red bows, lights, tinsel, ornaments, etc.). The remaining stalls were dedicated to very Catalan items.

I suppose every culture and region of the world has their own Christmas traditions, mostly revolving around the same central theme of either Santa Claus or the Baby Jesus. Barcelonians (I think I just made up a word) have two very unique traditions. They are related, although they are different. The first will be described here, the second will be described in a future posting. In the Nativity scenes of those who describe themselves as Barcelonians or Catalan, there exists a curious figure known as the Caganer. I will not translate this word as it is a PG-13 word, but for the sake of information I shall indicate that it is a figure that represents fertility and equality. Loosely translated it means the defecator. As you can see from the picture (above left) you can see that it is aptly named (although I have chosen not to show an extreme closeup, even though it may produce some teenage giggles. Feel free to do an internet search for this item, although I claim no responsibility for the content you may find). Catalans hide one of these somewhere in their Nativity scenes and children apparently enjoy trying to find it. Truly an interesting custom.  My favorite is either the Barack Obama caganer or the Smurf ones...tough choice.

I would rate this Christmas Market as a very strong 8.5 out of 10. It does lose a little bit for the lack of food related Christmas cheer (e.g. no mulled wine nor cinnamon toasted almonds, nor Spanish-related Christmas foods) and for the constant feeling that someone is going to try and pick your pocket. The crowds were very intense and one couldn't really walk, it was more of a shuffle. Either way, I would recommend a visit to Barcelona's Fira de Santa Llúcia if you happen to be in the area around Christmas time. The various plazas around the city also have Nativity scenes set up, and there are many lights and decorations which give the city a definite Christmas feel.

While Alli was off in Dusseldorf, Germany for two days, I decided to drive up to Luzern, Switzerland for the evening to check out their Christmas market. Luzern is about a two hour drive from our apartment, so I decided it was a nice afternoon/evening trip to keep me occupied while Alli was away. After driving the two hours to get there, I immediately went over to the area of the Luzern Christmas market. After spending about twenty minutes trying to determine if I was in the right location (I was), I decided that this was the absolute worst Christmas market I have ever encountered. It was in the train station, and was really quite disappointing. Perhaps there was another in the city streets somewhere, but the forty to fifty booths failed to meet my expectations. So much so that I decided that no pictures should be taken, and that the evening must be reclaimed for other purposes.

So I ventured back into the streets of Luzern to check out some of its more famous sights. The first stop was the Dying Lion Monument. This monument was carved into the face of this rock to honor the Swiss guards that were massacred in 1792 while defending the Tuileries palace in Paris during the French Revolution. It is one of the most powerful, emotion evoking monuments I have ever seen. This monument alone is worth driving all the way to Luzern.

After spending a few moments admiring the monument and remembering the Swiss guards, I proceeded back to the city to see its famous covered walks/bridges across the river. These pedestrian walk-ways are very old. The chapel bridge (Kapellbrücke) was built in 1333, although much of it burned in 1993 and had to be rebuilt. It is a very interesting walk-way as on the inside are various paintings depicting Luzern's history (dating from the 17th century).

My highlight of the evening came when I was walking along the bridge and the sound of a band in the distance continued to grow louder and louder. After waiting a few minutes, a group of musicians leading about 500 people came across the bridge and continued towards a performance hall nearby. It was pretty fun to follow them and enjoy the jazzy sounds of the pipers as they played in the cold air of this December evening. Truly a memorable experience. Even though the Christmas market was a bust I found Luzern to be a delightful town and hope to get back again before we leave. The Christmas Market in the train station gets an F...although I have since learned that there is another one in a plaza in the city which probably would have scored higher. Oh well...

I apologize for the lack of posting...I was in Spain and then Germany for the last week without access to the computer.  I will promptly get my act together and blog at least every day this week until Saturday, when we travel back to the U.S.  At that point I hope to blog sporadically while in Minnesota and Michigan.

In many countries across Europe, the Christmas season is marked by Christmas Markets. They have various names and origins, but they all have one thing in common (Christmas). I will try to pass along photos, stories, experiences as best I can over the next few weeks as we (or I) travel to various markets in and around Switzerland. The first example is the Christmas market in Montreux, Switzerland called Marché de Noël (Market of Christmas).

For those that haven't heard of Montreux, it is a beautiful town along the eastern edge of Lake Geneva and the foothills of the Swiss Alps. It is also home to the Annual Montreux Jazz festival and a plethora of wealthy individuals. For the market, the streets along the lake are lined with various stalls, huts, booths, and structures selling everything from candy and cheese to Nativity scenes and Christmas bobbles. There were about 100 or so of these huts, as well as a few larger buildings (one resembled an empty train depot) containing restaurants, bars, and various other sundries. In the picture at left is a lineup of various pots of food. Each cauldron held about 30-50 gallons of stuff (the varied stuff: macaroni and cheese, sausage with potato & sauerkraut, soups, roesti, meat products) and smelled great (it's too bad Alli and I packed our lunch to save money...I could really go for some Alpine Macaroni & Cheese).

Children can take a train up the mountain (about an hour roundtrip) to visit the Ville du Père Noël (Santa Claus' village), which we did not do as we failed the height requirement. Also the town erected various temporary chalets and sculptures of animals to make one feel as if they were in a Winter Wonderland (without any snow...). Some of the sculptures were very realistic (moose, deer, caribou, etc) and others were downright confusing (see photo at right). I can't quite figure them out but surely they have something to do with Swiss folklore.

The most interesting thing I saw was this guy roasting chestnuts. Roasted chestnuts are vile and disgusting (I recommend you avoid them at all costs), but they are everywhere around here. This setup seems to be the most inventive and creative (although not enough to get me to purchase a bag). We each did get a cup of hot apple cider, as well as enjoy the frosty temps (it was about 1 C, or 34 F...so yeah, not really frosty if you live in Minnesota). I would rate this market as a 7 out 10. It loses points for amount of lame vendors (like the guy selling random designer belts, purses and watches....or the Indian guys playing the flutes, you know the ones in the mall that you can't quite figure out if they are actually playing their instruments or if it's just the CD), as well as lacking a general Christmas feel (there was a Swedish village, sponsored by IKEA. I thought the whole point of these markets was the tradition and lack of commercialism).