Christmas!!! Needless to say, I am pretty stoked on the holiday, although it’s more of the buildup and countdown to the actual day that gets me more excited than the day alone.
This year, I wanted to make it a bit more magical for our first married Christmas, so I got a little fake tree. Germans traditionally put their tree up on the 24th, but ours was up all month. Additionally, I created an “advent calendar Christmas” for M.; since Germans love their advent calendars, I gave him a present every day of the month, ranging from actual material goods and candy to an activity together or dinner on me. For one week, I also made baked goods every day of the week for him to take to his co-workers!
Meanwhile, M. is not a huge fan of Christmas markets but he indulged me in going to two this weekend: the Lucia market at the Kulturbrauerei, and the Winterwelt at Potsdamer Platz. Thus far, I have been to five or six markets in Berlin, with the goal of visiting one or two different ones each year. As for our experiences, there wasn’t necessarily anything remarkable about these two–they had the same food and drinks and crafts–but they are both smaller ones and less kitschy feeling than the markets surrounding Alexanderplatz. And even though I can’t eat most of the food and don’t really like Glühwein, I still love to walk around and observe the people and the decorations.
After we walked through the Potsdamer Platz market, we then went to go see “The Hobbit” at the Sony Center, which was one of my presents to M. Last year we saw the first part, and next year we will, of course, see the third installment.
Yesterday, after sleeping in and relaxing most of the day, we had dinner with M.’s mother and her husband. Here in Germany, everyone celebrates on the 24th, and last night we had a winter salad with bread, vegan duck, Rotkohl (red cabbage), potatoes, and pumpkin, followed by a dessert of fruit salad and pumpkin pie. The meal was delicious, as was the Chinon (French wine), and we spent a few hours just talking and hanging out, which is always nice.
Today is 1. Weihnachtsfeiertag (or “First Christmas Party Day” around these parts) but rather than celebrating much, it was spent cleaning the flat, repotting succulents and putting up some pictures on the walls.
In the evening, we had a Skype date with my parents and brother, and then made cookies. Normally I bake alone, but I am always happy when M. joins, which he did. These vegan chocolate chip pumpkin oatmeal cookies are pretty good, though I will keep looking for a better recipe. Also, we made gingerbread cookies, but that dough is chilling right now, waiting to be cut up into fun shapes.
Next up: A Christmas Story, which M. has never seen. Hope you are all enjoying your Christmas!