Frohe Weihnachten! And Berlin :)

Frohe Weihnachten!

They all tried to warn me: I can't tell you how many times I was told that Germany rarely ever experiences a white Christmas. That the snow comes for a few weeks, melts before the twenty-fourth, and then returns sometime in January. I willfully decided that this year was going to be different. For the first time in my life I was going to experience the holiday straight from the set of White Christmas. I even walked around Munich listening to Bing Crosby for a week straight in preparation. The snow in Munich was gone long before Christmas Eve but I still wasn't worried. After all, I would be spending the holiday in Northern Germany with the grandparents of my host family. The sight of the melting slush piles in Munich didn't even faze me. Bing just kept crooning along, and I kept dreaming of my White Christmas.

I almost got it too.

The day we arrived at the grandparents house, two days before Christmas, there was snow all over the place. I had a snowball fight with my host family and watched Frosty be brought to life by the boys in front of the house. He had a top hat and everything. I was feeling pretty confident and quite happy with myself. As if the weather was all due to my refusal to accept anything but glistening trees and sleigh-bells for the holidays. 

Fast forward twenty-four hours. 

My host parents tell me that the weatherman has called for rain, and I stubbornly refuse to believe it. Even as I watched fat raindrops slide down the windows of the house I was perpetually calculating how many hours were left before Christmas Eve. If a miracle snow storm could happen to Bing Crosby in Vermont, who's to say I must accept anything less? Right??

Wrong.

Christmas movies give me unrealistic expectations of what I believe my life should be. I blame them for the acute disappointment I felt as Christmas came to a close and there was still no snow. Although we did venture outside of the house on Christmas Day to visit the town of Wittenburg (which was the birthplace and home of Martin Luther) and as we walked to the car I spied a pile of brown slush along the street. That is more snow then I could ever hope to see in California. It's the little things.

 Despite this, my Christmas was pretty spectacular.

The parents of my host parents have always been incredible warm and kind to me. I feel so lucky sometimes; I've heard quite a few horror stories from other Au Pairs and it always reminds me how blessed I am to have chosen and been chosen by the family I was placed with. The first week we spent with my host mother's parents. I love German neighborhoods and this one was no exception, but the coolest thing about their house was the bar/restaurant they've made out of their basement. It had tables with a wraparound booth and bar stools and everything. The first night we had a mini-celebration down there with those little poppers filled with confetti and Christmas music. We then proceeded to play quite a few rounds of musical chairs and other party games. Which, if you ask me, is a pretty cool way to be welcomed into somebodies home. The boys were so excited on Christmas Eve and, after we all came back from church, practically flew into the house to see what the Weihnachtsman had left them.

 

We love PRESENTS!!!

 

 And Theo loves chocolate! 

The only downside to all of this merry-making was that I was sick, which really shouldn't surprise me because I've been sick over Christmas for the last four years. It's like a curse. The Universe balances out my love for the holiday season by striking me down with various illnesses just to try and contain my happiness. The only difference is that this year my mild sickness turned into a sinus infection, which I'm sure you can imagine was a lovely thing to experience around my host family. I think I went through several boxes of tissues and quite a few rolls of toilet paper: worst house guest ever. 

On the twenty-sixth we traveled to the home of my host fathers parents. I absolutely LOVED the town they lived in: Zeitz, Germany. But I am admittedly a bit odd, and it's for a bit of an odd reason. 

The city is very old, as in nine hundred years old, and there are a small handful of those original buildings still standing. But it's also an abandoned city. After the Berlin wall fell many of the factories and industries in East Germany became uncompetitive, shutting down or in some cases relocating. As a result many of the people living in these small towns shipped out as well, heading towards the larger cities and better opportunities. Now the towns have taken on a bit of a ghostly semblance. There are the most extraordinary buildings with beautiful brick and ornamental stone facades with broken window frames and boarded up doors. Some of them have begun to be reclaimed by the earth. I went on a walk around the town one day and could see tree trunks poking out of windows and vines covering the walls inside of the houses. There's something so magical about them. How many stories must they contain within their crumbling walls? 

I just wish I had taken more pictures. Which is pretty much the story of my life.

There was an an old school right down the street from the grandparents house: massive with red-brick walls and terraces with wrought-iron railings. It was a little spooky because it was so imposing and yet so neglected. A lot of the windows were broken and the play yard was over-run with weeds and growth, but I could just see it teeming with school children. I asked the Opa and he said it was built in the 1700's. Can you imagine an entire town filled with the most handsome, historical buildings lying completely forgotten?

Exploring is my favorite :)

The first night we arrived a Christmas market was still going on in the courtyard of a castle located within the town. The castle itself wasn't incredibly old, built sometime in the 17th century in the Baroque style, which I'm not a huge fan of; the really cool part was getting to see the cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, which was connected to the castle. It still houses the original, thousand year old crypt underneath the alter. The coffins are on display of one of the Dukes and his family, over three hundred years old. They were more then a little creepy: very ornamental but covered in dust and haunted mansionesque. I'm sure the Duke would be very put-out to know his coffin was being gawked at by hundreds of people every day. 

Very undignified.

The day before I left them to go to Berlin for New Years my host family took me to see Schloss Neuenburg, which sits high up on a mountain top and has an incredible view of the surrounding countryside.

The best part?? I was Queen for the day...literally.

Welcome to mein Haus.

The Medieval castle had a special tour for children. To begin they lead everyone into what looks like a miniature replica of a throne room, with an entire costume of closets lining the walls. While relaying the castles' history the guide leads everyone up one by one and chooses a character for them. And yours truly was chosen to be the Konig, or in this case the Queen. The costume was incredibly detailed: with a headdress and crown, and underclothes beneath the gown I was given. When we were walking around outside and through the castle the woman gave me a beautiful, purple velvet cape to wrap around my shoulders. Everyone had to curtsy and bow down to me and wait to exit the room until I had left. And this is not an exaggeration. My head is now twice its former size. 

Thanks Schloss Neuenburg.

The boys were knights of the realm and looked so cute with their wooden swords and horses. They were grinning from ear to ear, but then so were all of the adults.

I was too busy playing Queen of the Castle to take pictures, but someday I will get the ones my host dad took on his camera. Just use your imagination. 

It was an interesting dynamic, traveling with my host family. It wasn't as if I was "working" or on duty. More like I was treated as another member of their family. I helped put the boys to bed a few times and played with them during the day. We went on several trips, with both sets of grandparents, and almost every night I would stay up talking with my host parents and the grandparents and drinking Prosecco and Gluhwein. A delicious combination, ESPECIALLY after you throw in some Christmas chocolate.

I was exposed to a decent amount of typically German cuisine and for the most part I really enjoyed it.

Not my picture, but similar to what my Christmas dinner looked like.

And I ate veal for the first time in my life. Unintentionally. I almost wished I'd never asked what kind of meat it was that I was greedily shoving down my pallet, but it was so good, and I'd never tasted anything like it before.

Sarah: Was ist das?

Oma: Das ist Kalbfleisch.

A moment while I process that Kalb sounds alarmingly like calf. And then I get the translation.

Veal.

Sarah: Oh.

Oh crap.

Let me tell you, I left for Berlin with a very guilty conscious. 

Now I have to say as a disclaimer: I am not Berlins biggest fan. I was more then happy to return to Munich and I can't say that I would ever again go out of my way to visit the city. I did enjoy my time there and I think it was important that I got to see the capital city of Germany, as well as one of the most important historical sights in the world, but I'm afraid I've become a bit of a Munich snob. 

Shandi and Alexa: don't judge me.

However my two friends that I was traveling with loved it, so it can't be all bad :)

It truly is an interesting city and is much more open and edgier then Munich, but it also is not nearly as beautiful or well-maintained. 

In Munich I catch the last train at two o'clock in the morning and still feel perfectly safe walking home by myself. And anyone who knows me knows how overly paranoid cautious I can be. I would never feel so comfortable in Berlin. I'm afraid I've been bit by the Bavarian bug; there's no turning back.

That being said, I did have a pretty great New Years.

Somewhere in this vast crowd of people, down towards the bottom left, is where I was standing. 

I was there I swear!

The crazy thing is that this picture doesn't even represent the sheer number of people who were at the famous Brandenburger Tor for New Years. This avenue stretches all the way down for several blocks and was FILLED with people. I've never seen anything like it. But what was even more incredible were the fireworks that went off all around the city in the hours leading up to New Years, and especially in the hour right after we heralded in 2013. Germany has absolutely NO laws regulating fireworks as far as I could tell. They were literally being set off all over the city in champagne bottles. The big, illegal ones that will get you a serious fine and possibly jail time in California. After we left the Bradenburger Tor we stopped at a park and just watched as HUNDREDS of fireworks exploded all around us. It was absolutely incredible. The entire city was shaking and it sounded as if cannons were perpetually being lit. We stood there for awhile, taking it all in, but then someone must have knocked a champagne bottle over as they were lighting a rocket because it shot off into the crowd and exploded right over our heads. At which point we decided we kind of liked our bodies to be all in one piece, and booked it out of there. It was very cool, but towards the end more then a little overwhelming. I'm glad to have seen it, but I'm also glad to have made it out with my life.

We didn't do nearly as much sight-seeing as we possibly should have, blame Berlin's nightlife, but we did visit the Berlin Wall, the Jewish Holocaust Museum, and various other monuments throughout the city.

And I climbed the Berlin Wall on a very old, very suspicious looking ladder to take this picture:

 

Twas a very dangerous endeavor. 

It was pretty incredible being able to see and touch the wall itself. And the East side is covered with incredible murals.

 

To Shandi and Alexa: I was so excited to experience Berlin with you both and loved our time together. I wouldn't have wanted to wait for hours and hours in line in the freezing cold for one of Berlins' "hottest" clubs with anyone else :)

So the Christmas season has officially come to a close. Sad day. I've loved nearly every minute of the last month or so. German Christmas Markets are everything they're cracked up to be, especially when covered under a blanket of snow. There are all so different and have the coolest gifts and trinkets. My favorite was, by far, Nuremburg, which was located in the square of one of the most beautiful towns I've ever seen. Imagine winding streets built into a hill with old, historical buildings on either side covered in snow and Christmas lights. That's Nuremburg. 

 

 And it has several BEAUTIFUL cathedrals. I'm making a point to go back during the summer, just to experience the town all over again.

I've forced myself to finish this blog entry this morning because in a few hours I will be going to an FC BAYERN FOOTBALL GAME! My scarf is all ready and I am so excited. And if I'd attempted to squeeze that experience in with all of this I would have been writing for days on end.

Things to look forward to:
 -London in seven days! Assuming the snow stops and they don't cancel my flight.
-Kristin, also known as my sister, also known as one of my favorite people in the whole world, visits me at the end of March!
-FC BAYERN!

I'm also making a resolution. I live about a fifteen minute walk from the BMW museum, as well as the Olympic park, and have yet to tour the BMW plant or the roof of the Olympic stadium. I have also not yet climbed to the top of the hill in the Olympic park and watched the sunrise. Considering I pass by these things nearly EVERY DAY on my way down to the U-Bahn station, I'm resolved to experience them within the next two months.
Happy Holidays and love to all of my family and friends.
XO
Sarah

P.S. For anyone who may be interested themselves in Au Pairing in Germany, this is a link to the agency I went through. My blog is featured on their website and there is a lot of information and testimonials from other Au Pairs, but also from the agency, about what the experience is like. I couldn't offer them a better referral. The support they've shown me throughout this entire process has been tremendous, and I truly count this as one of the best, albeit scariest decisions I've ever made.
Click here to be redirected to the AuPairCare website.