Welcome to my new blog! Following many years of graduate study in musicology (see my bio if you don't know what musicology is), I am finally embarking on my fieldwork portion of my degree, spending one year in Germany. For all the latest updates on Music, Life, and Travel, read on, friends!
Back in August, I suggested to one of my BuKa friends that we should go to Salzburg in December. Sure, it would be cold, possibly snowy, and during a busy time of the year for us all, but I am so glad we went! I lived in Salzburg during Spring 2005, where I attended Salzburg College and lived with a host family. 2005 was the first time I had gone back to Europe after my first trip in 2000, when I was still in high school. I loved all things about my semester abroad, except for the expense. Still, I got to travel a lot during that semester, and highlights included learning how to ski in the Alps, taking voice lessons with a professor at the Mozarteum Conservatory, and improving my German. Clearly I caught the Europe bug after this trip, and as soon as I got home in June of that year, I was already trying to figure out how to get back.
I missed Christmas in Salzburg in 2005, but I did not miss the snow. We had tons of snow during the winter months, which made everything seem so much more magical and surreal. Our trip this week felt very similar. I was so excited that we arrived with snow already on the ground, and it continued to snow almost the entire time that we were there. Maybe that meant that we were a bit damp and cold at times, but I completely thought it was worth it!
Enjoy the photos, and the video from Rick Steves' Christmas Special: Austria edition!
First Salzburg drink: Radler (half beer, half grapefruit juice)! So tasty and refreshing!
S and E were lacking in winter outerwear. The umbrellas helped with blocking the snow.
Cold Beautiful stroll along the Salzach river. E and S were not as excited about it!
Awesome snow-covered tree!
It's my city! Salzburg! Sooooooo pretty! This is the view from Mirabell Gardens, facing south towards the Altstadt.
Much happier after a night's sleep, even though we still were lacking one travel buddy.
Mozart duckies! Have I mentioned that Mozart was born in Salzburg, and that he hated it here?
Fortress plus new sculpture art.
We walked up to the fortress, and we found these cool Christmas decorations. Each ball kind of looked like it had a Santa hat on.
E, S, and I, with the Dom in the background.
E taking a picture. We nearly slid down the path to the bottom of the mountain. Snow is pretty, and dangerous!
This is Bob's father.
Salzburg College Alum '05. We hung out here for a bit, getting a free coffee and using the free WIFI. Back in my day, there was no WIFI at Salzburg College. How things have changed!
Spinach dumplings with browned butter and Parmesan. This was sooooo yummy, even though I couldn't finish it.
Famous Salzburg dessert - whipped egg whites, sugar, and raspberries. Very delicious, very big!
:)
This photo is awful, but I had to post it, because the idea behind it is so marvelous!
Augustinerbraeu - my favorite hang-out in Salzburg. Monk-brewed beer, without preservatives, and a spirited atmosphere. The beer is great! L even finished hers, for the first time ever!
S and her four beers. Actually, we each had one; she didn't drink all four!
Salzburg's Christmas market is a serious business. Their brochure remarked that about 1,000,000 people visit their market every year. That is crazy! I already had seen some scenes from Salzburg's market, as have you all, if you watched Rick Steves' video from my last post. I feel like this market is really professional. The organizers know tons of people are coming, so they have made it possible for these mobs to make it through the stands. The stands are very spaced out, and there are just two main squares with vendors, one in front of the Dom, and one to the south of the Dom. Enjoy the pictures!
The Christmas market!!!! I found the backdrop of the church to be wonderful! I love how Europeans like to light up their churches at night.
More little animals! These guys were super cute! A lot of vendors had intricate items for sale! If I knew what I'd do with all of these things, I would buy some. I am already wondering how I am going to get everything back to the USA after my year here, not to mention what I need to bring with for Christmas!
Such a pretty tree! The two trees in Bonn look like Charlie Brown trees in comparison to this. I think that people are afraid someone will steal the lower light strands from the trees in Bonn, so they look very dark close to the ground. This tree, however, is much better!
Me and Gluehwein! Here you can see how wide the walkways were. This Gluehwein was pretty good, but nothing too earth-shattering. My friends tried the blueberry Gluehwein, which apparently tasted like the traditional version.
The garland and light strands were a nice touch!
The ladies with their mugs!
One last market picture. I don't think all one million visitors were there on Monday night. I imagine it is completely packed on the weekends.
Mozart! This plaza hosts the ice rink, and it is right next to the Christmas market.
Goodbye, Salzburg! Bis zum naechsten Mal! I hope I can get back sometime soon, but I really need to go back to Freiburg. I lived there even longer, but it is more difficult to get to than some other places in Germany and Austria.
Get excited for my next posts! Siegburg, Aachen, and Hamburg are all on the books for the next couple of days.
Saturday was a great, and tiring, day! I had my first choir concert in Germany. I sang with Vox Bona, the chamber choir of the Kreuzkirche in Bonn. This Christmas concert was a "thank-you" concert for those who donate to the music ministry at the church. I got to invite a lot of friends to the concert, and two of my friends from my fellowship program even made it! I really enjoyed having them there! Of course, E and I went to the market before the concert! Following our Bonn concert, everyone had to drive to Cologne for an encore performance. I met up with E and S in downtown Cologne, allowing me to add to my Christmas market count: +2 markets in Cologne!
E with her rum Gluehwein. This is right before she was introduced to Poffertjes, when her life changed forever, for the better!
Enjoy these videos that E took for me!
Here is Ola Gjeilo's "Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium)."
My favorite, and my director's favorite, "Ave Maria" by Morten Lauridsen.
Here's a shot from my concert! I am the second person from the right in the first row.
Cologne Christmas market No. 1. The main market is right by the Dom, near the main train station. The church in the background makes this one of the prettiest markets, but the cookie-cutter, mall-kiosk style stands make the market feel generic and sterile. The Gluehwein was okay. The walk around was a bit stinky; I think there is some sort of stinky cheese dish that you can buy at this market.
The tree and lights at the center of the market are stunning!
Cologne Christmas Market No. 2. I am not sure if this was the Neumarkt market, but it was less generic and the decorations were unique to each stand. We were trying to get to a restaurant I had eaten at this past summer, so this market was an accidental find.
The lighting was cool here too. I loved the purple!
S and I at Loewenbraeu, the only place that had space for us to eat! Generally I don't go to Munich-based restaurants in places other than Munich, but the food and Gluehwein were tasty!
Schnitzel "Hawaii" with Bratkartoffeln! I haven't eaten this much food in awhile!
Get excited about the next posts: all snow and Salzburg!
Yesterday, if you can believe it, I DID NOT visit the Christmas market! I know, I felt like a slacker for not eating anything sweet or drinking anything spiked spiced, but I am trying to get over my cold, and I need to be in tip top shape for the "Lange Nacht" on Friday. Only on this day will the Weihnachtsmarkt be open until midnight! I think that will give all cheer-lovers more than enough time to enjoy the market!
Today I only have a few random things to share. First, after my post on mistletoe, I quickly saw this stand, taking mistletoe to a whole new level!
Sticks of mistletoe...on sticks!
Last weekend I also had the pleasure of trying "Gluehbier." Yes, I had hot, spiced beer. I really had no idea what to expect, other than the hot part. Gluehbier drinkers get awesome glasses, which might actually make it worth taking these ones home. Many vendors offer Gluehbier, so I may need to try it a couple more times to make any definitive judgments.
Me and my Gluehbier! (Sung to the tune of "Me and my Llama" - circa 1978, Sesame Street)
I found that Gluehbier tastes similar to Belgian lambic beers, like Kriek (which means cherry, in Flemish/Dutch). And it was hot, not chilled, of course. I am a fan of fruity beers, as they usually have no a lighter beer taste and are sweeter.
Liefman's Gluehbier
(Sometimes I write up my synopsis of something European, and then only afterward do I think to research it. And, as luck would have it, I know more than I realize I know! Liefman's Gluehbier is indeed brewed by Belgians and has cherries and spices! So, it is basically spiced up Kriek. It takes two years to brew Gluehbier, so I am guessing it is pretty expensive as an import in the USA.)
Finally, after my video post on animatronics, I remembered where I saw something similar. So, without further adieu, here is your second link to Rick Steves' Christmas Special: France. Around minute 3:00, you'll understand what I mean!
Friends, get excited, because today I am visiting my second Weihnachtsmarkt - in Koblenz, where my university is located. I'll have lots of new impressions and photos tomorrow!
One of the drink pyramids; so pretty at nightfall!
Thanks to all of you who have commented on my blogs, either on this website, on facebook, or through personal communication! If you have any suggestions of what you'd like to see more (or less) of, I hope that I might be able to oblige!
The sunset was so beautiful last night! Photos don't really do the colors justice.
Stars!
Yesterday's market visit was a bit spontaneous. Wait, who am I kidding! If I have to go to the city center for anything, of course I will stop by the market to see what is "los." My main objective was to purchase a big kid's choir folder, one made of leather with lots of methods for holding different types of scores. I was successful, despite the fact that the saleswoman I worked with did not believe the price on the packaging. She even called the main store in Cologne to try to confirm the "correct" price for the "luxus" (luxury) folder I wanted, as it cost the same as the simpler version without the three-ring binder insert. It all ended well, though.
At the market yesterday I felt compelled to take my MIL's advice about drinking hot beverages to help with my cold! I don't think she meant to have Gluehwein! I tried hot white apple wine. It was very tasty, from what I could taste. I had to experience the white version for the sake of B, who is not a fan of traditional spiced wine. It didn't seem to have the same hint of cinnamon and cloves, but it was still delicious! This tasting made me think that I've been going about my experiments all wrong, though. I haven't tried normal Gluehwein yet; which I probably should, and then I can use that taste as the control for future variants.
Here was my target: "Weisser Apfelgluehwein fuer Kenner." Only for those who know about it?
Mug action! This mug depicts a scene from the Bochum Christmas market. I have no idea why we have glasses from Bochum in Bonn.
One additional treasure that I discovered yesterday was this:
Attack of the mechanized stuffed animals.
That's right, Dad! More stuffed animals that move and sing! If you thought the moose was spooky, you clearly haven't seen this department store display! I never noticed this scene before, so maybe Galleria Kaufhof just revealed it on Tuesday.
Who is looking at who?
And a video, so you can really get an idea of what is going on! My favorite is the monkey that is raking snow. Very few of the animals in this display seem to be native winter species!
On opening day at the Weihnachtsmarkt, I unwittingly tried a drink that is wholly local. Of all the signs I saw of non-Gluehwein drinks, the Verpoorten Punsch intrigued me the most. So on Friday, I had my first taste!
Everything about Verpoorten is yellow!
Verpoorten Punsch is a warm drink, with Verpoorten Eierlikoer, or Advocaat (in English?), white wine, cinnamon, and whipped cream. For a recipe (auf Deutsch), visit the Verpoorten website. Advocaat is a liquor made with egg yolks, brandy, sugar or honey, and sometimes cream or milk. I had tried Eierlikoer before; it is often served cold, on top of ice cream. This is amazing, by the way! From consistency, it is a bit thicker than Bailey's. I have never looked for Verpoorten, or other European brands, in the USA before, but I guess you could find it at liquor stores.
The drink in question!
I found the drink to be very different! At first I wasn't convinced that it would be something I would frequently try, but it kind of grows on you. I will note that it is best enjoyed in small sips, and that it is particularly popular with the 45-65 and female age group. I didn't notice any guys trying it at this stand.
Here is a close-up. The Verpoorten company does a good job of advertising its product, complete with recipe cards on tables for people to take home and try.
Verpoorten began in 1876, when the first Verpoorten perfected the art of mixing egg yolks and alcohol to make a fluid consistency. In 1952, the company set up its headquarters in Bonn. I imagine that a lot of regional eggs head to this plant each day.
