It has finally arrived! Anni and I went into the city for some last minute shopping. We went to H&M, where I got some cute boots on clearance. I really should consider my luggage space when I'm shopping... I will seriously need a suitcase just for shoes.
Afterward, we visited her mom's boutique. She has some really neat stuff and delicious looking cupcakes as well. We also went for some ice cream. Ice cream in December, I know, but it was seriously 65 degrees outside. In any case, I got a banana chocolate concotion that was delicious. (See below)
After shopping, we went home to get ready for the Christmas Eve service at Anni's church. I got to see Rila again, and even got to meet some more of Anni's friends. Both of them were singing in the choir, so it was really fun to watch and hear them. Anni's grandpa also sang as well. After the singing, there was a Christmas play put on by the children. It was really sweet and I got to see some of my friends from the service on Sunday. After church, we went home to open presents. That's another benefit of Germany-you don't have to wait until the 25th to open presents! First, we had to wait outside the living room while Anni's grandparents decorated the tree and set out the presents. Then, a bell rang and that was our signal to go in. It was really beautiful.
Then it was time to open presents. I wasn't really expecting all that much, just because it was nice enough to be invited to spend Christmas with Anni and her family. However, I got a cute bracelet and CD from Maike, a scarf and earrings from Omi and Opi, and a trip to see the new Twilight movie from Anni. Oh, and a whole plate of candy. I really appreciated all of these gifts, but it was even nicer to sit and enjoy Christmas with everyone. I even got to Skype for a few minutes with my parents and family back home.
After all of the presents were opened, we had fondue. I only knew the kind with melted cheese or chocolate. However, this was hot oil and you could stick all sorts of meats into it to cook. It was really delicious. I seriously ate too much, especially as there was leftover cake for dessert. It was a fun and different Christmas tradition that I think I will suggest to my family for next year.
On Christmas Day, Anni and I went over to Carl's house. It was really fun seeing his family again and we played more Skip-Bo and Triominoes. We also got to open more presents, which is always a bonus. I got a book and painted picture of the museum where I work from Carl. I also got a pretty pair of purple earrings from Hanna and a trip to Bonn from Carl's parents. They were all such sweet and thoughtful gifts, and all I had to give was my container of chocolate chip cookies. However, they ended up getting eaten, so I suppose that is a good sign.
After we opened presents, we had raclette and fondue for lunch. I had never heard of raclette, so it was another fun tradition to try. It's basically a mini cooktop where you can sear different types of meats. Everyone also got these cute little frying pans where you mix in cheese, vegetables, sauces, basically whatever you want, and then add that on top of whatever meat you are cooking. It's kind of hard to describe, but luckily I took some pictures:
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| You can see the frying pans cooking underneath |
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| The fondue!!! |
There were also tons of sauces to put on everything. Carl and his parents kept telling me if I didn't like something to just say so, but I wanted to try all of them, so I basically took whatever came my way. I think my favorite was this aioli sauce that Carl had made. I absolutely love garlic, so I slathered it on just about everything. Once again, I ate entirely too much and had to loosen my belt after the meal. However, I would just have to make more room because there was this giant bowl of candy on the table that we kept passing around. It was like Halloween. There was so much candy and all of it chocolate. I found a new favorite chocolate, "Duplo" which is kind of like a Kit Kat. Hanna had also made this delicious tiramisu for dessert, and even sent us home with a container of it.
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| The bowl of dreams |
After lunch, we played a few more games and then went back to Iserlohn. We lounged around for the rest of the day watching movies, and I also got to Skype with my family again.
On the 26th, Anni and I got up early to have breakfast at Carl's house. His family had prepared this huge spread of all sorts of meats, cheeses, jellies, and breads. I also really liked the waffles and nutella.
Something that was also really sweet was that Carl's parents had specially bought peanut butter just for me. I guess they had heard that I am kind of a fanatic about it and had both the crunchy and creamy kind. They are both really nice and made me feel welcome. After we got done with breakfast, we went back to Iserlohn to prepare for more gift giving with Anni's family. Her aunt and uncle came over again and we all opened more presents. We also had more cake (yay!!) and a dish called Sauerbraten. I was so excited to try this ever since Anni had told me about it the week before. It's similar to pot roast, in that you let the meat stew in its own juices for a day or two.
I know that Anni was happy to finally have it as well, since I had pestered her almost every day if it would be the night for Sauerbraten. The meal did not disappoint, and it was my favorite dish that we had while there. It was tender and juicy and I had to refrain from drinking the delicious gravy that was poured over the top. Yum!
On Thursday, the 27th, Anni, Maike, and I went out to Bali, an Indonesian restaurant in town. They described it as one of their favorites, and I was excited to try it. I really liked the decor of the place. They had these huge wooden chairs made into interesting shapes. They must have weighed at least 90 pounds each.
The food was, of course, delicious. We paid for the all you can eat buffet, but I think I only went up there three times. There was just too much to try: Shish kebabs, sushi, soups, mixed rices, and a lot more. I just loaded up on whatever looked good (which was all of it) and tried my best to make my way through all of it. Anni told me to save room for dessert, because they had this fried pineapple stuff that was heavenly.
After we got done eating, we went back up to Maike's apartment and watched more movies. I found out one of her favorites is The Wedding Date, just like me!
On the 28th, Anni and I went over to Carl's house for a movie night. We stopped at McDonald's on the way and purchased dinner for the night. I actually like the McDonald's over here. They seem a lot cleaner and nicer than the ones back home. We watched Crank and Crank 2 which were both really action-packed and violent. It was fun watching them with Carl, because he knows a lot about guns and knives and would tell us the type of pistol that was being used in the movie. He also showed me this website that is basically a Wikipedia for guns and can tell you what guns have been used in movies.
Saturday, the 29th, Anni and I went downtown to do some more shopping. This time, I managed to refrain from buying any more shoes, but I did end up in a bookstore, like a nerd. I found Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in German and was actually able to understand most of the first chapter. I think that would be another good way to learn German is read a book that you know by heart. I went ahead and bought the book and have already made my way through the first three chapters. Not too shabby! While shopping, I wasn't completely thinking about myself. I was still getting some last minute gifts for friends back home. I am going home in February and wanted to make sure I had something for everyone on my list.
On Sunday, the 30th, Anni and I went to go see the final Twilight film. It was a really sweet present from her, and I really enjoyed it. I also learned a lot about how the movie theaters over here work. Apparently, it isn't a free for all like in the U.S. when it comes to picking seats. In Germany, when you buy tickets, it's like buying tickets for a play or baseball game; You have an assigned seat. I thought it made a lot more sense and was much more orderly than the random way we do it in the U.S. Anni also bought us snacks for the theater that were a little different than I'm used to. She told me that the popcorn is sweet instead of salty. It's more like kettle corn that you can get at the fair. I liked it, but I much prefer the butter-drenched fatty stuff you can get back home. We also got some nachos to share, but the "salsa" was more sweet than I'm used to. It reminded me of sweet and sour sauce from the Chinese restaurant.
Once we got into the theater, we watched a few previews for some upcoming German films. After that, they turned on the lights again, and a man came in selling ice cream. It really was like a baseball game. The movie was in German, but I was able to follow along and Anni was right next to me if I had any questions. It was a really fun night, and I thoroughly enjoyed our night out at the movies.
On New Year's Eve, Anni and I went over to Carl's house to celebrate. We had more raclette, and I had actually gotten better at not burning any meat or tablecloths. I felt really bad, as the first night we had raclette, I put my hot frying pan down on the tablecloth, and it burned a hole right through it. Luckily, it wasn't a family heirloom linen one, and more like a birthday party one that you can ball up and throw away. However, Carl's dad told me the next day that when he was washing dishes he had one frying pan that was especially difficult to get clean, as it had something yellow melted to the bottom of it. Whoops! This time, I managed to avoid burning anything and really enjoyed doing the raclette again.
We also had a lot of champagne to ring in the new year. Carl even let me shoot his pistol, (blanks, of course) as New Year's is the perfect time to shoot a gun because the neighbors won't be disturbed. At midnight, we all went out into the street and shot off fireworks. It was really crazy, as almost everyone in the neighborhood was outside shooting stuff. In my hometown, it is technically illegal to shoot fireworks within the city limit, and we usually have to go to a official fireworks show at the beach. Not so in Germany. I got to light a few bottle rockets, and Anni and I kept lighting firecrackers and trying to roll them into the sewer grate across the street. The church bells were also ringing, and all in all, it was an awesome New Years. I even took some video, but be warned that it looks like I have ADD because I can't focus on just one area.
We spent the night at Carl's house and got up in time for lasagna that Hanna had made for lunch. All too soon, we had to be on the way back to Dortmund, as I was leaving the next day to spend a few days in Prague. It was an amazing Christmas and New Years, and not one I will soon forget.
Side note: I feel like this blog has turned into a running list of all the food Joanna likes (read:just about everything), but I will try my best to include more content that doesn't involve me stuffing my face.
German Word of the Week: Der Tannenbaum- "Christmas tree" It is always fun to decorate Der Tannenbaum.
