O Tannenbaum: Christmas in Berlin

Berlin is famous for many things: a wall, a sordid yet interesting history, good beer, good food and perhaps the best of all, a traditional German Christmas.
 
In the weeks preceding this highly anticipated first trip, I encountered a similar response from whomever I spoke with. It usually went a little something like this: "Te vas a Berlin?  Berlin es LO MAXIMO!  Vas a tener mucho divertido!" ("You're going to Berlin?  Berlin is THE BEST!  You're going to have so much fun!")
 
After over 12 hours of travel on Dec. 23, Amy and I arrived in a white Berlin, just in time for Christmas.  On Christmas Eve we ignored the strong urge to recover lost sleep from traveling, and ventured out to Christmas market hop instead.  To our dismay, some of the markets were closed because Germans celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve.  However, we found a couple of good markets filled with cheer and traditional German Christmas festivities.  We did a little shopping - cute, but overpriced arteseanal goods; ate a lot of delicious food - brotwurst and homemade gingerbread, anyone? - and did a bit of drinking - free Jägermeister, Glühwein and more!  To end the day, Sami took us to see the most famous site in Berlin, Brandenburg Gate, white was beautifully illuminated at night.
 
The next morning we awoke in a hurry, determined to made a Christmas abroad, as traditional as possible.  Sami began brining the turkey (a process that took four hours) before we took of for another day of Weinmarkt hopping.  We returned to a turkey that was ready to be cooked and began preparing the rest of the meal.  At the risk of sounding arrogant, Christmas dinner was absolutely delicious: turkey stuffed with cinnamon, apples and cranberries; sauteed garlic potatoes, broccoli, reisling and gingerbread for dessert.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!  That night, since Berliners celebrated the day before, we went out to Adagio for Ladies' Night.  Adagio is constructed to look like a renovated castle or church with a hip and trendy club inside.  

Christmas dinner

 

The next day, we decided to prolong Christmas for one more day, continuing to munch off of leftovers and by going to see the Nutcracker at the Deutsche National Oper.  I love the Nutcracker because its the ultimate embodiment of the Christmas spirit, and it took me back to my memories of Christmases when I was a little girl.  

A scene from the Nutcracker

 
Although this was my first Christmas celebrated away from my family, it turned out to be traditional yet innovative, and filled with good memories.


Besos de Navidad,
B