12.1.2012
First of all, this was the first day of December.. OHMYGOSHNOHOWDIDTHISHAPPEN?! That's all.
I'd talked with Evenlyn about wanting to travel to Germany to see the Christmas Markets there and she told me that she and her family were planning on going to Aachen, Germany for Christmas Markets in early December.. and she invited me! Isn't she an angel?
Evelyn's family picked me up in Leuven early on that Saturday and we drove the two hours across the border (ahh!) into Germany! Aachen is waaaaay on the west side of Germany, probably about as close as it can be to Belgium. Perfect.
And then.. we finally got to the Christmas Market! I was probably more excited than I needed to be. Evelyn and her family couldn't believe that Christmas Markets don't really exist in America, and for those of you who say that they do exist in America? You're wrong. There's no way that an American Christmas market could really even compare to a Christmas Market like the one I visited in Aachen. Close, perhaps.. but no cigar.
So, now I give you the Aachen Christmas Market in photo-form!
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| Welcome! |
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| First stop? Hot chocolate, of course! |
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| Overlooking part of the market.. so many people! |
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| Walking around, there were these HUGE displays of German biscuits in all the windows - yum! |
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| People everywhere.. and I loved the wreaths :) |
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| These reminded me of the Christmas village that my family always puts up at home!! |
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| They're not joking.. it truly is a Christmas Market. Decorations EVERYWHERE. |
Lady making crepes.. and my very own Nutella crepe! Hooray!
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| Crepe party. |
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| Smokers! I love these little guys! I don't know the technical name for them.. so we'll just call them smokers. MeeMaw - I still have the one that you got for me!! And now he'll have a new, German friend! |
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| German bratwurst!! Yes, it is as big as it looks. And twice as delicious. |
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| The sun FINALLY decided to say hi!! (Please note how the mass of people has grown...) |
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| Aachen Cathedral! |
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| Looking up.. |
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| STAINED GLASS. |
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| Beneath the dome |
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| Next stop.. Gluhwein. You may be wondering, what is gluhwein?? Well... |
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| IT'S THIS. Mulled wine.. aka, warmed-up & spiced-up delicious red wine, and a staple at Christmas Markets, apparently. Also, it came in this super cute mug that you could pay to keep as a souvenir. You bet I did. |
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| Evelyn & I! |
After our long day out, we drove back to Evelyn's home & I slept the whole way back.. surprising? Not really.
Also, it was Evelyn's mom's birthday!! That gives me two Belgian birthday celebrations this week! I was honored to be able to participate in the Pauwels' special family day, and I had such a lovely time!
12.2.2012
Today was a lot more laid back.. we spent the majority of the morning and early afternoon studying and reading (fun?) before eating a lovely, Sunday dinner and decorating the house for Christmas.
I mentioned it before when I stayed with Evelyn and I'll say it again.. Evelyn's mom is a WONDERFUL cook!! It makes me miss my Momma's cooking even more! But seriously.. after cooking eggs, sandwiches, and pasta for myself for weeks on end, it was so nice to have some seriously delicious food for a day. Enough about food...
Christmas decorating!!
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| Getting everything ready... |
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| Evelyn put the star on top! |
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| And, voila! A before & after shot of the lovely tree! They even had a color theme: red & gold, so classy. |
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| Even Tessa wanted to help!! |
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| Final layout with tree & nativity scene!! |
Sure, they did things a little differently than how we decorate our house back in Indiana.. but I loved every second of it. I helped carry boxes down from the attic, put ornaments up, and even contributed a little smoker that I'd gotten in Aachen :)
This weekend really helped to put a jumpstart to the Christmas holiday for me, and I loved it. Now I'm back in Leuven and everything just seems so much more cheery! Not to mention, the Christmas lights are now on all around the city, they put up a HUGE tree today in the Grote Markt, and the Leuven Christmas Market starts next week - LIFE IS SO GOOD!
And then I have final exams. Boo. Why do those have to get in the way of such exciting things? Oh well, I'll make do. I think that a trip for gluhwein would probably serve as an excellent study break, no? I'll make it work.
But for now.. it's Friday! So have a good one, folks.
ps. I leave Leuven in just about two weeks.. :'(
If going to a Christmas Market didn't get you in the Christmas spirit, I don't know what would! What fun - looking forward to experiencing this European event soon! And, a nutella crepe & mulled wine ... I'm in!
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