Christmas in Germany

During December of 2019, I traveled back to Germany. I had been going to Europe for over a decade but had never been there strictly to visit. All of my other trips had been tied to some academic purpose. However, this time I had some frequent flyer miles that were going to expire at the end of the year so they had to be used. Most of my other trips there had been in the summer. I've made some really good friends over the years so I crashed at the houses of various people. I attended a soccer game and had a meal of goose leg (that was much more tasty than I thought). 

The Germans have a few interesting traditions around Christmas time which I had seen before so I knew what to expect. Probably the most disturbing to me is this fascination with drinking something called Gluhwein or German Mulled Wine. In essence it's heated wine with spices. It's quite potent. I've had it before and if you look at the pictures of me in Vienna, Austria in the winter of 2012, you'll see me drinking the stuff. All I can say is that it has a rather "unique" taste. 

I've talked about this in other posts but the Germans love to be outside in any weather. On a cold day walking around at a Weihnacktsmarkt or Christmas Market, the hot wine helps to keep the chill away. I can't say that I'm a big fan of being out in the German winter or the hot wine but I try to fit in. 

I've got some pictures in the Photo  Albums section of the website from the trip. 

Let me know what you think.at: garyhoover2012 [at] gmail.com