It's Glühwein Season!

Katja is happy to report that after a lull in her international travel she's back to her jet-setting ways, starting with her recent trip to Germany for her annual Christmas markets instead of Thanksgiving trip. This year the destination was Frankfurt, where she stayed at the lovely Villa Kennedy hotel. The beautiful hotel, named in honor of President John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit, was once a grand family home. But for Katja it's all about the hotel's fabulous Christmas tree covered in feathers (who doesn't love a fashionable tree), and the big gingerbread house and very tasty free cookies (her sweet tooth has been well established).

Although indulging in lots of Glühwein and other treats at the Christmas markets was her top priority, Katja always likes to get in a bit of culture when she travels, so she took in an opera, Iwan Sussanin, by Michail Iwanowitsch Glinka, and made her way to the Museum für Moderne Kunst to see the exhibiton William Forsythe: The Fact of Matter. She loved the exhibition, with its many interactive displays, although she regretted her choice of outfit, which did not allow for full participation. As adventurous as she may be, she never likes to appear like anything less than a lady, so navigating The Fact of Matter's 200 gymnastic rings in a miniskirt was out of the question.

This was Katja's second time visiting the Frankfurter Weihnachtsmarkt, which takes place on the Römerberg Plaza, in the reconstructed Altstadt (Old Town), and she was not disappointed.

Of course it's hard to be disappointed when one has a glass of Glühwein in hand, or even better, a concoction called the Schneemann, a mix of Glühwein and Eierlikör, topped with whipped cream (what's not to love about that). And then of course there were all of marzipan and poppyseed treats that she loves so much...

The market does, however, shut a little early for her liking - the New York girl that she is she's used to things starting much after nine, not ending at nine. In fact the city seemed eerily quiet at night, especially her first evening there, when there was a full moon.

The moon did, however, lend the city a rather dramatic flair, and made her not short walk back to the hotel exceptionally beautiful.

Although Katja is a fan of lazy mornings, she's also an explorer, and made certain to be out and about early enough to visit markets in other cities. One day she hit Wiesbaden's Sternschnuppenmarkt (Twinkling Star Christmas market), where she actually got some Christmas shopping done (instead of just buying things for herself), and of course indulged in more of the usual market treats.

But perhaps the best treats she had in Wiesbaden were at Café Maldaner, a Viennese style pastry shop with an incredibly large selection of cakes. Besides a delicious poppyseed cheesecake, she enjoyed an Einspänner (what's not to love about espresso with whipped cream), her coffee drink of choice from her days in Vienna.

Katja also made her way to Strasbourg, known as the capitale de Noël (capital of Christmas). The city's Christmas market, the oldest in Europe, first took place in 1570; today there are numerous markets scattered throughout the town.

While many of the treats were similar to those in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, the crepes were much better (it is in France, after all), and the vin chaud could also be had in larger cups, which she most appreciated (she does love her wine).

Katja thought that Strasbourg was a lovely city, filled with many charming nooks and crannies, and decorated beautifully for the holidays.

But of course the highlight for her was the train station, covered in penguins, an image from Thierry Suzan's Vertige Polaire. Strasbourg is obviously a very cultured city with impeccable taste, welcoming its visitors in such a wonderful manner.

The trip went by much too quickly (like they all do), and before she knew it she was heading back to the airport, her suitcase filled with sweet treats to indulge in at home. Sad to be leaving, she consoled herself with some pre-flight bubbly in the Lufthansa lounge.

But really, she'll take any excuse to drink champagne...

Budapest

Every year Katja jets off to Europe for the Thanksgiving holiday. As a vegetarian, a feast built around a large stuffing-filled bird doesn’t hold much appeal, and neither does the fact that people often spend a good part of the day watching football. Christmas markets, on the other hand, hold a lot of appeal. And, since Thanksgiving generally falls the week of the first Sunday of Advent, they begin to appear around that time. Katja usually travels to Germany or Austria; she’s lived in both countries and has lots of fond memories of the markets there. Last year, however, she decided it was time to discover some new markets, and went to Budapest instead.

Katya stayed at the beautiful Art Nouveau Gresham Palace; not only was it festively decorated for the holidays, it even had its own Christmas market. Although she was tempted to laze away much of the day in the luxury of her hotel (she was on vacation, after all), Katja didn’t want to miss any of the festive markets scattered through the city. She picked up lots of gifts, being most impressed by the numerous stalls selling lovely handmade goods, something distinguishing Budapest’s markets from the increasingly machine-made merchandise-filled markets of many other cities.

Katja devoted much of her time in the city to eating and drinking (thankfully the hotel had a good gym as she didn't fancy returning home too big to fit into her leotards). She has a sweet tooth and many Hungarian desserts include at least one of three three things she really, really loves – poppy seed, marzipan and túró - making her a very happy girl. She wandered the markets in search of sweets containing these ingredients, discovering other tasty treats like kürtőskalács along the way, and keeping warm with mugs of mulled wine.

And, when she needed a rest from waddling around the markets, it was off to the lovely Gerbeaud for coffee and exquisite cakes. But a girl cannot live on desert alone (as tempting as it is), and Katja also enjoyed dinner at restaurants including Central Café and Mátyás Pince. She sampled local cuisine,

and lots of local wine (she was happy to discover many good reds) and pálinka (apricot is her favorite).

Although it was tempting to do nothing but eat and enjoy the Christmas market merriment, Katja always like to get in a bit of culture when she travels. In fact a trip is never complete without a visit to the local opera house, and in Budapest she took in a performance of Il Trovatore at the Hungarian State Opera. She also made her way to the Museum of Fine Arts and the House of Hungarian Art Nouveau, which she rather enjoyed for its cabinet of curiosities meets grandmother’s house kind of aesthetic.

As usual the trip went by much too quickly, but she returned to New York with lots of good memories, a suitcase filled with treats, and these words of wisdom:

Perhaps that’s why Katja often forgets to eat breakfast.

Puff

Puff thinks that Thanksgiving is the perfect time for a foreign getaway. As a vegetarian he’s not really a fan of the big turkey meal, and he certainly has no desire to partake in a day of football watching (he’s heard rumors that that is what many people do post meal). His Thanksgiving destination of choice is Germany, as the holiday often falls right before the first Sunday of Advent, meaning that he is able to visit the country’s fabulous Christmas markets. This year he chose to go to Nuremberg, home to what is perhaps Germany’s most famous one.


Puff’s base was the Le Méridien Grand Hotel Nuremberg, and from there he set out on his daily adventures, a mix of culture, shopping and food. He loves to go to the opera whenever he travels, so one evening he made his way to the State Theatre for a performance of Nabucco. It was not the best performance he’s ever seen, but certainly an enjoyable way to spend his evening. Puff is also always up for some contemporary art, so he took in the Neues Museum, where he enjoyed Jeppe Hein’s 1xMuseum, 10xRooms, 11xWorks (he’s a fan of the interactive).


Of course much of his time was spent perusing the Christmas markets, enjoying treats and keeping warm with mugs of Glühwein and Eierpunsch. When not wandering the markets he could be found shopping (exploring the floors of Kaufhof and Karstadt) and eating poppy seed delicacies at various cafes (there's no such thing as too much Mohn Streuselkuchen). He also enjoyed long leisurely dinners at Böhm’s Herrenkeller and Heilig-Geist-Spital, two seasonally festive restaurants where he happily drank the rather large pours of wine (he loves a good Müller Thurgau) and ate sizeable portions of cheese Spätzle. He admits the latter is not too healthy, however he did not have too many vegetarian choices, and who is he to complain about having a good excuse to indulge (and the hotel did have a gym that he made good use of).


Puff also set out on a few daytime adventures, hopping on the punctual except when it snows Deutsche Bahn to explore nearby towns. His first trip took him to Bamberg.


He thought the medieval town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was beautiful. He wandered up and down its many hills, taking in the architecture and checking out the cathedral, before hitting the small Christmas market for some well deserved treats.


His second outing took him to Rothenburg ob der Tauber . He loves the walled, albeit rather tourist filled, city, and made certain to hit the Medieval Crime Museum (complete with iron maiden). After learning about numerous not so pleasant methods of torture he opted for some more wholesome fun, and headed to the town’s Christmas market. And of course no trip to Rothenburg would be complete without stopping by the Christmas emporium Käthe Wohlfarht (where of course he picked up a thing or two).


Puff was very sad when his trip was over, and he certainly did not appreciate the twenty hour plus journey home (nothing like some snow to get in the way of a smooth journey). The trip did, however, leave him full of Christmas cheer. Now if he could just motivate to decorate his house…