Update

Short update:

It is currently 11:20pm.  I work at midnight tonight.  Then, I come home tomorrow, Thursday the 30th, sleep, and work yet again at 6:30 pm through the night.

Fathom that.

Oh New Years...

How was your Christmas?

How was your Christmas???

Despite not being able to come home for Christmas I had a wonderful Christmas in Wolfsburg.  After my super early 2am shift on Christmas eve, and after my bike lock key snapping inside the lock, and after walking home in the snow... we took the ever so icy Autobond for 3 1/2 hours to Wolfsburg.  It was just about pure ice the whole way.

Back to my key breaking inside my lock...
Yes, that happened.  On Christmas Eve, and at 7 in the morning after work.  It could not have come at a worse time.  I am happy to say now, that the problem is fixed and I have a new lock.  But, I am unhappy, still, to say that using bolt cutters to cut my lock was like slicing butter.  How does my bike not get stolen everyday?  Why wouldn't they make stronger locks?  I mean seriously, it was like cutting butter with a knife.. no I take that back... it was like cutting butter with a laser.  That easy.  No effort whatsoever.

Now, back to Christmas.  Since I wasn't going to be at home, I wanted to bring a little home to the Christmas table.  My mother always makes these delicious eggs and bacon..

So of course they were a must... as was the Williamsburg Casserole...

This casserole is to die for!  

Here in Germany, Christmas is mostly celebrated on the 24th.  Which means that gift opening/ exchanging takes place on the 24th.  Which, as you can probably guess, I was totally okay with.  Then, the 25th is the first Christmas day, and the 26th is the second Christmas Day.  Don't ask me why.  I really have no idea, and mostly the explanations that I get, is that all 3 days are holidays and you eat and drink the whole day.  Is there really a better explanation than that? I don't think so.

Last, but certainly not least.  What would be Christmas in Germany without a Feuerzangenbowle...?  Not sure what this is? Check out this post.

Merry Christmas!

I would just like to wish every a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! That's right people, I said it... Those forbidden words in America.  "Merry Christmas."  Deal.

I apologize ahead of time for the lack of posting for a bit.  Let's face it, it's Christmas time and it's crazy time for everyone.  The bakery is getting super busy, and next week is New Years which means somewhere around 60,000 Beliners will be made.  What?! 60,000?! Yea, I know.  Beliners are a New Years tradition here and everyone wants to buy them! I don't blame them, because they are so delicious.  In case you forgot, Beliners are doughnuts... without the holes.  We fill them with jelly, pudding, maracuja (passion fruit), Bailey's Cream, Egg liquor (Eggnog??), and more!

I'll let you know how it all goes!

Until then...

I leave you with this...

Merry Christmas!

Lebkuchen

Lebkuchen is Gingerbread.  In Germany, as well as back home in America, gingerbread is a little bit of a tradition around Christmas time.  There are Gingerbreadmen (Lebkuchenmann), Gingerbread Houses (Hexenhausen), and just plain gingerbread cookies.

Although I do have to say we cheat a little in America with the gingerbread houses.  We don't use gingerbread at all.  I'm sure some people make actual gingerbread, but if you were to ask 10 people how they would make a gingerbread house, about 9 1/2 would say to go to the store and pick up graham crackers. I certainly don't blame them because gingerbread can be a bit tricky to make, and I am of course guilty of making my gingerbread houses out of graham crackers... it saves time and money.

Last night, however, real gingerbread was made.  Not just any gingerbread, but Mickeys!  Along with some other men, trees, stars, etc...

It's Snowing Cats and Dogs

It has been snowing cats and dogs all day long.  I mean hard snow, as is it's coming down fast.  There's been so much snow the past few weeks, I still just can't get over it.  Some of you may be wondering if I still have to ride my bike in the snow.  The answer is of course YES!  I can't just fly because the weather chooses to be crazy (even though I seriously wish I could).

Today I got home from riding back from the train station and...
1. My eyelashes were frozen together
2. I had a mound of snow piled on top of my head
3. Both my arms were covered in snow
4. I couldn't feel my nose anymore
5. and I think that I never actually did any "riding." It was more of a sliding technique through the street.

Riding through the snow can be fun at times, but it does not, however, BUILD CHARACTER.  Don't let anyone convince you of that.  It's not true.

Charlie Brown

So I've been getting a few comments on my Christmas tree slightly resembling Charlie Brown's.  I can say that there is some commonalities between the two trees, but let's face it people... when a tree costs 12 Euros, it's bound to have some bare parts.  I love my tree and I also love Charlie Brown's tree...

Christmas Tree Decoration

It's finally Christmas in my apartment!!

Yesterday we got a wonderful, yet small, Christmas tree!  Yes, it's real... I would not have it any other way... the smell in here is just tooooo good.  After stopping at a few different places, we finally found one that was promising... A.K.A. it was in price range...

Here he is! (I keep referring to the tree as a he, but really, I have no idea)

The installation process begins...

This is just with the light, don't worry I would never leave my tree so bare!  An interesting thought though, I'm curious as to whether LED Christmas lights have reached the U.S. like it has here in Germany.  Apparently, they use exponentially less energy and last way longer than regular lights.  And well, if those two factors are printed as a guarantee, people here will jump all over that.  So, we bought LED lights!

And so, the finished product.  It's hard to get the feel of it, but I like it!

To celebrate the purchasing and decorating of the Christmas tree, we decided to celebration another Christmas tradition-like thing.  It's called Feuerzangenbowle...

I think it would be easier to show you the process instead of explaining it.

First you start out with the wine-like/ Gluwein-like substance in the pot.

Then, the Zucker Hut (Sugar Hat) goes on top like this.

Then, the Zucker Hut gets doused in Rum...

Then it gets lit on fire! 

And then it burns and melts the sugar, which then drips into the wine and makes it delicious!

Traditionally, it looks like this...

Photo Credit

But, we don't have one of those fancy contraptions.  Instead, we did some serious improvisation that worked great!

"No it doesn't really snow in Bremerhaven..."

Whoever said it didn't know a lot in Bremerhaven, had no clue what they were talking about.  In the past few weeks I pretty sure I've seen it snow just about every day.  Let's just say that riding your bike in the snow may seem like it could be fun... it's not.  It's a little bit terrifying.  I keep thinking my wheel will just slip out from under me and I'll break an arm.  Despite the bike rides, it is gorgeous snow.  For those who don't know, there is pretty snow and gross snow.  The pretty snow is the kind that still looks great after a few hours and even days later.  The ugly, gross kind of snow is the kind that gets sloshy and turns gray, and makes you not want to step one toe nail outside.

I prefer the pretty kind.

School has been pretty great this week.  In the bakery we are making all the food/ pastries for the teachers Christmas party next week.  Smart teachers.  They get to have a fantastic free party while we get to learn how to make the traditional Christmas pastries.  This past week we worked with marzipan (so delicious) and other doughs that include a short bead dough (Murbeteig again) and what they call here in Germany Mohn, which is poppy seeds.  It seems weird to think of poppy seeds being able to go in a sweet product, but it happens pretty frequently here.
Let's see some examples:

Photo Credit

Photo Credit

By the way, I have to let it be known that I had my first real train "run" today.  By this I mean I had to make a mad dash through the train station in Bremen to catch my train ontime.  I've seen plenty of people do this, but never have experienced it myself.  Today was the day, I knew it was coming.  The light rail was running behind because of snow, people, and it's Friday, and once I got off the light rail, I only had 2 minutes to catch my train.  I'll be damned if I have to wait an extra hour for the next train, so I booked it.  I had a complete Home Alone moment while running.  I even had the theme music playing in my head, "Run run Rudolf."  I thank Home Alone to making my train on time.

School again... so soon???

Yet another two weeks of school has started...

Sometimes I think that when I'm in school I can really see how little German I know.  Today, I was once again reminded of that.  It's the German class that really gets me frustrated.  The class is set up for people who have spoken German for 20 years of their lives.  Not someone struggling to speak the language on a day-to-day basis.  I was, however, reminded today that I can speak the language.  I am technically "fluent" because I can hold conversations with other people fairly well.  It's the difficult and specific words in school that have me all flustered.  I don't know those technical terms and they wouldn't be taught to a beginner German language learner.

On the upside... in our kitchen class today we made sweet potato soup, a delicious salad, and something along the lines of spring rolls? But I'm not entirely sure about that one.  It was all very delicious and those of you who know about my obsession with sweet potatoes know I was digging the recipe.  I was also a hit with my new chef coat! Everyone kept talking about my "muffin" buttons, but of course I had to correct them to "cupcakes."  Muffins are different... very different.

By the way... today is Nikolaus day!  Apparently in Germany today is the day that Santa comes and gives you presents.  The deal is, you leave your shoes out and Nikolaus (Santa) comes to give you presents in your shoes.  It's very interesting how different countries celebrate the same holidays so different.  A little secret though, I still like the idea that Santa comes on his sleigh with Rudolf.  It only makes more sense...

Another Weihnachtsmarkt

I was at yet another Weihnachtsmarkt last night.  This one was in Bremen.  The Konditorei from work decided to have an evening out drinking Glüwein and hanging out at the market.  I have to say I was on the fence about going because I'm new, I can't really speak to them, and I'm only an apprentice (as opposed to working there as a full time employee).  In the end, I'm really glad I went because we had a blast and it was great to get to know the people I work with.  Besides it really made no difference that we couldn't have a normal conversation because they had fun trying to speak English with me and I had fun trying desperately to put a German sentence together.

The Bremen market is absolutely gorgeous and is enormous.  It couldn't have been anymore Christmas-like.  The snow really put the icing on the cake with this one.  I still cannot get past the fact that they build the equivalence of a small town in just about every city for Christmas.  Then, they decorate it to a T.  Every little detail just makes these markets what they are... gorgeous.  They completely put you in the Christmas spirit.

Check it out!

This is Stadt Halle in the background.  A.K.A. City Hall.  The old architecture in Bremen is pretty unbelievable.

The New Disney Dream is in Bremerhaven!

The Disney Dream has been traveling through Germany getting it's finishing touches.  It's last stop is here in Bremerhaven before the official give-away ceremony that takes place soon!  We got to get a little sneak peak at the gorgeous ship before anyone else.

Book your cruise yet?? 

Probation Time O.V.E.R.

Well my friends, it's official.  I have finished my 4 months of probation time!  And I was hired on.  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, most jobs in Germany start out with a probation time.  This time is considered a trial run where you and the company can figure out if you're actually right for the job.  The company can fire you basically for any or no reason they want, and you can quit no harm no foul.  However, after this time, if the company chooses to keep you, it is extremely difficult to be fired.  Congratulations to me!  

Couldn't have been a better time for my new chef coat to come in the mail!  Thanks Mom!

In case you weren't sure, those are cupcake buttons.