An Austrian Ausflug

It's been over a month since my last post here, and I can't express at all how full the days gone by have been with new experiences, emotions, events, and people. My exchange here has been offering my so much, I'm stuffed to the brim and overflowing with gratefulness. 

Events have come to pass in such a way that I have turned a page and am currently living with another host family. I'm writing a post detailing the move and change of scenery, but want to say in advance that although I miss my old host family and friends dearly, I'm still in good contact and have a great relationship with all of them!:)

Austriaa!

However, this post is here for a different purpose.

In the first week of the two-week Osternferien [literally translating to Easter Vacation, also meaning Spring Break] my host family and I headed down south to the town of Reit im Winkl in Bavaria! Tons of pictures of Bavaria are yet to come, but I'm narrowing this post down further yet. 

Having been right on the border, we ended up crossing into Austrian territory quite often, and then took an entire day as well for a field trip down to Salzburg!

The Salt Fortress

The city is gorgeous. I don't think I'll ever get tired of European architecture, whether it's church towers, or Bavarian houses, or fortresses or intricate sculpture detail on buildings. The love put into the town design gives it both breath and pulse, always leaving more to discover--- traits that Salzburg's well preserved baroque architecture exemplified.
The Salz Burg itself towers over the city, and many buildings are built into the mountain, all fanning out towards the Salzach river. Over that river stretches a 'love-bridge' adorned with locks, like those of that built over the Rhein.

Most found:)

 We started off our day by indulging a hobby of my host family-- Geocaching. This outdoors hobby involves plugging coordinates into a GPS and using that to find a hidden container [Basically, real life I-Spy]. That day, I finally caved and joined in, logging my first cache ever here in Salzburg.

We then involved ourselves with a bit of the city's culture: namely, Mozart. The 18th century composer was both born and resided in the city, in the Geburtshaus and Wohnhaus, translating simply to House of Birth and House of Residence.
After walking through the two houses, we took a break in the Cafe Mozart, where I indulged in one of the classiest tea setups I've come across to date [and trust me, Germany has gotten me absolutely hooked on tea]. While there, we then had to try the traditional Salzburger Knockerl. [Salzburger whaaa?]

“Süß wie die Liebe und zart wie ein Kuss”-Fred Raymond

A sweet soufflé served as a dessert, the Knockerl is a Salzburger specialty. It's basically a mountain of whipped egg whites and sugar and magical powder, plopped into and shaped over a jam base. It's the heaped with powdered sugar and served right out of the oven. Can't say I've ever tasted anything with that particular consistency before- something like a liquid meringue- or with that particular taste- something like the egg portion of tamago nigiri sushi- but it was actually, surprisingly quite good.

Yummmm:)

We rounded off our daily dose of Mozart with a trip to Reber, a famous Mozart-Kugeln company. The candy, made in the 1800s and named after the musician, consists of a pistachio-marzipan center surrounded by chocolate nougat, then another layer of marzipan, and then chocolate once more.
There are a few companies that produce these industrially, with each [of course] claiming to sell the real Mozart bon-bons.
I don't care personally, as long as I get my sugar fix:)

Wien, nicht wein!

Next on our list was stopping by Hotel Sacher, where we crossed another Austrian treat off of our checklist. The Sacher Torte, a certain kind of chocolate sponge cake with apricot jam in the middle, was created by Franz Sacher and is now considered a Viennese specialty. I'm not all for mixing any kind of fruit jam and chocolate, so the unique taste didn't do much for me, but it's quite savoury and delicious for those who like that combination. I found the packaging to be almost more impressive than the cake though, as it was made it more than clear that the torte was, in fact, direct from Hotel Sacher itself. 
[Ach, when will the hype over designer brands die out?]

Not Brezeln-- Brezen!

 Less glamorous but equally delicious were of course the pretzels everywhere. Normal pretzels, giant pretzels, and pretzels bigger than my entire torso were up for grabs in both bakeries and stalls linings the streets of the downtown.
[There was also a pretzel van, and I don't care what anyone says about strangers- I'd hop on in, no questions asked(: ]

Ah, Europe <3

What surprised me, but shouldn't have, was that although Austria is a German-speaking country, Salzburg is quite the international city.  I got a french tour through Wolfgang's Geburtshaus, talked with an Australian college student visiting family in Austria, ran into a photojournalist from Hong Kong doing a tour of Europe for his magazine back home, and heard more languages spoken that day than in the past few months put together. I do miss city life, as opposed to that of a small village, and Salzburg gave me a taste of that once more.

 

However, over the course of the week, our time in Austria wasn't limited to that day. We ended up crossing the border on more hikes than not, navigating the beautiful alpine region. One specific hike led us to this unbelievably gorgeous landscape, one that will stay with me for a long time to come.

The trail took us along the Großache river (79 km), which originates in the  Kitzbühel Alps in Austria, then flows through the Chiemgau Alps in Bavaria.  The river pierces the Alps at a narrow gorge, the Entenloch (Duck Hole), which is where we spent the afternoon.

A suspension bridge built there was once the start of a smuggler’s path that led from the church at the Entenloch to Schleching, Bavaria, thus traversing the border of the two countries. As we stood there, the mountains criss-crossing in front of us, I had no words. The water was that turquoise and clear, the air was that fresh, the walls of the gorge that steep and chiseled, everything still peppered with patches of snow.

There was a church located at the Entenloch as well, the Wallfahrtskirche Maria Klobenstein (Pilgrimage Church of Maria Klobenstein). It consists of two connected chapels, as well as a third smaller one from which holy water from a well dug in 1858 still flows to date. The Klobenstein (Kloben Rock), a cleaved boulder that one can walk through, is there as well. It’s said to possess special abilities, such as enhancing the fertility of girls who walk through, and making unfaithful husbands grow horns- a cute bit of history to go with the scenery.

[I did walk through the boulder.... but I'm not keen on the whole enhanced fertility thing.Being the next Kate Plus Eight? Not on my bucket list...] 

What I also found charming on our hikes were the little Austrian flag trail markers painted on trees as soon as you crossed the border.

Austrian pride!

In all, the little forays into Austrian territory that I experienced were full of little culture surprises and eye-opening views. As I work on a similar post about Bavaria and the culture shock I experienced there, I'll let the pictures here speak for themselves, and round this off with one last shot of Austria.
Drumroll, please.
...

Austrian Ampelmänner!:)

A little tubby, a little deformed, not as cute as their Berlin counterparts [and my obsession], but not without their own charm.

Goodbye then Austria, I hope we meet again:)

Weimar: an Ami Adventure

Although the halfway point of our exchange lay somewhere in January, it's official now with our return from our half-year-seminar in the culture-rich city of Weimar in the state of Thuringia.
Our group was the ~50 students from the West Coast represented by the exchange program ASSE- one of five organizations through which the 250 CBYX scholarship recipients are sent over- meaning this group has been together from the start.
We first met in D.C. back in late July for orientation, flew over to Germany together, spent all of August together in one of three language camps [Cologne, Hamburg, Aachen] and have really just been there for one another through all of our problems, stress, experiences, and accomplishments as exchange students.
We're a family of Amis, and there was nothing sweeter than seeing these wonderful people again in Weimar.

And so it begins..

Coming from all over Germany, we traveled to the Weimar Hauptbahnhof, from where we walked to the EJBW youth hostel rather than taking the bus. Roughing it up that extra kilometer of cobblestone was worth it [almost] for the moment we arrived at the building-- I've never experienced such a hug fest, with every person there genuinely happy to see the others again.

Seminars, food, friends. Repeat.

After everyone arrived, got situated in our five-star accommodations [aha, hostel life], and were supplied with coffee and cake to cancel out the workout we got lugging our suitcases to the hotel, we got introduced to our coordinators for the trip, and the seminar kicked off.
Fifty Amis in one city with one week to party it up-- and party it up we did.
As exchange students, we try our best to integrate into German culture on a day-to-day basis. However, with such a big group, we finally got the chance to play tourist and exploit our inner stars and stripes with absolutely no shame.
Ah, Americans.
<3

 

 We kicked off the seminar by splitting off into two groups for a scavenger hunt to orient ourselves in the city [Which totally worked, because none of us got lost later. Not even once.] We were assigned different landmarks to find and learn about, such as the Goethe and Schiller memorial, the Musenhof, and other castles and churches in the area. After sharing our results, consequently learning more about Weimar's rich history and culture, we had the evening free to go exploring.

'MERICA!

Let's just say that, intent on making the most of the time we had together, that night was the first of many sleepless ones... 
-----

Our first official day started with the first planned trip; the Buchenwald Concentration Camp situated just 8 km outside of the city. 
The camp, constructed in 1937, was built to provide slave labor for local industry. It was built with the phrase "Jedem das Seine" on the entrance gate, which literally translates to "to each his own", but figuratively takes on the more morbid meaning of "everyone gets what he deserves.”

Beech Forest Concentration Camp

 Although most of the camp was dismantled, a few buildings remain, or were reconstructed, alongside numerous memorials for the dead prisoners. The remaining buildings included the main gate as well as the crematorium, where dead bodies were once taken care of. Although Buchenwald wasn't an extermination camp, the death toll is estimated at above 56,000. The camp was liberated as the city surrendered to the US 80th Infantry Division on April 12, 1945. (Buchenwald Wiki)

Crematorium.

The seminar for the day consisted of a follow-up video concerning the camp, discussing the history behind it and the role it played. It was the most serious portion of our time in Weimar, but I think we all learned something from it, and came out of those gates a little more humble, a little more grateful, and a little more sympathetic to the victims of such past events.
-----
The second planned day took us to the houses of the renowned German authors, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller! Both were a part of Europe's cultural and literary movement, leading the Weimar Classicism from 1788–1805.

Goethe's house!

 Goethe's place was pretty darn posh,with 36 rooms and what I decided is now my dream car tucked away in his garage. Basically, the 50-something of us are going to move in here and live together forever in Weimar.
[We wish.]
Schiller's place wouldn't have impressed the German gals as much as his buddy Goethe's, but it proved to be interesting in that we could compare the lifestyles of the two authors, both of whom were friends. They kind of fill the role of a German Shakespeare, as you'll find their works often set into the curriculum of various grades...
... and  with the same enthusiasm from students when assigned to read them.
[Iphigenie auf Tauris? Kabale und Liebe? Neiiin!]  

Not as posh; Schiller's zuhause.

-----
Dead on our feet from lack of sleep [and various late-night activities], we faced the last day there with as much energy and enthusiasm as our first.
Ha.
The theme of the day was Bauhaus; literally "house of construction", with the name standing for "School of Building". We started off by taking a walk through some Weimar neighborhoods showcasing classic and traditional German house design, which then transitioned to more modern architecture that took on the "form follows function" train of thought, which the Bauhaus both taught and publicized.
Our walk led us to the Bauhaus Museum itself, and experienced firsthand the development of the school, which was founded with "the idea of creating a "total" work of art in which all arts, including architecture, would eventually be brought together"(Bauhaus Wiki).

More culture for the soul.

Outside of the official trips and seminar sections of our trip, we spent almost all of our free time infecting the town with our raw American-ness. However, we noticed right off the bat that we were tainted; although being able to speak exclusive English again was a novelty, it was more often than not that we found ourselves speaking a mix.
"Boaaah eh, alter!", "Bei mir/uns," "Ach soooo," "Na, du?", and other lovely, expressive, untranslatable German phrases peppered our conversations.
Basically, we were a group of fifty speaking perfect Denglisch.
[You can't get cooler than that.]

So ne schoene Stadt:)

 Also in Weimar, and a pleasant flashback from my trip to Berlin back in October, was this Ampelmann shop tucked into one of Weimar's cobblestone paths. An Ampelmann shop! "Weimar was part of the German Democratic Republic (DDR, East Germany) from 1949 to 1990," hence the shop and remaining Ampelmanner on the traffic lights at pedestrian crossings in the city.

Did I stock up once again on memorabilia from these adorable figures?

Oh, you bet.

AMPELMÄNNCHEN!

 Overall though, despite being skeptical at first, Weimar turned out to be such a good experience. With this group, an already gorgeous city was transformed into something much more through the memories we made there. They say home is where the heart is, and I have to say my heart is with these people:) 

West coast CBYX 2012-13!!

Less than four months left in this beautiful country-- here's to making the most of them [I don't want to go hooomme ): ], and I can't wait to see everyone again at the Berlin seminar in June!

To Düsseldorf and Back Again

I am fully aware that the current season is, in fact, winter.

So painfully aware of it that I don't believe I'm going to completely thaw out unless I spend a summer in Death Valley over in California.

We've received at least a good foot of snow, and whereas I'm in a constant state of freezing-my-ass-off and wanting to be home with a cup of black tea and five blankets, my fellow Germans are sturdily plowing through and going on with day-to-day life. 

Whining, I told them about how our school back in Washington was let out for an entire week, after not even receiving half as much snow as there is here now.

They lauuughed.

[Oh Seattle, I want my rain back ):]

Nonetheless, I manned up and braved the weather, jumping on a train Saturday to see where it would take me.

Destination? Düsseldorf!

Then and now.

The last time I went there was a sunny afternoon way back in August, and only long enough to grab Nutella crêpes near the main train station with a couple other exchange students.
This time around, I actually got to check out the city-- and it did not disappoint.

So schön ist diese Stadt.

Allées überall.

Farmers' market- a Pike Place mini-me!

Ridiculously European

Quaint nooks and crannies

Basically, the city is gorgeous. Little nooks and alleyways diverging from streets lined with the most ridiculously gorgeous European storefronts make up Düsseldorf's extensive shopping district. Branching out from the city's center are tree-lined walkways and pedestrian zones leading to the Rhein river, all covered in powdered-sugar snow. 

But what really made my day was, just as I started to get hungry, turning a corner and finding a Lebanese restaurant sign right above my head.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

And so ended my almost six-month dry spell from my favorite food on the planet [other than Taco Bell. Of course.] Pita! Baklava! Rose-water tinged pastry dough! Ah! Simply a pleasant surprise that made my day:)
----------------
However, it was on the way back that things got interesting.
Being the responsible exchange student that I am, I opted for a different route back to the train station when I found myself alone on a street with a man so drunk he could barely walk in a curved line, let alone a straight one. Ducking into an adjacent road, what should have been a simple detour turned into an I-have-no-clue-where-in-Germany-I-am situation.
And since I was already lost, I decided, why not try to find that crêpe shop from way back when?
The one I visited only once, five months ago?

Reza's crêpe shop!

To make a long story short: I found it.
To make a short story interesting: The owner recognized me.
To make an interesting story interesting-er: As I was there, none other than a guy from our troupe back in August showed up. With his family being near the city, it turns out he's been frequenting the crepe shop ever since, having befriended Reza, the owner. Crêpes and tea and good conversations; I had definitely not foreseen this chance encounter.

And then when I'd just called it a day and was getting on the train, I was asked for help in broken English [and nonexistent German] from the sweetest Japanese lady ever. Foreigners have to stick together, so I steered the Gelsenkirchen-bound lady towards the right train [coincidentally, mine], and Naoko and I spent the ride exchanging stories in elementary English, and the fragments of Japanese from remnants of memories of studying that language back in sophomore year(:  
 ---------
After such a day, I didn't expect to find myself back in the city so soon, but there I was- with half the students in my grade- on an art field trip to an exhibit featuring the renowned photographer Andreas Gursky today.

Gursky

The exhibit was extremely tastefully put together, with his most famous works being highlighted, as well as new pieces, and although photography exhibits don't generally appeal to me, I found this one to be interesting and quite out of the ordinary.

The Düsseldorf T.V. tower

A double dose of Düsseldorf in one week, and this city has also managed to stake a claim to my heart. The list grows as Germany grows on me, and I can't wait to see what city holds adventures for me next:)

Halfway Point: Silvester Auf Borkum

Halfway into January, it's high time for a celebratory new year's post, so:

Frohes Neues Jahr, to all you Germans, Americans, and everyone in between!

The halfway-point of my exchange year fell somewhere in this last week, and in reflecting on the last five months- as well as looking ahead to the next five- all I can say is:

Eeeeeeeh?

[There's no way this thing is already half over.]

It's as if upon first arriving back in August I blinked, and then BAM- here I am smack dab in the middle of January. Wie ein Augenblick. Everything has been happening so quickly, and I know next half is going to go by faster yet.

The end of 2012 [which we did, in fact, survive] and the corresponding New Year's celebrations served as a transition into the second half of this exchange, and found my host family and I on the gorgeous island of Borkum.

First glimpse of my first island(:

The last of the islands belonging to Germany in the Frisian chain in the North Sea, our route included driving through the Netherlands to get to the ferry's port. A two-hour drive and hour-long ferry ride later, we arrived! First impressions? I was quite swept away-- literally. So, so windy...
[Over the course of the week I experimented with every hair style possible. Braids, ponytails, buns, each reinforced with at least half a pack of bobby pins, and none of which were able to withstand that wind. No matter what I tried, I ended up coming home looking like a sad poodle..]

Moin moin~

 We headed to our Ferienwohnung- vacation apartment- an adorable little place where we were greeted with a warm "Moin!", a traditional Frisian and Low German greeting.

[Sounds like a seal...]

Unpacking and settling in confused the heck out of the dog though, poor thing):

All things strange and confusing.

The next day, we went to the beach. The beach! A beach with soft, velvety sand (!!), and waves that crawled up the shore and left mounds of foam and seaweed strands. A beach dotted with seashells- colorful shells and rugged oysters.

A beach with wind.

Lots of wind. 

[But nonetheless a real beach, not like the gravelly attempts at them in the Puget sound. You hear that, Seattle?]

I'd never seen anything like it before(:

It was such a treat, going for walks on the beach every day. Drawing in the sand, gathering seashells, underestimating how high the tide was and having wet socks for the rest of the day [okay, that happened once]. With kids and their kites above, and dogs playing below. With the wind swallowing our words and playing with our hair. With the ocean between us and the rest of the world.

A treat for the dogs, too~

And then it was Silvester-New Year's. The name is actually derived from the Pope Sylvester I; according to Wikipedia, 

"The liturgical feast of Saint Sylvester is on 31 December, the day of [the Pope's] burial [...] Accordingly, in German-speaking countries and in some others close to them, New Year's Eve is known as Silvester. In other countries too, the day is usually referred to as Saint Sylvester's Day or the Feast of Saint Sylvester."

Horizontal fireworks: exploring the Waagerecht frontier

We were on Borkum with four other German families, friends who were all spending Silvester on the island. Together, we sat down to dinner and board games; eight adults, eight little kids, and one American exchange student saying goodbye to 2012. 

[3... 2... 1... Prost, auf's Neue Jahr!]

The following fireworks, however, weren't altogether successful. In addition to creating problems with simply lighting them, the wind was so strong that our fountains went more horizontally than anything else, and our rockets dipped down, veering a little too close to the trees [read: into them(:].

The troupe.

We took on a Geocache the next day that we didn't necessarily have much success with... [false coordinates, missing checkpoints, wrong directions (even with googling the way!) and general chaos.]

It nonetheless had us traipsing all across the island, taking us through cobblestone streets lined with low brick buildings, past a fence made of weathered whale bones, and the courtyards of the island's school and spired church.

Can't get more hipster than a whale-bone fence.

 We took a detour halfway through to witness quite the Borkumer tradition; a dip in the North Sea on the first day of the New Year.

Nordsee schwimmen

To put that it perspective, it was as windy as ever and barely at freezing point...

old [left] & new [right]

The coordinates afterwards took us to the old and new lighthouses, and then we picked up the following day with  new directions that lead us through the dunes; gorgeous wind-kissed grassy stretches from which you can see almost the entire island.

Die Dunen

Unsuccessful, but good fun(:

After seeing so much of the island, and getting bits and pieces of the culture and history behind it, my host-dad took me to the Heimatmuseum der Nordseeinsel Borkum, the island's museum. It wasn't the Smithsonian by any means, but I found it to be really interesting. Despite being small, the exhibits were tastefully put together, with thorough collections and a lovely vibe of exploring an attic.

Whale hunting and seafaring in the North Sea.

The museum concentrated on the sea-orientated culture and way of life on the island [and therefore the Frisian islands in general], first leading us through a display of what various rooms in a traditional Borkum house would have looked like, and the development of whale-hunting and seafaring in supporting daily life there. It then went on to document the development of the island through trade and tourism- relevant, since the island is made up of almost five times as many vacationers as permanent residents.

The last section widened its focus from the island itself to a broader look at the sea, with displays of marine life-- collections of underwater creatures, birds(!!!) [To those who know me and my bird fixation- the room was simply awesome.], seashells of all sorts, and shelves of sand collected from beaches around the world.

And guess what I found there?

Of all things...

Washington state sand! 

[Sandwiched right in between sand from Lake Michigan (MI), Miami Beach (FL), and the Gulf of Mexico (TX).]

I was not expecting that. A little piece of home, tucked away on a museum shelf on an island in Germany-- and from a state not particularly known for it's beaches, too.

Ah, Washington:)

The gang

And so we left footprints in the sand of last year behind us,  and, with the wind pushing us along, we stepped into 2013. At the risk of using a cliché, my life has been changed in every way possible since coming here, and I'm so excited to see what is yet to come in the coming months. 

 What surprises has 2013 hidden in the days ahead?

Holiday Recap

With internet access yet again after a week on the lovely [but wifi-lacking] German island of Borkum, I'm back in the arms of civilization- as defined by the facebook-users of the world. 

Seeing as the force of the holidays hit me square on and left me quite breathless for a few weeks, I'm only just getting around to this promised [but incredibly belated] post.

However, before any of that, I'd like to immediately throw out there that the absolute best two-and-a-half hours of my holidays were accessed through this gem right here.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH <3

 The Hobbit. In German.

Although words can't describe how disappointed I am at the content of the film, it was eye candy beyond my wildest imagination. 

This movie deserves its own  post.

[Aaand the list of promised posts continues to grow): ]

However! The holidays!

enfants obèses :)

They had quite a sweet start, as my lovely French class [and consequently, last class of 2012] royally pigged out. With a group effort, we managed to pool together two plum pies, a stack of muffins, a chocolate cake, and more than enough whipped cream--- just for the sake of jumpstarting the holiday chub production.

[Did I mention the class has a total of fourteen students?]

 

Then I blinked and it was Christmas. A lovely family dinner of Raclette and a nontraditional present-opening method [by rolling dice, only opening presents when receiving certain numbers] played out on the 24th, and a bigger present exchange as well as a sizable traditional German lunch took place on the 25th with the extended family--- two days, both of which were full of plenty of surprises. Despite not celebrating this holiday, I'm so, so grateful to have spent it with this amazing host family. These people, who five months ago were complete strangers, have come to mean so much to me [heck, even the dog has squeezed herself into occupying a significant portion of my heart].

Even the train stations get all done up(:

The time between the end of school and Christmas, however, passed way too quickly-- too much good holiday food, too little time!

As previously mentioned, around this time, Christmas markets- Weinachtsmärkte- are to be found all over Germany. There was a small one that opened up in my own town, Recklinghausen, that I was able to frequent, and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to also frequent one of the biggest in the area, in the nearby town of Essen.

France theme for a German market?

A canopy of lights:)

 With decorations strung up everywhere and light displays hung up above, the trees all made up and the store fronts festively set up, the streets of the city centers entirely transform. Long rows of little stands that pop up, with everything from food, to toys and little trinkets, to high quality jewelery and craftsman items, to more food, to beer stands, to workshops for kids and little rides for them, to more food, and then food once again. 

Falala, lalala, la la laaaaa

 The stands repeat themselves from market to market-- you'll always find one for lovely little candles and candle holders, one for ornaments of sorts, one for little replicas of traditional german houses, one for toys, and so forth.

Stands galore.

 And then there's the food. The markets play host to traditional German goodies- although, not all of which I got to sample, being vegetarian. Of sweets and meat-less items, however, here is what I was able to devour experience:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

•  Reibekuchen: Okay, not specifically a holiday food, but very typical german. An almost-hashbrown, it's a potato fritter typical to the Rheinland area, commonly eaten with apple sauce.

• Lebkuchen: German gingerbread, this stuff is amazing. Soft and chewy and normally dipped in chocolate, this is nothing like our gingerbread men.
  
• Dampfnudeln: This is actually more like Asian steamed buns than anything else, so I had trouble believing it was really German at first. A sweet steamed dough, usually with a filling, topped with vanilla sauce and poppy seeds. Mmmmm.
  
  
• Crepes: Again, not really a holiday food, but c'mon. Crepes. These things are heaven in your mouth.
  
  
• Quarkbälle: Moist, doughy quark-based dough balls, this is more or less the German version of Doughnut holes. Without the doughnut.
  
  
• Gebrannte Mandeln: Literally "burnt almonds". This is so delicious, Rittersport even has a holiday candy bar centered around this treat- it's pretty much almonds [or any nut, really] baked and coated with a sugary topping/mix.
  
  
• Stutenkerle: The last paragraph of this post >:(
•  Spritzgebäck: A buttery, shortbread-esque cookie, and a staple of German households at this time of year.
  
  
• Baumkuchen: A sort of layered cake traditionally made by brushing layers of batter onto a spit, creating the tree-trunk-like shape. This has also become a popular treat in Japan...?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that's not even the half of it! 

I declare all of this, however, as consumed in the name of research and an attempt to further my knowledge and familiarity with German culture....

.....Pfhah, who am I kidding.

Three cheers for holiday fat in the form of deliciously irresistible German calorie bombs!

[Yayyyyyyy!]