Currywursts, Glühwein, and Hansel and Gretel

Currywursts, Glühwein, and Hansel and Gretel

We were so happy to be stepping off the plane onto German soil. Not only were we not in Belgium anymore we were now in the land of Kebabs and Bratwursts. We knew we could eat well here and for a good price.

On our first full day in Berlin we decided to go around and see some historic sights. Pretty much all of Berlin is a historic sight. Berlin is a city so rich with history and tragedy that it is a spectacular city to learn from. We ate a currywurst this day. It was my first currywust, but it was definitely not my last while staying in Berlin. This is a sausage with curry sauce. It is absolutely amazing!! And during our historical tour of the city we stopped to warm up with some Glühwein. This is hot mulled wine. So delicious! I am pretty much in love with Germany for their street food alone. That night we soaked up a little more of the German culture and went to a German Opera. Apparently Hansel and Gretel is a popular Christmas time story to be played out. It was amazing to watch a production of Hansel and Gretel in Germany.  

 I'm not actually sure what church this is, but I really loved it a lot. I thought it was gorgeous. 

Statue of Frederick the Great on his horse is a symbol of the once dominant Prussian military power. Frederick III ruled the kingdom from 1740 to 1786 as a strong military leader, trying to turn Berlin into “a new Rome”.

Bebelplatz is a small square of glass on the ground in the middle of the Bebelplatz, a square, providing a window into the library stacks below. It is intentional that all the shelves are empty. It shows the amount of Jewish and other non-approved books and authors that were lost in the massive book burnings in  Nazi Germmany in 1933.

Brangenburger Tor is the only remaining gate leading into Berlin and is one of the most famous symbols in Europe. In was built between 1788-1791. It originally marked the entrance to Unter den Linden, the large street lined with linden trees leading to the Prussian Palace. On top there are 4 horses pulling a chariot with the goddess of peace. Napoleon took this statue and placed it in the Louvre in Paris. When the Prussians finally got it back they renamed her the goddess of victory and it has remained since. The gate was closed on August 14, 1961, when the Berlin Wall was built just west of the gate. The Berlin wall fell on November 9, 1989, but it was not until December 22 that the gate was reopened, signifying the reunification of West and East Berlin.

Reichstag Building was the home to the German Reichstag, or Parliament. The building was constructed  in 1894, but was destroyed by a fire in 1933, supposedly caused by the Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe. From 1990-1999 it went under major renovations before looking as it does today. The glass dome on top or the “sunroof” gives a 360 degree view of the city. It also lets light into the parliament  chambers below, but there is an electronic device that tracks the sun and blocks direct sunlight to avoid spotlights. But the more symbolic interpretation of the glass dome is that is allows the German people see the workings of the government and to keep a watchful eye on the leaders to ensure that they do not abuse their power.

Hansel and Gretel the Opera!! It was seriously amazing! I loved it a lot and so did Eric. And it was such an awesome cultural experience most people wouldn't even think about doing. But it is actually really popular for families to go see Hansel and Gretel at Christmas time. It is kind of like the Nutcracker in the U.S. 

Bruges

Bruges

We decided to get away from Brussels for a day and take a tour in another famous city in Belgium. Well, this was a good idea in theory. Bruges is one of the most culturally rich cities in Belgium. In Belgium Bruges is the chocolate capital. All of this sounded like a lovely chance to get away and our last tour was such a success that we were ready for another adventure. Well, It just started badly. First of all we booked the tour online and it was pretty awesome because the bus actually picked us up at our hostel. Well, it said that the bus would pick us up at 12pm. At 11:40 the tour guide came to us in a rush yelling about how he couldn’t keep the bus parked out front and asking why we went ready. So once we were on the bus I promptly fell asleep because I had taken some medicine for allergies because the hostel used white sheets and obviously bleached the hell out of them and I am allergic to bleach. And on the way to Bruges (a 1.5 hour journey) the tour guide didn’t say anything about the surrounding area. Once we got into Bruges we walked, in silence, to a small bridge where he talked about the history a little bit before taking us to the restaurant that we would eat lunch at. The restaurant was the most expensive tourist trap restaurant in the whole town. After lunch we walked silently through the town into a square where the tour guide told us a little more history before having free time to walk around and explore on our own. After reconvening once again we walked to a chocolate shop to do some shopping. This shop did not have the greatest chocolate and the shop owner was rude and unwelcoming. Let’s just say we didn’t get any chocolate. After getting back to Brussels we go dropped off and the guide said “you will find your hostel that way.” He pointed vaguely and then the bus drove away. So, this tour wasn’t a huge success. And if I hadn’t had GPS I’m not sure that I would have made it back to my hostel that night. All that being said, I did however thing that Bruges was a lovely town. It was quaint and charming, but it was really only touristy. I’m still not sold on this whole Belgium thing…

Brussels

Brussels

We were very excited to land in Europe’s Capital. Brussels isn’t officially Europe’s capital, but it does hold EU business and meetings; this lead to Brussels being called Europe’s capital. Everyone that we knew that had ever gone to Brussels absolutely loved it, so we were excited to go. This is the one city that we didn’t actually know what to do there. Well, that might be because there really isn’t much to do there. Brussels the city is actually very nice and very standard of what you think of Europe. It was pretty safe feeling and the people were all pretty friendly. Since, as we were told, Belgium is having a “soft winter” there were still plenty of people out on the streets at night. The streets were lively with street performers who were actually very good. And the streets were decked out for the holidays. The beers were delicious and the chocolates were absolutely amazing. I don’t think I have had any better than I have had in Belgium (I have yet to go to Switzerland though). However there really is nothing to do in Brussels except eat. And that would be awesome if it would outrageously overpriced. Brussels is a fun city if you are passing through it. It has great chocolates, waffles, and beer. But stay too long and you will not want any of those things. 

Here is a Christmas market. They are fun, but so overpriced.

The following buildings are in a square called Grand Place. It is considered one of Europe's most beautiful squares. It was originally built in the 13th century, the square was destroyed during a bombardment by the French in 1694. It was rebuilt soon after in Gothic style. 

Maison du Roi which houses a city Museum

The building with the statue on top is a museum. It includes the Brussels' Beer Museum.

Buildings that were restaurants on the ground floor.

Town Hall Building

This building is the Baker's Guild house

So Manneken Pis is a tiny statue of a boy peeing... It was actually just the size of a toddler. I thought it was a little disappointing. But it is the most photographed landmark in all of Brussels. I however really liked this graffeti art of Manneken Peace better. Poor kid hasn't been able to pee in private in 100 years.

I'm not actually sure what this building is, but I thought it looked pretty awesome. 

So, the night life was probably the best part of Brussels. And this street was particularly my favorite. I liked this corner because it has desk lamps as street lamps which I think is pretty awesome. Also, good musicians also played every night a long this street.

Atomium is a structure built for the '58 World Fair in Brussels. With its 9, 18meter diameter spheres is constructed to look like a unit cell of an Aluminum crystal magnified 165 million times. The original was built out of Aluminum (the name is a combination of Aluminum and atom). In 2004 they replaced the aluminum with stainless steel because it was faded and falling apart. It stands 102 meters tall and you can go inside 6 of the spheres. 

This is the view while going up to the top sphere in the elevator. The elevator is in the central tube that connects the spheres. The other connections between the spheres hold escalators and stairs. 

This is what one of the escalators looks like. It looks like something straight out of Star Wars or something. 

Martyrs Square is a monument and crypt. This monument is in honor of those who died in the Belgian Revolution. This is actually where many of the fallen actually were buried. 

Whiskey, Music, and Dancing

Whiskey, Music, and Dancing

On our last full day in Dublin Eric and I toured the Old Jameson Distillery. This was a fun tour. I liked the tour of Guinness better, just because I felt it wasn’t just another tour, but I surprisingly liked the Jameson tour, you know being such a big fan of whiskey, NOT! I learned a lot about whiskey and what separates out different types of whiskeys and the difference between that and a scotch. I really love learning about alcohol. It makes me an even bigger alcohol snob. But that’s ok. And by the end of the tour with our drink I actually learned I like Jameson.

This is the 1st barrel ever used to age Jameson. Now it is a bench outside the distillery. 

Jameson was super festive with their Jameson Tree and (in this picture you can only see a little bit of it) the Jameson Chandelier. 

The stills used in the triple distilled whiskey. Scotches and most North American whiskeys are distilled only twice.

The aging process. They age the different types of whiskey in different types of barrels to bring out certain flavors. The darker liquids have been aging longer. 

Eric volunteered to taste Jameson against a scotch and another whiskey (jack daniels). Jameson won the taste test across the board.

A little Jameson holiday spirit!

I found my drink!! Jameson, ginger ale, and lime. Delicious!!

Just trying to enjoy my drink...

These are on crosswalks in busy areas for all the tourist. This definitely saved my life.

I just really liked this sign

That night we went to a traditional Irish music and dancing show. The band was great and all the members were all so fun and lively, only proving more to me that the Irish are awesome. And the dancing was amazing. The Irish prove the stereotype that white people can’t dance wrong. It was a super fun night full of music, dancing, and of course no night in Ireland is complete without a couple pints of Guinness.
(sorry about the color in all of these. That's just how the lighting was that night)

Great Band! Really fun. All had awesome personalities. 

I enjoyed the band even more after 2 of these...

This is a traditional Irish drum called the bodhrán the musician plays it with a beater that has a feather end.

The dancing was amazing and a little frightening because Eric and I were in the very front. When they kicked we could feel the air rushing passed our faced. But beside impending dome it was awesome.