Last Wednesday I took the train to Salzburg and met up with two of my best friends, Meredith and Keri. The three of us hadn't been together for almost an entire year, so the weekend was full of catching up on each other's lives, reminiscing about high school, and lots of laughter. 

Keri had to work on Thursday, so Meredith and I spent the morning toodling around Salzburg. We made our way to the main shopping street, where we had a lovely breakfast and then, of course, shopped. Many stores and several Christmas markets later, we headed back to Keri's apartment, where we relaxed and watched Glee until Keri got off of work. That evening, the three of us braved the cold and went to Keri's friend Maija's house for dinner. On Friday morning, Meredith and I had a similar morning of breakfast and shopping (rough life, I know), and then the three of us took an afternoon train to Vienna. 

By the time we got to our hostel, we were starving. (That's what happens when you decide to have pastries for lunch and then don't eat for six hours.) We dropped off our bags and headed out to find 1516, a cool brewery that Meredith used to go to a lot when she studied abroad in Vienna. It was delicious! I highly recommend the pumpkin ale. We were exhausted by the time we finished dinner, so we went back to the hostel and hung out at the bar, where we played pool with some locals. 

Saturday was our only day to see all the main sights of Vienna, so we had our hands full! We started at Schönbrunn palace, where we enjoyed some caramel glühwein at the Christmas market:

As we were leaving, the weather took a turn for the worse, and the rest of the day was a gross mixture of slushy snow and rain. But that didn't stop us! We had kebab boxes for lunch (I can't even explain how good those are . . . It's basically a box filled with potato wedges, kebab meat, lettuce, tomatoes, tzaziki, and red pepper sauce) and continued on our merry way. We saw the national library, the Hapsburg palace, the city hall, several theaters, and about 23,908,673 tourists.

Christmas market at the Rathaus:

At four o'clock, we made our way to the Staatsoper (National Opera House) to attempt to secure standing room tickets for that night's premier of Mozart's Don Giovanni. Two hours and three euros later, we had our tickets and proceeded into the theater. An hour after that, we finally made it to our "seats" and the show began. It was incredible to see an opera that first played in 1787. The singing and the costumes were amazing, and there were even screens with subtitles so it was possible to understand the plot. But to be perfectly honest, opera really isn't my cup of tea. I'm grateful that I got to see that performance, and it was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but between the almost five hours of standing and the sweltering heat of the theater, I was glad when the curtain finally closed at 10:30. 

I was sad to see Sunday roll around, but saying our goodbyes wasn't too tough since we'll all be home for Christmas next week!

Even though it's hard to be away from home during the holiday season, I have to admit that Germany knows how to get everyone in the Christmas spirit. Maybe it's the snow-covered pine trees in every square, or the quaint alleyways strung up with lights, or the hot mulled wine served in little taverns and on corners throughout the city. And sure, there's plenty of kitsch to go around--you need look no further than your local Christmas market to find life-size gnome santas and chocolate reindeer. But somehow, over here it loses its plastic Hallmark quality and becomes more magical and less, well, kitschy. 

I have been taking full advantage of the Christmas festivities, beginning in Regensburg, where I spent Thanksgiving and visited no less than five (five!) Christmas markets. When I returned to Tübingen, the city had transformed into a winter wonderland of snow and chocolate. The Chocolate Festival came to town and stayed for six decadent days. I bought presents for my whole family (and then had to go back and replace what I bought for my little brother, which I may or may not have consumed myself) and sampled some truly incredible chocolate. 

The Tübingen Schokomarkt:

And today I went to Esslingen, which is an hour from Tübingen, to visit their renowned Medieval Christmas Market. To my disappointment, they did not sell any swords, but I did see a good number of mead-sellers, and my friend Sabine shot a bow and arrow (and made a bulls-eye)! I didn't buy any gifts, but I did eat a delicious treat called a "snowball," which involved marzipan, what tasted like graham cracker crust, and a caramel coating. My mom has already demanded that I figure out how to bring some back to the States . . . 

But that's not all I've been doing lately! I have of course been working on the letters, going to class, and practicing my Chinese. And I've also been babysitting for an adorable little German boy. Pushing a stroller around in the ice and snow is hard work though, shwew!

On Wednesday, I'm off on my birthday trip to Salzburg and Vienna, where I'm meeting up with two of my best friends from high school, Keri and Meredith. Then I'll have one week left in Tübingen before heading home for the holidays!