German Christmas Markets..

Hey there!

Since it's almost Christmas, I thought I'd share a few photos from a recent visit to Cologne where I checked out the Christmas Market.

For anyone who has never been to a proper German Christmas market, I'll try to describe one.

A typical Christmas market is made up of various booths that either sell little Christmas presents or festive decoration, offer great typical German/Swiss/Austrian food or they are one of the most frequently visited, a "Glühwein" booth.

But what is "Glühwein"?
Basically Glühwein is a form of red wine that is heated up "glühen" (engl. to glow, to burn).
It is drunk by thousands and thousands of people each year. I wonder what Christmas markets would be like, if there wasn't any Glühwein around.
I guess someone would come up with a different alcoholic beverage...

Quite oddly the cups tend to shrink a tiny bit and somehow at the same time the price tends to increase every year. (Who would have thought?!)
Only this year I had my first ever Glühwein, but I must say that I just enjoy the "Kinderpunsch" a lot more. Kinderpunsch is non-alcoholic and tastes a bit like a mixture between warm apple juice and grape juice improved with several Christmas spices. Highly recommended!

However you can also try many of the various food options that are offered at each market. For example I can't look around the Christmas market of Cologne without having a "Germknödel".
The online dictionary PONS says a Germknödel is a "yeast dumpling filled with plum jam and poppy seeds sprinkled on top" - and I promise you it is delicious.
It does not look very attractive, but oh the taste.. everyone should try this at least once in their life.

Whilst being on a christmas market, you should also try edible chestnuts. These are probably more familiar to others, as they are often used for turkey stuffing.
Chestnuts have to be roasted for at least half an hour until their skin starts to crack. You then have to take off the shell and enjoy. They can also be easily made at home. Just use your oven instead and let them heat up for 30 minutes at 200° Celsius.

Last but not least Christmas markets offer various and numerous kinds of decoration or souvenirs. When I was little my Mama bought wooden breakfast boards at a Christmas market for my sister and me with animals and our names engraved on it. Another souvenir I really like are candles that smell like honey.

Many things you can find there are mostly handmade and authentic.

Whenever I visit one of these markets I'm instantly put in a Christmassy mood.

Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope you can spend this time of the year with all your loved ones in a place where you feel at home.

Greetings from Steph

Kitesurf World Cup in SPO..

Hey there!

From the 1st till the 10th of August the annual Kitesurf World Cup was held in St. Peter-Ording at the North Sea in Germany. The Surf Cup attracts many spectators each year by offering different activities such as beach volleyball, huge beach parties at night and of course the centre of attention - kitesurfing.

Many professionals from all over the world came to the small coastal town to participate in various competitions. The winners of this years' World Cup are Karolina Winkowska (Poland) and Aaron Hadlow (United Kingdom).

I visited the camp of the world cup on the 6th of August. Although the wind wasn't strong enough on that day to provide good surfing conditions I spent the day walking along the broad beach and soaking up the sun with some friends. It was also lovely to see all these colourful kites lying on the beach or soaring up in the air.

I will definitely return to beautiful St. Peter-Ording.

Steph

At the marina..

Hey there!

Long time no post! But I'm back again.

With summer comes the great range of different activities.
Since a friend of mine (Anna-Karenita) owns a beautiful boat at the nearby marina, I have the amazing opportunity to spend time with her and other friends on it.

And now follows a small excerpt of the photos I took while I was there. They are mostly detail orientated since I only had my macro lens with me.

Thank you.

xx, Steph

Wandering in the fields..

Hey there!

The other day I drove to a field nearby to pick some fresh strawberries.

Adjacent to the strawberry field was a flower field where one could pick their own flowers as well. I chose a few peonies, since I love the way they look when they're blossoming out.

Later on I made a cake with the freshly picked strawberries.

I hope (wherever you may read this) you are also blessed with great weather and the possibility to see the origin of your food. If you have the chance of visiting any sort of fruit plantation go ahead and pick your very own selection.

Thank you for reading!

xx, Steph

The Roadtrip - Part V..

Hey there!

Part V - The North Sea (The final one)

After our - way too short - stay in Maastricht we travelled back to Germany to the North Sea in Lower Saxony. We visited a small town called Emden near the Dutch border and Bremen.

We spent the day walking around the town, went into a few shops and relaxed at the waterside.

In the evening we went out for dinner where we had Nachos and Enchiladas.

The next day we drove to Bremen to have a look at the city and to finish off our roadtrip with a nice meal in a restaurant at the riverside.

However if someone wishes to see the North Sea I would rather recommend travelling to Schleswig-Holstein or to visit an island in Lower Saxony rather than staying at the coast. Go by boat or train to a small island (for example Föhr or Sylt) and spend a week there in May or June.

Thank you for reading!

xx, Steph