Thu, Apr 24th 2008, 13:03
Gentlemen's Day
Wednesday is a triple holiday in Germany. First it is a religious holiday called Ascension Day, second it is Father's Day which they call Männertag, and third it is the anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot (beer purity laws).
Männertag has a tradition where men go on a hiking tour with wagons filled with wine or beer and traditional regional food. No women allowed! I'd like to get a picture of this, because it sounds quite silly.
The Reinheitsgebot are beer purity laws started in Germany 492 years ago (Der Spiegel article). These laws strictly regulated the price and ingredients of beer at the start of the 16th century. The law stated that:
"In all cities, markets, and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be Barley, Hops and Water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the Court authorities' confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail."
This day is basically an excuse for more beer drinking, and it is especially big in Bavaria, even though breweries don't follow the laws anymore, since yeast is now used in beer.
It figures that the first beautiful, warm days of spring start when I am confined to my bedroom with puffy cheeks. The first day was really the worst, now I have to say I have relatively no pain, just a few minor inconveniences: having to sleep on my back, not being able to eat solid foods, having puffy cheeks, and having rotting death breath no matter how often I clean my mouth. I am only taking normal pain medication now because the stuff my doctor gave me made me very sick. But I really don't need it because my mouth hurts less than it did when I had teeth back there. Only issue is the swelling, which makes my jaw really stiff and I can't open it very wide or talk too much without it getting sore.
I've been spending my time watching movies, surfing the net, and playing computer games. I've been eating ice cream, chicken broth, and instant mashed potatoes. Today I left the house for a walk outside because it was nice and warm, and I will probably have no excuse to skip class on Monday.
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Sat, Jan 5th 2008, 07:31
It is almost dark when I set out at 3:30pm to buy groceries. The walk is about 10-15 minutes on my short legs, and the weather is cold and windy. My ears ache from the cold, because I'm too ridiculous to wear a hat. If I decide to use a cart at the grocery store, I will have to deposit one euro to take it, but I would not be able to carry a cart full of groceries home on my own, so I only buy as much as I can carry.
When I check out, the cashier might say "Guten Tag" or "Hallo", but usually she says nothing and does not smile. Nor does she bag my groceries, and I must shove them back into my cloth sack that I brought myself as quick as she rings it up, or the people waiting in line behind me may give me dirty looks for wasting their time. "Achtzehn euro sechzig" she says quickly, and if I am lucky there is a display on the cash register to show me the number because I don't understand her Sachsen accent.
With my groceries in hand, I begin to walk back. The streets are littered with firework debris after New Years (which they call Silverster). That night when we looked out of our top floor window, we could see fireworks all over our neighborhood, because there were people lighting them on almost every block. Never before have I seen such a good firework display, and so close up. Apparently, the Germans love fire hazards. I wonder how many people blew their fingers off that night in Dresden alone.
I have purchased a couple of German fire hazards, myself. This is called a Pyramide. It is made of wood and when you light candles underneath the windmill, it turns, spinning the figures inside.
This one is called a Rauchenmännchen, which means "little smoking man" in English. You light an incense cone and put it inside his belly and then smoke comes out of his mouth. Do you think they would have toys that smoked in America? I am surprised by how prevalent smoking is here. It is rare to find someone who does not smoke. And in America we have almost shamed most smokers into smoking a distance away from everyone else, but not here. People smoke right next to you as if they expect you to enjoy it.
The Christmas traditions here do not differ that much from in America except on a few points. There are markets in every town during the holidays (I posted a blog and pictures from one before called Striezelmarkt). The markets sell handcrafted items, such as the two I showed above, and they also sell Gluhwein, sauerkraut, wurst, etc.
They have Christmas trees just like we do, but some people still put real candles in their trees (another fire hazard!). On Christmas Eve they open their presents, instead of on Christmas morning like we do at my house (When does Santa have time to sneak down the chimney during the day, I wonder?). The traditional meal on Christmas eve is Bratwurst. On Christmas day they usually eat duck or goose, and the day following (the 26th) is also a holiday. After meals, the whole family (including grandparents) have a shot or two of alcohol to help the digestion. I can't imagine that happening after the Christmas meal with my family.
I had a very nice Christmas with Mike's family. I didn't expect many gifts so was surprised by all of the nice things I got from Mike's family. I was also very surprised by my gift from Mike. I expected him to get me some electronic thing, but instead he completely surprised me with a beautiful ruby ring. He's a keeper.
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Wed, Dec 5th 2007, 04:01
Mike said that I should make an update on Penny, in case you were afraid that she died. She is recovering from her cold very well and growing a lot. She has become a lot more playful and a little bit annoying at times because she likes to attack the computer screen or type on the keyboard when we are playing Lord of the Rings Online.
On Saturday Mike and I went to the Striezelmarkt, which is a famous Christmas market in Dresden. Striezel is some kind of popular Christmas pastry that looks like bread. Saturday was a bad day for this, because everyone else in Dresden was there and it was a little too crowded to stop and enjoy anything. We plan on going back during the week.
At Striezelmarkt they have several stalls set up where they sell food or crafts. Lots of wooden figurines, sweets, and meat. The popular Christmas drink is called Gluhwein. It is hot wine with spices in it, and it is gross. But everyone seems to love it. They also had wurst made out of horse meat, which I thought was pretty disgusting.
I hope to go back soon and maybe buy a Christmas souvenier or some more sweets.
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