Visting Aachen’s Amazing Christmas Market

Some places are worth visiting more than once and the historical destination of Aachen, Germany’s most westerly city, is one of those.

Since moving abroad in 2010, we’ve visited Germany nearly every year since then, mainly because we have good friends in Düsseldorf. Plus, we like visiting Germany for its overabundant supply of pork products (especially the years we lived in Istanbul), delightful Christmas markets, numerous museums and beautiful scenery.

Earlier this month, we returned to Germany for a weekend trip to catch up with friends and visit some seasonal Christmas markets. A 90-minute train journey from Düsseldorf took us to Aachen, which we previously had visited in 2014. (See: 13 German Christmas Markets in 5 Days). 

We also travelled with a special one-day DB train ticket that allowed us to travel as much as we wanted with up to five people in the region for about 45 euros. Why can't UK train prices be like this?

Aachen developed from a Roman settlement and spa town and later became the preferred medieval Imperial residence of Emperor Charlemagne. From 936 to 1531, Aachen, and specifically the Aachen Cathedral, was the place where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans. Historically, Aachen was one of Europe's most important cities due to its position near the Dutch and Belgian borders.

From the middle of November to December 23 of this year, the cobbled streets near the Cathedral and the baroque Aachen Town Hall are transformed into a Christmas paradise with wooden huts selling everything from woolen hats and Christmas decorations to local chocolates and gingerbread-like cookies called Aachener Printen and more tasty delights. The Aachen Christmas Market, as we re-discovered, is quite popular with tourists, even on a weekday morning, and attracts approximately 1.5 million visitors every year during those four weeks.

During our short visit, the weather was absolutely terrible – downpour rain and blustery winds – so we basically stopped at the first covered, heated glühwein stand and stayed there for two glasses of warming, spiced wine and some nibbles.

Aachener Printen

If you love sweet treats like I do, don’t miss the local bakeries that sell the crispy gingerbread cookies locally known as Aachener Printen. We avoided the big chain bakeries in town and found some delicious chocolate-covered printen at Klein Printenbackerei. The young sales guy here let us try all the different varieties – soft and crispy, then covered in dark, milk or white chocolate. The dark chocolate-covered crispy ones were my favorite!

Aachen Cathedral

Since the Christmas markets surround the UNESCO-designated Aachen Cathedral, we popped in to take some photos. Emperor Charlemagne ordered the construction of this Roman Cathedral in the 8^th century and was buried there just a couple years later in 814. What’s interesting here is that the octagon in the center of the Cathedral was built in the same style of other contemporary Byzantine buildings such as the Little Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. The cathedral’s interior architecture reminded me of so many different buildings we had seen in Turkey as well as Moorish architecture we’ve recently seen in Spain.

If you don’t have time to visit Aachen for the Christmas markets this year, I would highly recommend planning a stop here next year.

Prost!

Joy

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Christmas Market Love from Brussels

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or whatever you might celebrate!

This year, hubby and I are hanging together in Europe since we only have 10 days off from work. It's simply not enough time to run all over the US to see family again. Sorry guys!

Instead, we've been exploring Brussels and its fabulously festive Christmas markets. Coming here was a great choice and recommended by one of our fellow expat friends. Brussels is only two hours away from London by train; plus it's filled with charm and easy to get around.

Through January 1, 2017, you’ll find Christmas stalls and events taking place at the Grand-Place in Brussels and around the Bourse, the Place de la Monnaie, Place Sainte-Catherine and the Marché aux Poissons. Every hour, a spectacular light and music show lights up the Grand Place, the city’s central square which features elegant historic buildings dating back to the 14^th century. I almost felt like I was in a fairy tale! The area does get quite crowded, but we tried to arrive early and still had lots of fun.

Hope you enjoy this lil taste of the Brussels Christmas markets!

One night we had fish soup with glasses of Prosecco and the next day a rich dish of tartliflette (?) - potatoes cooked with bacon and cheese. Yum!

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Expat Life: It’s Christmas Time in London

Well, it’s our first Christmas season in London, and despite the crowds, the city sure knows how to deck the halls.

On my days off, I’ve sought out some of the popular places to see for pretty Christmas decorations. By 4 p.m., the city is blanketed in darkness and the Christmas lights are turned on. Such a beautiful sight! 

 Christmas ice skating at the Natural History Museum.

The only problem is that everyone – including your mother and her best friends and hordes of children and tourists – goes to see the Christmas lights as well. Be prepared to elbow your way through the crowds if you want to see the décor like I did. I even went on weekdays to see most of the sites below.

Anyway, London is all dressed up for the holidays. Christmas only comes once a year, so I guess I can bear the crowds to take some pretty photos. Enjoy!

Winter Wonderland

We almost avoided London’s biggest attraction of Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park because of the maddening crowds and security checks – way different from my weekday visit in 2013??? After work, we met up with a fellow American to walk around Wonderland, which is more carnival-like than Christmas market-like. We ended up spending a few hours in the Bavarian section drinking mulled wine and eating German bratwurst around an outdoor fire – an activity more adult-friendly than the rest of the park.

London Bridge to Waterloo

Recently, I had a Saturday off from work so we spent the gray day exploring the numerous Christmas markets that are set up between London Bridge and Waterloo train stations. Along the Thames River, we found dozens of wooden huts selling all kinds of food, drinks and Christmas gifts. We concluded our Christmas market crawl at a market by Waterloo and took refuge from the pouring rain at a craft beer stand where we shared a Korean rice bowl. Nearby was a Polish food stand making bigos and serving Zywiec beer.  

Regent Street to Picadilly Circus

Besides Winter Wonderland, this area of grand shopping from Regent Street to Picadilly Circus is the most touristy of all. However, this shopping stretch gets a Christmas makeover with garlands of lights down the length of the road. On Oxford Street alone, you’ll see 1,778 snowball-like decorations and 750,000 LED lightbulbs lit up for what is the fifty-seventh year the road has been decorated for the holidays.

Covent Garden
Beware of the crowds, but Covent Garden’s cobbled piazza and old market buildings are irresistible when they are covered in Christmas lights. This year’s decorations include a mistletoe theme, with over 40 mistletoe chandeliers hanging over the area’s streets and in the pretty market buildings. I retreated into the Lauduree store to stock up on a box of pastel Parisian macarons.

Carnaby Street

I found this Christmasy street thanks to Instagram. Carnaby Street, a small laneway off Regent Street, is decked out in a theme to match the V&A Museum’s new exhibition ‘You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970’. Carnaby Christmas decorations – usually among the most distinctive in town – will remain on display until January 6^th.

Harrods

Possibly the most famous London Christmas lights on a single store are at Harrods, a well-to-do Knightsbridge department store that was established in 1849 selling mainly tea and groceries. To me, Harrods, decked out in its Art Nouveau windows, terracotta tiles and hundreds of lights, is like visiting 5^th Avenue in my beloved NYC during Christmas. The store is filled with many high-end brands, but you’ll also find a few things that normal people can afford.

Our Expat Home

Even though we still have leftover moving boxes in our much-smaller apartment, I convinced hubby to get a Christmas tree. We haven’t had a real tree since we lived in Poland and I missed having one. And now our tree is splashed out with decorations from places we’ve lived or traveled to – Istanbul, Warsaw, London, U.S., a tablecloth from Riga, a German village house and more.

As we remain on this expat journey, I guess we’ll just continue to explore our new surroundings and make a home wherever we hang our coats.

Happy Holidays!

Joy

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Top Polish Christmas Gifts for 2015

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at least in Poland!

I finally put together a post about some of my favorite Polish Christmas decorations and gift ideas, particularly handmade ones. Even if you don’t live in Warsaw, I have provided several online store recommendations as well. So now you bring a little bit of Poland into your home like we have!

Pierniki

One of the most popular Polish decorations is made from gingerbread (pierniki). You’ll find gingerbread hearts, snowmen, angels, trees, trains, snowflakes and more at the slightly-hidden Tebe shop located along busy Aleja Jerozolimskie. You can even buy edible gingerbread spoons that you can dip into your morning cup of coffee or tea.

Whenever I’ve popped into Tebe, the couple who run the shop are quite friendly and help me find the ornament I want. They use only natural ingredients to make the pierniki dough, which is baked and then decorated with dozens of different types of seeds, dried flowers and fruits. For example, red lentils outline the stars and poppyseeds make up the snowmen’s hat.

Bombki
Another popular item that most Americans will recognize are colorful, blown-glass ornaments, known as bombki. Following WWII, bombki appeared on the market again and became a major export for Poland. In the U.S., you’ll find these traditional ornaments at large department stores such as Dillards and Macy’s, but they will cost you about 5 times or more than what I’ve paid here in Poland.

I bought my bombki from Bombkarnia, across the street from the Palace of Culture, which is open year-round and also sells pretty Easter egg ornaments in the spring. Note to European and American readers, Bombkarnia does have an online store and ships all over the world, so you can have your own Polish glass ornaments at home!

Handmade items
Thirdly, I couldn’t resist buying several handmade, crocheted snowflakes at Cepelia’s Centrum location. My grandmother often used to knit and crochet so these Old World items remind me of her and would make lovely Christmas presents too. Cepelia, which also has an online store in English, is a national foundation under the Minister of Culture and Art that promotes Polish folk and artistic handicrafts. Most ornaments are reasonably priced between 10-20 pln (about $3-$6.)

Polish Ceramics

Even if you've never been to Poland, I'm sure you've seen or heard about Polish pottery. You’ll find the ever popular Polish pottery being used in all kinds of Christmas décor from serving plates to cake stands as well as Christmas ornaments and candle holders. I love visiting the friendly, English-speaking Anna at Anka Pottery in Mokotow. Anna will happily ship to the U.S. and will fulfill orders for particular patterns too. I can also recommend buying pottery from the Cepelia stores and Bolesławiec Pottery, which is near the Rondo Onz tram stop.

Additionally, if you live in the U.S., you can contact my friend, Donna, who used to live in Warsaw and now owns a Polish pottery business in Texas. You can order from her online store at Touch of Poland.

Polish Cookbooks

Wherever we have lived, I love learning how to cook the local dishes. Below, you'll find a few of my favorite Polish cookbooks, which you can directly order from Amazon.com. Applebaum's book is one of my favorites because the Polish recipes are practical and adapted to more modern tastes. Both Rose Petal Jam and Sugared Orange are not only filled with beautiful, seasonal photos from around Poland, but also delicious recipes. A great gift for the cook in your family!

Polish Jewellery

In Poland, you'll find a variety of handmade jewellery, with Baltic amber stones being the most popular. I also like the handcrafted ceramic and wooden beaded necklaces that you'll often find at local Christmas markets.

Journals

My niece is into writing in journals, so I bought her several cool Polish-looking notebooks from Empik bookstores and Bęc Zmiana Foundation in Warsaw.

Polish Food

When all else fails, give your loved ones popular Polish food and beverages. You can't go wrong with gifting Polish vodka or kabanos, at least not with most of my friends and family members! And you can even buy these items at the airport!

Which Polish gift would you like to receive for Christmas?

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