Goose-Girl and Glühwein

Gänseliesel- Goose Girl

So Weihnachts Markts here in Germany are pretty dang cool, but what is better than visiting a Weihnachts Markt? Well that's simple, visiting a new one with a group of friends!! Since every city really has its own Markt there are quite a few around, and they are all a little different. Mariko and I wanted to visit a few just to see the variety of styles and vendors.



Luckily we have some friends close by in Göttingen (Rachel and Kirsten). Now Kirsten's boyfriend, Alex,  is visiting from the States for a few weeks, and hearing a lot about him from Kirsten we of course wanted to get together. As it happens another couple was planning on visiting them last Sunday, so Mariko and I thought it would be perfect! We'd get to meet up with a few Fulbrighters, meet Alex and see another Weihnachts Markt!! I love multi-tasking!

We arrived in Göttingen at the same time as the other couple, Gabriel and Leighanna... actually we were on the same train and didn't realize it until we got off. Out front Kirsten and her boyfriend Alex were waiting for us, along with a Fulbrighter that we had not met yet, Derek. After a short walk we were in Göttingen's center, and only about a minute later the Weihnachts Markt (its a cute small town).

Kirsten was kind enough to play tour guide for the major spots of Göttingen center. We'd already seen everything in our first visit to Göttingen, but it was nice to see everything again with friends. After a few sights, we knew it was lunch time.... it's always good to eat prior to the Glühwein! We settled on a small little restaurant not too far from the Markt (our first pick was closed and wouldn't be opening for some time).

Food: check! Now it was time for Glühwein!! The pleasant thing about the major Glühwein stall was the assortment of flavors to choose from... Mariko went with Heisse Schokolade mit Pfefferminz Schnapps (Hot Chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps) and I opted for the Heidelbeerwein (blueberry wine). It was more fun to stand around talking with friends drinking Glühwein than to just walk around by ourselves drinking.

After some more Glühwein and Poffertjes (my personal favorite) we all were getting a little cold, so our next stop was indoors. We sat and hung out at the popular college bar in town.... luckily it was early enough in the day that it wasn't busy........ actually it was dead, we were the only people in the place. Sadly the time was getting along and our train home was approaching. A short walk back to the Bahnhof (I love that about Göttingen) and we bid adieu to our lovely friends.