Dresden by night

Because I lengthened my time in Prague and when I wanted to be in Berlin was basically set in stone (I could never forgive myself if I missed out on New Years in Berlin), Dresden got the short end of the stick.

I arrived in Dresden late in the day after the sun had completely set and had an early bus the next day, but I was utterly determined to give Dresden a chance.

Although Dresden was almost completely destroyed during the bombings in WWII, you may forget that as you walk into the old town. Dresden is one of those cities that decided to rebuild its buildings to their former pre-war style. The result of which is truly spectacular.

I walked into the alstadt (old town) across the River Elbe and was pleased to see a wonderful riverfront scene. Across the Augustus Bridge (oldest in the city), which connects the neustadt to the alstadt, lies the Schlossplatz which is home to the cathedral, the Dresdner Schloss (castle), and a few other pretty old buildings (sorry I can’t be more specific!).

As it was late, I couldn’t go into any of the buildings, but I was able to marvel at the architecture, albeit not that old.

The main square, or neumarkt, still held onto a few remaining Christmas market stalls as well as being home to the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). This church was completely bombed in WWII and later reconstructed in full.

Interesting fact, though, is that Dresden is one of only 2 places in the world that has had its UNESCO World Heritage status revoked.

Why?

The city decided to build an ugly 4-lane bridge over the Elbe Valley, cutting into a previously scenic view over the river valley and into the town.

I have read Dresden being compared to an Italian city (Florence perhaps?) so I would love to give it a proper chance and view it in the daytime to see the city really come to life.

I would love to see the reason it had UNESCO World Heritage status in the first place.

To me, as of now, it was one of those “meh” destinations. More of a “take it or leave it.”

If I’m near Dresden again, I’ll try to give it another shot as I have seen truly gorgeous pictures of the city. As of now, though, I won’t be rushing back, despite the amazing architecture.

Bohemian Beauty [Český Krumlov]

There were exactly two things that I knew about the town of Český Krumlov before going there.

1. It’s one of those real-life fairy-tale towns like Colmar, Rothenburg, Hallstatt…

2. It has a castle.

And I guess a third thing, although not about the town itself, was that I was going to fit a day trip there into my itinerary if it was the last thing I did.

Upon arriving in the tiny town of Český Krumlov, I walked down from the bus station and was greeted with the most spectacular view of a cloudy medieval town engulfed by a moat river and perched on one of the numerous hills in Bohemia with the castle taking center stage.

After descending down the steep, narrow, twisting streets (side note: wear good shoes here, especially in snow/rain. I may have slipped several times as the snow fills the crevices of the cobblestone streets, making for one slick and fairly even surface to climb up/down.) through the town square, I made my way back up the other side to walk through the castle.

Fun fact: there are apparently bears in the moat before the castle’s entrance. There are signs telling you not to feed the bears. Although I didn’t see the bears, I found it sad to see their cramped quarters.

The castle grounds were interesting to walk through. It’s weird, though, that instead of doing brick work, they made the castle of a solid surface and painted on surreal looking bricks and designs.

At the end of the castle grounds, you reach the gardens. Although they were closed off the day I went due to the snow, I am told that is where you can get the best view into/over the city. Even still, I found a pretty fantastic viewpoint just past the castle’s bridge.

After spending a couple of hours walking around the castle grounds, I wandered the streets and took in the sights before an early sunset (thanks, winter!).

As a tip for money, do NOT try to exchange money in Cesky Krumlov. You will receive a horrific rate anywhere in town. Do it in Prague if you are coming for a day trip.

It would be lovely to spend at least one night in this little town so as to wake up in the morning and have the town all to yourself (as though it would seem!) It seems like most people only come as a day trip from Prague (which is totally doable and recommendable as well).

If you haven’t figured out already, I’m a little obsessed with checking out UNESCO World Heritage Sites. And it is no wonder why the town center of Cesky Krumlov gained a title of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I can’t recommend a visit to the city enough. I’d imagine it to be breathtaking in any season.

Christmas in Vienna

I think for most Americans abroad, there are two days in particular that make it difficult to be away from home: Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Thanksgiving is always filled with family, food, and, for my family, decorating for Christmas, which is one of my favorite past times. My first Thanksgiving away from home was when I studied in Spain, but my program tried to make it special with a fancy dinner that attempted to be like an American Thanksgiving with everyone in our study abroad group getting together to spend the evening together. This year was my second away, and I honestly didn’t do anything except draw a hand turkey! I missed putting up the Christmas decorations, and I really craved some turkey, cranberry sauce, and apple crisp, but I managed.

Christmas, however, I knew would be more difficult. Especially as this was my first Christmas not spent with family.

We left Munich very, very early on Christmas Eve in order to get to Vienna a bit before noon. Once there, we had to hit the ground running, as we figured that basically everything would be closing in a couple of hours on the 24th through the 26th (they celebrate Boxing Day here).

First, though, we wanted to find our hostel to ease our backs from our backpacks, which was very much easier said than done. The directions were horrific but we found it after wandering an hour and asking who knows how many people for directions. As we were wandering, I got this sinking feeling in my stomach, noticing that the Christmas market stalls along the streets where we were were completely shut down and being packed away.

Thankfully, after setting our things down, we made it to the Rathaus, where there was a most romantic market set up, backdropped with the huge and gorgeous gothic Rathaus (city hall). The market itself was bustling with tourists and locals alike, sipping glühwein and tasting Christmas treats.

There was so much to see and eat, but we wandered through the market for a bit, knowing that we’d come back later that night in order to sample all the more treats and maybe do a little shopping.

Just a couple of hours into our first day in Vienna, the sun was already setting (one of the biggest downsides to traveling in the winter…it gets dark at 4pm!). We wandered the streets and found a cute little church to look around in before warming up (another MAJOR downside to traveling in the winter…I never want to be outside!) at the hostel and wishing our respective families a Merry Christmas before venturing out again.

There was supposed to be a big Christmas tree lighting in front of the Rathaus followed by Christmas carols starting at 7pm. We got there a bit early only to be supremely disappointed that not only was the Christmas tree already lit up, but that there was no singing and all of the Christmas market stalls were already being packed up and taken down. If that didn’t damper our Christmas spirit, I don’t know what would!

There was so much food left to sample! And so many shops that needed further exploration! (I was in search of a music box which I never had the chance to get…)

Instead, we walked around, looking at the Christmas lights that were thankfully still up.

Unfortunately, an especially hard part about traveling on Christmas is that everything shuts down. I was so looking forward to some amazing Viennese food, like apple strudels, Sacher torte, and Wiener schnitzel. Sadly, most of the restaurants that we came across were either closed or had a “special menu” for Christmas that included 6-courses, cost 100+ euros, and required reservations.

No thanks.

We decided to go to midnight mass at Stephansdom (the cathedral) which was a beautiful service despite being insanely packed and neither of us really understanding anything except a word here or a phrase there.

My tip: If you plan to go to the mass, plan to go early. Then go even earlier. We got there at 10:15 and there were already between 100-200 people waiting in line for the doors to open (at 11). If you want to sit, get there no later than 10:30.

Despite a bad start to our Christmas Day (cold, wind, rain, and terrible homesickness on my part), our Christmas Day in Vienna turned out lovely. We walked around the city, taking in most of the major sites from the outside and actually came across two Christmas markets that were still open!

The first one that we found was in the Museumsquartier which was, on my personal Christmas market scale, average. I’m sure very charming for many, but to me, it felt empty.

Not to mention it was fairly empty (for Christmas market standards…especially on Christmas).

The other Christmas market was situated right in front of the Schönbrunn Palace which was so gorgeous and is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with its garden (which I am certain is magical come spring or summer).

This actually turned out to be one of my favorite Christmas markets that I have been to. The handicrafts and decorations were all handmade and the food was to die for. Plus it was Christmas and it lifted my spirits after encountering some disappointments earlier on Christmas Eve/Day. 

I know that there are a lot of people that regularly spend Christmas away from home and think nothing of it. But for me, coming from a family that loves getting together to spend Christmas with all of the traditions that we have, it was hard to spend my first Christmas away from home. At the same time, it was a good experience. Especially in such a beautiful city such as Vienna. I can thank my friend for sharing the day and memory with, as it would have been a lot more depressing without her!

Here’s to my insane picture abilities. Either looking in the wrong spot or having my eyes closed in 50% of all photos.

Not even exaggerating.

(And technically that’s from Munich on Christmas Eve’s eve, but who’s really counting?)

Uhldingen-Mühlhofen, Germany

A mouthful of a town to say, Uhldingen-Mühlhofen was where I spent my first 2.5 months in Germany au pairing for a family and the base of the travels I have written about thus far.

I would be surprised if you have ever heard of this tiny town along the shores of Lake Constance/the Bodensee, but it does have a bit to offer.

I only feel really foolish that I never took my actual camera with me on my walks along the lake.

The two sights to see (apart from the lake) are the Basilica and the Pfalbauten.

The Basilica of Birnau is a gorgeous baroque cathedral surrounded by vineyards with a view of the lake and, on a clear day, the Alps. I stepped inside once (no pics allowed) and it was very ornate. Despite having driven past this church numerous times, I never got a decent picture of it. Especially without the Alps being completely clouded over, so I’ll give you this:

source

The other sight is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Pfahlbauten is a prehistoric (think several millennia to centuries BC) settlement of stilt houses around the lake. They are found all over on the lakes and rivers of Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, Austria, and Switzerland (the Alps region of Europe) with 111 sites total.

There was also a tractor museum, which I thought my dad would enjoy. I never visited it, but was slightly tempted.

Other than that, I enjoyed walking along the lake on the days it wasn’t raining (few during my last month) and strolling through the tiny town.

The bad part of being there when I was (October-December) is that I never got to really enjoy the lake. I would love to head to the lake in the summer, go swimming, maybe boating, and ride my bike along the shores of the lake. Actually, there is a bike trail completely encircling the lake…I’m definitely tempted to return and do that some day.

Strasbourg, France

As you may have read in my post of Nuremberg, Nuremberg’s Christmas market was my favorite Christmas market that I have ever been to by far. I was certain that it couldn’t be beaten.

I’m not here to say that it has been beaten, but I may have to say that it has a close second.

Nuremberg takes the cake for the most impressive Christmas market. I will give it that, but there was something certainly magical about Strasbourg at Christmastime.

Strasbourg is the biggest town in and the capital of the region of Alsace which is just across the border of Germany and France. The region used to be part of Germany, thus is characterized by a mixture of German and French cultures, half-timbered buildings, and tasty treats.

So, if Nuremberg wins for its Christmas market, I’d say that Strasbourg wins at Christmas decorations.

It has a most impressive center square with a huge Christmas tree with precious half-timbered houses as a backdrop to it all.

Then this one narrow street with several shops, bakeries, and restaurants brought you into a total winter wonderland, as cliché as that sounds. At night, it is this single street that shines like a beacon with its white buildings and then all of the lights and decorations along the street. Then each of the shops has decorated their fronts. It was truly a sight to see, as you can see for yourself.

The main Christmas market in front of the cathedral was cute as well, selling numerous different handicrafts and general decor inspired by the season. Sadly enough, I didn’t have sufficient time to explore the entirety of the market because I got caught up in seeing the general sights in the city.

…such as the cathedral. Strasbourg’s cathedral/Notre Dame is severely impressive. Some say that it rivals the Notre Dame of Paris, and I definitely see why. From its gorgeous gothic architecture to its rose window, its astronomical clock, and its stained glass in general, it would be an utter shame to visit the city without popping into the cathedral for a bit.

Another area that is definitely worth checking out is La Petite France. This is an area along the river Ill with numerous half-timbered houses and old sandstone buildings. Despite accidentally heading in the wrong direction, thus getting there after it had gotten dark, this section of town is picture perfect in every way. Get there during the day in the summer, and have baskets of flowers dotting the railings along the canals.

As you would quickly learn if you visit here, the city center is on an island called the Grande Île and everywhere you look is gorgeous. Actually, this island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so you know that it’s going to be breathtaking!!

If you find yourself in the Alsace region, there are three foods that you must try.

1. Kugelhopf – a circular, fluted bread roll dotted with raisins and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It’s fairly bland and nothing to write home about, but it is found everywhere, so you have to try it.

2. Flammkuchen/tarte flambé – this thin and crispy pizza dough is traditionally topped with cream, speck (bacon), and onions, although you can find all sorts of variations, even sweet ones.

3. Sugar pretzels – fresh out of the oven/fryer, these bad boys would be ridiculously amazing (they were still good room temp, though). I think that this is essentially a doughnut in pretzel format.

I would highly recommend a visit to Strasbourg’s Christmas market if you come during the Advent season. Although not quite as impressive as the one in Nuremberg, it still ranks right up there as a close second. Nearly too close to even make a distinction.

Plus, the city itself is gorgeous. The food amazing. And the architecture to die for.