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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Three Days of Oktoberfest Fun in Munich

You know you’ve had a fantastic time at Oktoberfest in Munich when you are literally running from the beer tent to the train station out to the airport while still wearing your traditional dirndl and lederhosen outfits.

During the first week in October, hubby and I met up with some fellow American and German friends in Munich to attend our first real Oktoberfest in Germany. (I say real because the Oktoberfest events that we’ve attended in the US and elsewhere in Europe don’t really count.) Planning for said event had been in the works for nearly a year, and we have already talked about meeting up for the 2019 Oktoberfest.

This year marked the 185^th Oktoberfest in Munich. 

Since there are so many blog posts out there providing tips on Oktoberfest, I’m only going to provide a few lessons we learned:

Get into the Bavarian spirit and buy a traditional outfit!

Our German friends highly recommended that we buy an outfit in advance. In fact, you’ll feel out of place in Munich if you aren’t wearing a Bavarian outfit during Oktoberfest. EVERYONE wears one! After a bit of online research, I found that the German website, dirndl.com, had some of the best offerings and shipped to London for a reasonable 20 euros. Expect to pay at least 100 euros each for a decent outfit, and be sure to take actual body measurements as European sizes differ slightly from American ones.

The typical Oktoberfest Dirndl consists of a tight-fitting bodice over a puffy, white, low-cut blouse and a full skirt as well as a coordinated apron. Picture a sexy milk-maid outfit complete with cute braids, but buy the midi dress (knee-length) and not the mini. As far as footwear, anything goes. I saw women wearing everything from ballet flats and heels to hiking boots and popular trainers such as Converse and Vans. I opted for warm, black leather boots and black tights because it was cold during the days we attended Oktoberfest.

Also, instead of bringing a purse, I wore a jacket with multiple pockets and just stuffed everything in there. The tents are crowded and you don’t want to worry about losing anything.

For men, the classic Bavarian outfit is Lederhosen – short or knee-length breeches made of leather that include suspenders worn over a checkered, collared shirt. You can complete your outfit with a feathered hat, which we bought upon arrival in the village of Füssen for 25 euros.

Even if you don’t buy your Bavarian outfit in advance, there are plenty of pop-up stores in Munich selling dirndls and lederhosen. You can buy cheap dirndls, often made from synthetic materials, for about 50 euros. But, as always, you get what you pay for.

Visit Oktoberfest on a Weekday

At Oktoberfest, you can choose from 14 main beer tents plus more than a dozen smaller tents. All beer served at the Oktoberfest tents must be from one of Munich's six breweries —Paulaner, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Augustiner, Hofbräu and Löwenbräu. The beer must also follow the Reinheitsgebot, the purity law of 1516, issued by the Duke of Bavaria, Clement IV.

Even if you don’t have a table reservation, you’ll have a better chance of getting into one of the main beer tents, especially during the daytime on a weekday. We planned our Oktoberfest trip on a Monday to Wednesday and had reservations for only two of those days. On the Monday, we had a table reserved from noon-5 p.m. at the Marstall tent with a group of American, German, a lone Irish man and British friends. We only knew one of those Texan friends that day, but we all quickly became friends at the end of three days together.

Here’s a great Guide to Oktoberfest Beer Tents                      

After our reservation ended, we wandered through a few beer tents just to see what the atmosphere was like. Inside the most famous beer hall internationally, the Hofbräuhaus, we found a very crowded tent filled with locals and foreigners alike. The tent can seat nearly 7,000 people. We found a few inside seats available for a couple, but not enough for our group of six or seven at the time. Luckily, we found a free table underneath an outdoor heater in the surrounding beer garden. But trust me, you won’t always be that lucky unless you are prepared to go early. On the next night, the Hofbräu tent was secured off by police and no more people were being admitted.

On the second day, hubby and I didn’t have any group reservations and we found long queues or ticketed only entrances at nearly every single beer tent. We finally snuck into the side entrance at one of the smaller Heimer beer gardens and found a beer-barrel table for two near an outdoor heater. Twas a wee chilly that night.

On our last day, hubby and I hung out at the Löwenbräu tent – the one with a 15-foot lion sign that lets out a majestic roar of “Lööööwenbräu” every now and then. We had booked an extremely good deal via our Citibank Premier Mastercard for a table reservation that cost 35 euros per person, plus tax, for a reserved table plus two beers and a half-roasted chicken. We shared our table with a few different German families and other couples who were impressed with our Bavarian outfits during the three hours we stayed.

Drink and Be Merry

By the end of our three-day Oktoberfest visit, we happily sung along to the “Ein Prosit” – the popular German song the bands seemed to play every 10 minutes and required mandatory toasts with your table mates. Here are the lyrics:

Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemütlichkeit

Ein Prosit, Ein Prosit, der Gemütlichkeit

Eins, zwei, drei, g'suffa!

Follow with Prost, clink and drink! 
However, I don’t think our version sounded quite like that.

Bizarrely, the German bands also played several English-speaking songs like the “Sweet Caroline,” popular hits by Abba, “You’re the one that I want,” “Country Roads” by John Denver and the Lion King theme song – aptly played while we were in the Löwenbräu tent. I had a blast singing along to most of these with a giant stein of radler in one hand.

Book Early

It probably goes without saying that you must book your accommodation and flights early to Munich. In fact, we booked our hotel stay at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, located right by the Oktoberfest grounds, 11 months in advance and cashed in credit card points to do so. Upon arrival, we also got upgraded because of our SPG point status. So my advice is that if you have any credit card points, now would be a good time to use them.

Our view of the Oktoberfest grounds from our fifth-floor room.

Oktoberfest was a fun and crazy event with new and old friends, and I would happily do it all over again.

Have you been to Oktoberfest in Munich?

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Good Eats: Best Meals in 2014

It’s probably no surprise that the majority of our travels and even our normal day-to-day lives revolve around food.

That’s what happens when you’re married to a pastry chef and love food, at least that’s what I tell my husband.

This year, we did quite a bit of traveling in Europe and ate well along the way. From the backstreets of Istanbul to cozy brasseries and from eating at Michelin-starred restaurants to dining at home with friends, we’ve had a lot of good meals. I’d rather spend the money on a wonderful meal than on something with less value to me like jewelry or new clothes.

The following destinations are where we had some of our Best Meals in 2014! Where did you have your favorite meal this year? I’d love to know!

Bon appétit!

Joy

Lake Como

In March, we spent a long, leisurely weekend in Lake Como and ended with a home-cooked, four-course dinner at Osteria Sali e Tabacchi, a cozy, Slow Food restaurant located in Mandello del Lario. Eating here was like being invited into an Italian’s mother’s home where local ingredients are key. A few of the dishes I remember: local fish in two dishes, cured Italian meats for an antipasti, braised beef with polenta, pumpkin-filled ravioli and homemade pistachio gelato. Be sure to make reservations in advance!

Istanbul

I never thought I’d have a good steak dinner in Istanbul, but in March our Turkish friend, Huseyin, proved me wrong. Our meal at Nusr-Et Steakhouse consisted of lokum (Turkish delight), spaghetti (thinly sliced beef), sliced-to-order lamb ribs, unlimited crispy fries and a salad. The meat used comes from the Marmara Sea region and was quite tender and juicy.

And for dessert, don’t skimp on the pistachio baklava that is flown in fresh every day from Gaziantep and served tableside with a generous scoop of Maras dondurma. My mouth is watering just thinking about this heavenly baklava!

Paris

In May, we spent my birthday in Paris. I had My Delicious Day in Paris and then later we went to Au Pied de Cochon for French oysters and dinner. This wasn’t our best meal ever in Paris, but it’s more that this brasserie holds a special place in our hearts. We first ate here in 2009 right after my now husband had proposed.

London

In July, I followed hubby on his business trip to London. We arrived two days early so we could enjoy ourselves and have a good meal at St. John Bread & Wine, which we first had visited in 2010. The standouts here were the foie gras on toast (I love foie!), roasted duck leg with peas and bacon and an appetizer of salt beef hash with a fried duck egg on top. All delicious! The only miss was the too-tart gooseberry pavlova for dessert.

Warsaw

In August, we sadly bid farewell to our fun Aussie friends with a fancy dinner at the new Senses Restaurant. This was our most expensive meal of the year at 380pln ($125) per person, but this doesn’t include the bottle of champagne and post dinner drinks we shared. You can tell that the French-Italian chef, Andrea Camastra, likes to play with molecular gastronomy here with the foams, jellies and smoke used throughout our multi-course dinner.

Our first courses included tuna with lard and corn, beetroot with goat cheese and foie gras and smoked eel with a scallop, celeriac and potato puree, which was my least favorite dish.

Next courses were a monkfish goulash with beans, kobe beef ribs with cherries and spring onions and a yogurt dessert with fresh “forest fruits.” I loved all of these dishes and wish I had more of the beef dish!

Overall, Senses definitely was an interesting experience, but I could have done without the chocolate-beet drink and some of the hocus-pocus smoke. The best part of this meal was spending another fun night with our good friends before we said goodbye!

 

Tallinn

In November, we enjoyed our best meal in Tallinn (as part of our Baltic road trip) at a cozy restaurant called Salt Restoran, tucked in the residential neighborhood of Kadriorg. It's headed by local chef Silver Saa who focuses on using seasonal ingredients, which seems to be the trend everywhere.  We ordered the seared scallops with wakame, pumpkin cream and ginger beurre blanc, a not-so classic beef tartar, veal cheeks with red wine sauce and grilled endive and crispy duck breast with roasted beetroots, plum jam and sherry sauce. I had a difficult time sharing my veal cheeks because they were irresistibly tender and delicious!

For dessert, we shared a chocolate cake with salted caramel and the pumpkin cream (panna cotta?) with cocoa.

The total meal cost was 108 euros ($132), which included a 26eu ($32) bottle of red wine and 2 glasses of Spanish cava at 6eu ($7.30) each, making it our most expensive meal on this trip. However, I feel like Salt was definitely a restaurant worth seeking out!

Düsseldorf

At the end of November, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Düsseldorf, Germany. Before stuffing ourselves with turkey, JT took us to Manima Der Laote, a restaurant owned by his friend that specializes in Laotian food. The chef/owner greeted us and he instantly reminded me of NYC chef David Chang, owner of Momofuku. I knew we were in good hands! The highlights of this meal were the very spicy green papaya salad and minced duck meat served with lettuce leaves and sticky rice.

San Sebastian 

This coastal, Spanish city is all about the pintxos! With so many good restaurants to choose from, you really can’t go wrong here. We had to escape from the drunken crowds of the Santo Tomas Festival on December 21^st so we went to the Gros neighborhood across the river. Here, we got our pintxos on at Bergara Bar, a local place recommended by our pension owner. We liked this place because we could actually sit down, it was quiet enough to where we could actually converse and the food was delicious and fresh.

We ordered mushroom risotto with foie gras ( my favorite), Spanish tortilla with roasted red peppers, a croquette, a seafood “tin can” and a few other items. Bergara Bar was a great recommendation!

Southwest France

We ended 2014 with a road trip through Southwest France and enjoyed several outstanding, homecooked meals with our French friend’s families. I’m so grateful for this expat life that allows us to travel, to meet new people and to enjoy new experiences together. The French families went all out with their hospitality and with course after course of decadent food for the Christmas season.

Just some of the courses from our French meals on December 23, 24 and 25th.

Christmas part II on December 26th.

After eating like this for four days in a row, I felt like a fat French saucisson! I'm thankful to our friends, but I still feel fat!

I might have to kick off 2015 with a bit of dieting after all these trips!

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