Berlin, Germany

Good morning!

I’m writing this post from home in Charlotte, NC!

(at 6:45am – thanks time-change)

I’ll keep it short and sweet.

About two weeks ago Shane and I continued our German Christmas market tradition; this year in Berlin, Germany! I had full intentions of writing this post before we headed home for the holidays, but such is life around this time of year – too many plans and not enough time.

Amazingly enough, this is our 4th year of Christmas market trips! We’ve realized that each year we’ve gone a little bit bigger.

Year One – Day Trip to Münster

Year Two – Overnight in Valkenburg (The Netherlands) and a day trip to Düsseldorf.

Year Three – One night in Cologne

Year Four – TWO nights in Berlin

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it every year. If you ever get the opportunity to go to a German Christmas market then do it! They are so magical and full of Christmas spirit (I imagine the gluhwein also helps with that). Berlin was no exception – great shopping, great food, great company!

This year we were able to meet some Groningen friends (from Shane’s department), Theresa and Giulia, who are now living in Germany after finishing their PhDs.

I mean come on. Who doesn’t want some hot cheesy balls?

And Shane found his dream come true – a marzipan POTATO!

(aka – a potato sized ball of marzipan lightly rolled in cinnamon)

We were also able to fit in some Berlin sightseeing despite the abundance of Christmas cheer on Friday night. Saturday morning we participated in our favorite ‘new city’ activity – a walking tour! We were a little worried a 3.5h tour would be too long, but it wasn’t enough time! Our (funny enough, British) guide did an excellent job at taking us to all the major sites.