Strasbourg: The Oldest Christmas Market In Europe

Away from the hustle and bustle of the holiday
festivities the city is still beautiful

My favorite part of the past few weeks has been making the rounds of the European Christmas markets. Whether large or small, local or international, these markets are a European tradition and are sure to instill the spirit of the holidays in everyone who visits them. And my favorite adventure to date took me to Strasbourg, France and the oldest Christmas market in Europe.

Located on the Ill River along the German border in eastern France, Strasbourg's location is reflected in everything from its architecture to its food. It is truly a diverse city that feels a lot like Germany while being located in France. The historic city center is essentially an island surrounded by the flowing canal like river making me think of Brugge. In 1988 the entire city center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site marking the first time an entire city center received such an honor. Strasbourg is capital of the Alsace region, the official seat of the European Union Parliament and home to the Grand Mosque, the largest place of Islamic worship in France. There is also a grand cathedral, broad squares and winding cobblestone streets and alleys where you can get pleasantly lost for hours at a time. And if shopping is your thing you are in luck because here you can find everything from upscale designer boutiques selling "Paris" fashions to gourmet shops filled with local wines, foie gras, cheeses and chocolates. (You will never go hungry here).

Welcome to the markets

And then there is the Christmas Market. Or more correctly the markets because there are eleven of them spread across the historic city center. Strasbourg bills itself as the "Capital of Christmas"for good reason. The markets date back to 1570 when the first Christmas market in Europe took place here. In 1605 the tradition of decorating fir trees was introduced to the advent festivities. The tradition continues with a giant tree being erected in Place Kleber each winter. The city center also boasts several hundred kilometers of Christmas lights and decorations which turns the entire city into a Christmas wonderland.

Today,with over 300 individual stalls spread out over eleven markets, the Christmas market of Strasbourg is collectively one of the largest in Europe. The stalls are divided into themed markets which include a Village of Sharing (a market filled with NGO vendors such as UNICEF) and a Children's Village where the smallest visitors are treated like royalty. There are markets dedicated to selling the speciality items of Alsace (lots of hand crafted wooden items, foie gras and wine sold here). And each year a different country is invited to set up a market dedicated to highlighting their country's products. This year's guest country was Belgium where chocolates and pomme frites were on display. And the food. Whether it be spicy gluwein (of both the red and white varieties), baguettes slathered with cheeses and meat or cookies and baked goodies of every shape, size and flavor are there for the eating and enjoying.

Roasting chestnuts

Sweet treats of the chocolate variety

Build your own nativity 

Traditional Alsace houses

So if you want to get into the holiday spirit, are looking for something special for yourself or someone else or simply want to experience a traditional European Christmas, visit the Christmas markets of Strasbourg. I went this year and plan on returning again.

If you go:

Place Broglie
67000 Strasbourg, France
+33 (0)3 88 52 28 28
www.noel.strasbourg.eu
From 28 November to 31 December 2014 (check dates for future years)

Cook vs Turkey.....

Mr. Butterball before

......and the cook won? Yes.

There are many ways to cook a turkey. Do you start with a fresh or frozen bird? Some people swear by submerging them in vats of hot oil and frying them while other people skewer them before placing them on the grill. Still others opt for the oven roasted method but that begs the question of to brine or not brine. Do you season and baste the bird by squeezing herbs and oils between the skin and meat or cook it au natural. And what about the dressing; is it cooked inside of the bird or out? Everyone has their own idea of what is correct. A couple of years ago a friend introduced me to the idea of cooking the bird in its frozen state. She swore that it  came out juicier this way and saved you the hassle of trying to figure out how to safely defrost it first. I was intrigued but skeptical and each time I went to cook a turkey I contemplated this method then (turkied out) and fell back on the method that I was most comfortable with--roasting an unbrined yet heavily seasoned bird in the oven with its cavity filled with sliced apples and citrus. After all, what would happen if it didn't cook properly and I had a table full of guests expecting turkey.

But then I found myself in Belgium with a single small refrigerator. My only options for a turkey were the frozen ones from the grocery store and with my small refrigerator I simply didn't have a place where I could safely thaw the bird. So I took the plunge, crossed my fingers and stuck my fully frozen bird in the oven six hours before my guests were set to arrive. And I waited (while eliciting reassuring emails from my friend). And I waited because my bird was slightly larger than the bird described in the "recipe" I was following.

But sure enough, shortly before my full fledged panic began to kick in the bird started to thaw and turn brown. By the time I had to wrestle the still partially frozen neck and organs out of the cavity it was actually beginning to smell like a turkey. The afore mentioned removal process, however, was not pretty. Picture two people, one set of oven mitts, tongs and an oven hot roasting pan perched over a small sink. It was hot, messy and slightly work that had me longing to be able to put the turkey in the oven and forget about it. But a cook has to do what a cook has to do, right? And because I am a glutton for punishment, I took this opportunity to fill the now empty cavity with homemade dressing.. Again this wasn't an easy task since I was dealing with a bird that was simultaneously frozen and burning to the touch. Ouch.

A few hours later, however, when I removed the fully cooked turkey from the oven I thought I had success. Due to the afore mentioned wrestling match the fully cooked bird wasn't as pretty as I had hoped but we carved it before it went on the table so no one was the wiser. The result? The meat was cooked, the bird was juicy and our guests raved about its taste. Given my current circumstances I'd use this cooking method again. But give me a larger kitchen with a larger refrigerator, I'd go back to my usual method.

In the end, however, I got my belated Thanksgiving dinner so now it is time to tackle Christmas. There will not be turkey on the menu this time around.

Mr. Butterball, the cooked version

Wordless Wednesday: Modern Lights

Burning The Midnight Oil

Don't get me wrong; I love the holiday season. But while it can be an incredibly festive and joyous time of year, in order to make all of that happen requires a lot of work. Houses don't get magically decorated and gifts don't buy, wrap (and in our case) ship themselves. Those lovely boxes of cookies that get delivered to the office? Yes, they take time to bake and before I can even turn on the oven I need to tackle the chore of shopping for ingredients. You get the idea.....

Growing up one of my most prevalent holiday memories was that of my own mother coming home from work then staying up into the wee hours of the morning toiling away with holiday preparations. The copious amount of cookies, wrapped gifts and the year all three of us kids received hand knit stockings are images that are burned into my memory. And somewhere buried amongst those memories are those of my mom not being completely happy about all that was required. But each year, thanks entirely to her efforts, it all came together and as an adult I still cherish those Christmas memories. As I was in the midst of my own baking-shopping-wrapping frenzy recently I stopped and realized that in this respect I have now become my mother. (Gasp).

As a family we aren't big gift givers. Glenn and I no longer exchange gifts opting to take a family trip instead. "Santa" visits Sidney leaving a few carefully selected gifts but that is it. As far as extended family goes, some years we give gifts and other years we don't. Living in Albania with limited outgoing mail service we fell out of the habit of sending packages home. This year, with ready access to the U.S. postal system and the wonderful Christmas markets of western Europe, we made the decision that we would send small Christmas packages home. But with Christmas a little over a week away we have yet to purchase any of those gifts. We've been looking at all of the Christmas markets but have yet to find anything that strikes our fancy. After all, we like to give gifts that have special meaning rather than giving for the sake of giving. What does one give to people who are world travelers and have everything they could need? My fallback items of locally made treats really don't fare well when sent through the mail. And now as I make regular pilgrimages to the post office to see if Sidney's big gift has arrived I see long queues of people waiting to send off their own carefully wrapped packages. To date I've only acquired the boxes and customs forms needed to mail of those afore mentioned, hoped for gifts. And Christmas cards accompanying a newsy family letter? Those went by the wayside years ago when keeping track of the addresses of our ever moving friends became too much work. Besides, between Facebook and this blog I figure people are getting their fill of what we are up to.

So closer to home I'm focusing on the here and now. We put up our tree and decorated the house the weekend after Thanksgiving. It looks lovely if not a bit sparse since our rooms with their soaring ceilings are just so much more cavernous than we are used to. I figure this year we will pick up additional items at the Christmas markets and be all set for a fully decorated abode next year. Having just hosted our belated Thanksgiving dinner for friends this past weekend I'm now giving thought to our own Christmas dinner but as we will be taking off for our next adventure on Boxing Day am unsure what I should make. After trudging to several grocery stores, the local market and making a foray into the Belgian version of a Michael's craft store (my worst nightmare in any country or language) for boxes, I'm ready to put together cookie boxes for Glenn's co-workers. And despite my single, European sized oven and minuscule kitchen with its single sliver of counter space, I was on a baking streak yesterday whipping out batch after batch of cookies. That was, until I ran out of both butter and sugar and it being a Monday and the day of the national strikes in Belgium, and I was unable to get to a store to replenish my supply. But I'll get there today (or tomorrow) and continue baking tonight (or tomorrow) and those coveted boxes of goodies will be delivered this week before the office shuts down for the remainder of the year. Then I can tackle the gift buying and wrapping.......

So I'm warning family back in the states not to hold their breath waiting for a package from us. It may or may not arrive and if it does it will be a New Years gift rather than a Christmas one. The cookies will get done and Sidney's presents will be wrapped and delivered by Santa because...well....they have to. Somehow it really does come together every year and this one won't be any different. And for a brief moment on Christmas Day I will sit back, relax, eat a cookie or two and remind myself that I really do love this time of year. Honestly, I do. Because after all, what would Christmas be without the flurry of activity, the last minute trips to the store and the late night struggles with tape that sticks to everything but what it should. I really wouldn't have it any other way. Honestly.

Guests In A Foreign Land

Today is another day of national strikes here in Belgium and more than ever I reminded that while I live here, I am not from here. Rather, I am a guest in a foreign land and because of that it is not my place to call into question, criticize or be disrespectful of the way Belgians live their lives. Facebook has once again been abuzz over the past few days about the strikes, what is open or closed, how inconvenient it all is and even how unfair it is to us foreigners since it isn't our problem. Statements like these make me shudder and frankly, I find them embarrassing. Because like I said, we are merely guests here and as guests, we need to respect our hosts whether we agree with them or not. And this attitude serves me (and other guests) well not only today but on every day that we call Belgium (or any other city or country) our temporary home.

For me the best thing about living abroad is experiencing living abroad. This includes the good and bad, familiar (if it exists) and the foreign. I mean, as Americans (or insert whatever nationality is applicable here), what is the purpose of moving overseas if we try to recreate a little American community for ourselves in our new home. All too often I hear people complaining about how bad things are where they are living yet the "bad" is more like different than what they are used to. This criticism is hardly fair since the American way isn't necessarily the "right" way of doing things. (Hardly). I know that some people move under duress with no real desire to experience a foreign community. They may come because of their job, their spouse's job or other circumstances that they feel they have no control over. This may or may not be the reality but it is their reality and regardless of one's circumstances, that does not excuse them from being respectful of and observing the customs of their new, albeit temporary, homes.

Perhaps I'm just feeling a bit peevish today but I am tired of hearing people complain about our host country. There is a strange sense of self righteousness amongst some people who feel as though they deserve special treatment because.....well...I'm not sure. Some feel as though they should be exempt from following the rules and laws of the country, that they shouldn't be temporarily inconvenienced by events (such as today's strikes) or even have to deal with circumstances they are unfamiliar with. There are complaints that houses are too old or small, the roads too narrow and parking is difficult. I hear that everything from food to electricity to fuel is too expensive here.

Maybe all of this true or maybe it isn't. What we need to remember is that we are living here temporarily while this is a permanent home to people who are from here. While unemployment rates in Belgium are soaring, we are here because someone in our family has a job. Many of us are lucky enough to be able to buy food and fuel on a tax free basis while Belgians must pay even more than we do. So rather than expecting the locals to adjust to my expectations, I feel as though I should adjust to theirs. It is the least I can do. I shouldn't expect them to speak English because that is my language, rather I should (and am) attempting to learn theirs. My not being able to find a favorite food item in the grocery store doesn't mean the store is inadequate, rather I need to seek out a local equivalent (if it exists), tap into my other resources to find it or do without. If shop hours aren't convenient for me or the customer service isn't at the same levels of what I am accustomed to, that is my problem and not a deficiency with the country. If I think the roads are too narrow maybe I need to be driving a smaller car.  But just think; if so many people have all of these complaints about living here, imagine what the locals think of us.

Like I said, perhaps I am feeling a bit peevish today. But if others can freely complain about what they don't like about living overseas, then I can talk about what I think is wrong with their behavior. Call it my own small counter protest on a day of national protest.

A Dickens Christmas

If you are a fan of Charles Dickens and don't mind braving a crowd (a very big crowd), then the Dickens Christmas Festival in Rochester, England is the place you want to be in early December. For one weekend each year the tiny town of Rochester is transformed into a Dickens era village complete with carolers, lights, parades, a Christmas market and of course, Dickens characters. And that is just where we were, along with the afore mentioned crowds, last weekend.

The first thing that struck me about Rochester is that it is quaint. Very quaint. Even without the roaming Dickens characters the center of town feels as though it is trapped in time. But add in the characters, the carolers on just about every street corner and the Christmas lights and the only way to describe the town is enchanting. Because the festival is only held over the course of two days, it is jam packed with activities and there really is something for everyone. There are concerts for young and old, character reenactments and two daily parades, one of which is by candlelight. If shopping is your thing you can

Pipers a piping

browse both the shops and the Christmas market as well as the craft fair. And let us not forget the food (and drink) which is readily offered by all of the restaurants in town. I must say that the hot mulled wine I tried was some of the best I've ever had.

And because, for us, no trip to a foreign city would be complete without visiting the local cathedral or castle, we visited both. This was a fun castle to explore and although it was set amidst all of the hustle and bustle, it provided us with the rare opportunity to escape much of the crowds. We were able to wind and clamber our way through a maze of passageways to the top and were rewarded with sweeping views of the cathedral, river and festival below. Not only was the cathedral beautiful to look at but once inside we were treated to a rehearsal of their choir singing seasonal music. There is something about the acoustics of a church that makes live music all the more moving and powerful.

Our day in Rochester was just what I needed to get me into the holiday spirit. I loved the lights, music and festive atmosphere and am now ready for more. So bring on Christmas. It is less than two weeks away and I am ready.

Rochester Cathedral as seen from the Castle of Rochester

If you go:

Dickens Christmas Festival
Rochester Town Centre
ME1 1LX
Check for 2015 dates

Telephone: 01634 338131
email: visitor.centre@medway.gov.uk
www.visitkent.co.uk/events

Christmas At Leeds Castle

Leeds Castle on a frosty morning

Nothing gets me into the holiday spirit more than seeing a house that is beautifully decorated for the season. And if it is a house that I didn't have to decorate myself, it is all the better. And while we're at it, why not make it a really big house, or even a castle? So to give myself a jumpstart on the holidays that is exactly what I did last weekend when I visited Leeds Castle in Maidstone, England.

Located in Kent, southern England, Leeds Castle bills itself as "the loveliest castle in the world" and while I haven't visited every castle around the globe, the grounds at Leeds are perhaps the most beautiful ones I've ever seen. It was crisp but sunny on the morning of my visit and the grounds were encased in a thick layer of frost which only added to the magical feel. Sidney, having never experienced real snow, was mesmerized by both the sight and feel of the white grounds. And even without foliage on the trees, the grassy expanses, ponds -- complete with the castle's iconic black swans-- and pathways were unbelievably beautiful. The grounds are expansive and include numerous gardens, a vineyard, aviary, maze, grotto and 9-hole golf course. You could hours, perhaps even days, wandering the grounds and not see everything.

Frosty grounds

And of course there is the castle. Set in the middle of a moat in the center, the first castle was built during Norman times during the reign of William the Conqueror's son Henry I. In 1278 it became the residence of Queen Eleanor of Castile and remained in royal hands for 300 years. The castle continued to be passed down from one generation to the next with changes, additions and renovations taking place. Although the castle is currently owned by a private foundation whose mission is to preserve the castle and grounds, the last private owner was actually an Anglo-American woman named Lady Olive Baillie. Lady Baillie purchased the castle in 1926 and essentially modernized it to what it is today while preserving its rich heritage.

Each year during the holiday season the castle is decked out with Christmas decorations with a Christmas market being held on the grounds. This year's theme is "A Gingerbread Christmas" and we could see and smell the theme throughout the castle. Each of the castle's grand rooms was decorated with tasteful yet spectacular decorations reflecting the room's specific color schemes. A towering tree, decorated with ornaments, many made of gingerbread, served as each room's focal point. And then there was the giant replica of the castle made entirely gingerbread. Here no detail was too small as even the most ornate tapestry was painstakingly portrayed in gingerbread and icing. It was truly an impressive sight to behold.

The gingerbread castle...

...and a very detailed bed chamber

Between the spicy scent of the gingerbread and the woodsy pine smell from all of the trees, you just knew that you were in the midst of a Christmas wonderland. I'm not sure what part of the castle was our favorite. Sidney loved the scavenger hunt that was especially designed with children in mind. While all of the rooms were impressive I think I was most partial to the library where books lined the shelves from floor to ceiling and if you looked carefully, you could see miniature gingerbread men peering down at you.

The library tree

I loved every minute I spent at Leeds Castle and want to go back again in the spring. And the summer. And the fall. Because I am sure that each season brings its own beauty and I would love to experience it all.

The black swans of Leeds Castle

If you go:

Leeds Castle, Maidstone, Kent ME17 1 PL
www.leeds-castle.co-uk
+44 (0) 1622 765400
19 pounds, adults
11 pounds, children ages 4-15
Grounds open daily at 10.00, castle at 10.30