Christmas market Archives

Over the last several weeks, I have been back and forth between Stade and Göttingen. I’ve been visiting family and friends. I’ve also been spending some time looking through old pictures at my grandparents’s home and working on putting together a family tree.

I haven’t really done much exploring as I intended to. This is multifactorial. Firstly, going back and forth between Stade and Göttingen so frequently eats up quite a bit of time. Especially when I get back to the house in Stade, its grocery shopping, doing laundry, getting organized. When I leave the house, there is a checklist of things that need to be done and trying to pack as minimally as possible for the baby and myself.

Secondly, the weather has been a bit of a bummer lately. It’s not exactly an appealing thought to go on a long walks in the rainy, windy weather.

Thirdly, the COVID numbers have been rising dramatically again in Germany. These numbers are mainly fueled by the unvaccinated. About 68.6% of the eligible population is vaccinated. The distribution is not proportional. There is a clear north-south divide when you look at a map of the cases. The north is more vaccinated and has less cases. Northern states are taking ICU patients from the southern states because the southern hospitals are overwhelmed. With these rising numbers comes increased restrictions on public life. As of today, many parts of Lower Saxony have a 2G+ rule.

German Covid Regulations

In Germany, they have the 2G and 3G regulations. The G’s are geimpft (vaccinated), genesen (recovered), and getestet (tested). Many places already had 2G regulations in place. If you were vaccinated or had recovered from Covid in the past 6 months, you were good. As I mentioned, as of today, many increased the restrictions to 2G+. So in order to partake in certain activities (Christmas markets or going to get your hair cut), you need a few things. You have to be either fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid no more than 6 months ago AND need to have a negative test result from that day as well. Oh, and you still have to wear a mask.

The rising numbers have also caused many Christmas markets to shut down after only being open a few days or not opening at all.

Christmasmarket Adventures

I briefly visited the Christmas market in Göttingen last week when I was in town to grab some chocolates and flowers for my friend’s birthday. I had to show my proof of vaccination and ID to obtain a wristband. This wristband had to be shown to vendors to be able to buy anything. I quickly grabbed some fried mushrooms as a little snack. Back in the day when I was a medical student, we would head to the Christmas market as much as possible in the evening to drink some Glühwein (hot, spiced wine).

Yesterday, I drove to Buxtehude, about 20 minutes from Stade, to check out their Christmas market. Buxtehude is associated with fairytales. The city’s mascots are a hare and hedgehog. The story surrounding the two is similar to the American story of the tortoise and the hare. You’ll find statues and depictions of the two in stores, on the street and on street signs. For Christmas, they set up statues of various fairytale characters throughout the city. To enter the Christmas market, I had to show them my proof of vaccination and ID. I read a few of the stories posted under the fairytale statues and grabbed some Schmalzkuchen. That is fried pieces of dough topped with powdered sugar. Similar to funnel cake in the USA. Overall, it wasn’t really busy. Maybe I was just too early. But it didn’t feel like the typical Christmas market experience.

Mission: get into the Christmas market!

Today, I drove in the opposite direction and wanted to see the Christmas market in Himmelpforten (Heaven’s Gate). On the radio, I heard that Lower Saxony was now using the 2G+ rule and wondered if this would already apply to the Christmas market. When I arrived, I saw the large poster at the entrance gate announcing the 2G+ rule. I asked the gate attending where I could get tested. Luckily for me, there was a testing location in walking distance. Their website said they weren’t open for another 40 minutes but I decided to head over anyways. The walk was filled with light rain and fairly strong winds. My baby was tucked in the baby wrap under a cashmere sweater and oversized winter jacket. If it weren’t for the imminent threat of Christmas markets potentially closing soon, I would’ve gotten back into my car and driven home.

My wait at the testing center was maybe 15-20 minutes before being tested. They had opened early. When I exited the building, I saw that the line had quadrupled in length. I apparently wasn’t the only one surprised by the 2G+ rule. In Germany, you can use an App on your phone at testing centers. Your individual QR code is scanned and then the result is automatically uploaded into the app. Germany actually has a few Apps it uses. There is one for checking in at restaurants and such by scanning a QR code so that you don’t have to fill out the contact tracing paperwork. Another App verifies your vaccination status and one even alerts you if you have been in the vicinity of a person who recently tested positive. All pretty nifty.

Mission accomplished

Since it was going to take about 15 minutes for my test result to be ready, I headed to the grocery store to grab a few items. When the test result was on my phone, I finally headed to the Christmas market. All in all, about an hour after I originally arrived.

It was a bit depressing to see how empty the Christmas market was. This was likely due to all the people still standing in line to get their Covid test. There were a lot of vendors with handmade crafts as well as several food and beverage vendors. I walked around a bit looking to see if they had potatoes pancakes (one of my favorite Christmas market foods) but unfortunately, they didn’t. Nonetheless, I wanted to support the vendors, so I found one selling deep-fried apple rings. At this point, baby was over being in the carrier, so I decided to head back to the car and head home. Again, the real feeling of Christmas market was lacking a bit unfortunately.

The church in Himmelpforten (Heaven’s Gate)

Practicing gratefulness

I really am grateful that I’ve had the few Christmas market visits so far. There are a few more on my radar I’d like to visit in the near future. I’m even willing to take on some of the increased security measures to do so. But I also fear many will shut down or not even open because there won’t be enough visitors. It’s a bit sad because if it weren’t for Covid, I’d visit the markets in Hamburg, Hannover, Kassel and so on. They would be filled with people, laughter, food, drinks, snacks, lights, decorations and fun. It would be a time to spend with family and friends and make memories. Maybe I’m idealizing the experience a bit because it’s been so long since its been that way for me. The first few years after graduating medical school because I wasn’t in Germany and the last two years because of Covid.

If pandemics of the past are any indication however, this time of restriction too shall pass. I guess I’m also grateful that my baby is just that, a baby and won’t remember this time anyways. Hopefully, by the time long-term memory kicks in, Christmas markets will be back to their old glory and we can eat, laugh, drink, play and make memories together then.

mfg

Time really flies when you’re busy! How is it Sunday again already?

Svikki MD

I’m slowly morphing into a hospitalist. My clinic hours are now reduced to 1 PM-3 PM daily. The rest of the time I am in the hospital seeing my patients. I’ve asked for a small office to be put together for me. I didn’t want to keep occupying the nurses work stations and also needed my own space to be able to dictate and work without nursing bells constantly going off. Having an office on the floor will allow me to be close to the patients and nurses though. In all of the hospitals I worked at in Germany, the doctor’s office was on the floor with the patient rooms.

During residency, our office space was in the office building next to the hospital. That creates a lot of distance between you and your patients and staff. During residency, we’d often only be on the floors to pre-round and rounds with the attending. We would manage everything else over the phone or computer from our workroom throughout the day. That made it feel more like an office job than a clinical one. So, I am happy to be getting a little space on the floor to be amongst the action.

My census has remained pretty stable at 7-8 patients. A few of my swing bed patients feel more like acute care patients with things that have come up throughout the week. Having sufficient time in the hospital has made these changes very manageable however.

More Christmas traditions!

It finally started to snow a bit again yesterday. I find snow totally appropriate in the middle of December and welcome it. Having my tree up since last weekend and turning it on first thing when I get home has been really nice.

Christkindlmarkt – Weihnachtsmarkt

If we weren’t in a pandemic and I wasn’t in South Dakota, I’d be spending my evenings or weekends visiting the Christmas market! Germany is going into a new, stricter lockdown which probably won’t leave much room for Christmas markets this year. And honestly, it’s ok,…we can go one year without. Living in the USA, I’ve gone many Christmas seasons without visiting one and I have survived. It’s for the greater good.

Historical background

The forerunner of the Christmas market as we know it was Vienna’s December Market in the middle ages. It was first recorded in 1298, when citizens were granted permission to hold a Krippenmarkt during Advent. Open-air winter street markets were associated more specifically with Christmas in Germany, with the first Christkindlmarkt taking place a century later, in 1384. This was in the eastern hilltop town of Bautzen, Saxony. These early markets started by only selling meat but evolved to provide other everyday purchases, and eventually seasonal treats, decorations and crafts – accompanied by singing and dancing.
The Guardian – 11/29/2018

Growing up in Wisconsin, my family had the annual tradition of us all packing into the Suburban and driving to Chicago to visit the Christkindlmarkt there. I believe it’s the biggest Christmas market in the US with authentic German/Austrian/Swiss vendors. While living in Germany, we would go to the Christmas market so often after work and on the weekends. We would go to different towns to check out the different markets! Besides browsing the stands for little gifts or ornaments, there are a few must consume items.

Glühwein – mulled spiced wine! Makes you feel warm and happy inside. The non-alcoholic versions are pretty good too. It’s not just about the contents of the mug but very much about the mug itself. You pay a deposit on the mug that you would get back if you give it back. We would collect a mug each year to take home. During Medical school, we collected the glass mugs and played Glühwein-Pong with them.
Kartoffelpuffer – potato pancakes! Greasy hot potato pancakes topped with sugar and dunked in apple sauce. I am a HUGE lover of potatoes in many forms, Kartoffelpuffer is high up on the list as one of my favorite.
Crepe – very thin pancakes! Although French in origin, these are often found on Christmas markets as well. You can get them sweet or savory. I’m an all-year-round crepe lover and it’s a must when visiting France, but during Christmas market times, it’s an easy and fast snack to eat between Glühwein.
Do you have any favorites when visiting a Christmas market? Let me know what they are in the comments section below!

Family Photos

Our family didn’t do the typical American Christmas holiday card. We did however, often try to come up with a reason to dress up pretty extra for Christmas. We had a year were we all dressed up as “royals” and another year we had a Christmas Prom theme, complete with pine tree and ornament corsages and boutonnieres. As children, we’d usually be put in matching outfits for a picture. I definitely plan to continue this tradition one day with my own children.

I’m going to head out on a little walk before snuggling into a warm blanket on my couch, lighting three candles on my Advent wreath, and watching a Christmas movie. I hope everyone is staying safe this holiday season! I’ll be back next weekend with more German and family Christmas traditions!

mfg

Getting into the Christmas Spirit…sort of?