Christmas Break Recap: Germany

We went to Germany next, where we visited Berlin and Heidelberg. Berlin is full of such history. (In the picture we are at the Brandenburg gate, the last remaining gate in a series of gates into the city.) We visited Reichstag (the Parliament building), the Berliner Dom (biggest Protestant church in Berlin), Checkpoint Charlie (former checkpoint between West and East Berlin), saw parts of the Berlin Wall, and got more than our fill of Christmas markets. They're one of my favorite things about Christmas in Europe. A series of charming wooden stands with everything from delicious baked goodies to adorable handmade ornaments. I loved tromping through the snow, admiring the products and the groups of happy people with bratwursts in one hand and steaming mugs of cider in the other. (No joke!)

Berlin was also where we had our first "angel encounter." We were a bit confused about which trains to take to get to our hostel, and I was going to ask a woman on the train whom I knew spoke English. But then a nice man came out of seemingly nowhere and offered to help us through the train station. I was a bit apprehensive at first, but he didn't ask any personal questions (which I deemed the test of potential creeper status), and I felt safe when he was leading us through the thick crowds. He even stopped to help a lady with her suitcase on the stairs. No one does that in Europe. It's difficult to describe, and it may sound a bit naive when we tell the story, but I really felt like he was an angel. That was the first of many times God came to our rescue. Whenever we would get into tough situation, an English speaker would come out of nowhere and help us. (We called them Germangels, Frangels, and Italiangels, depending on which country we were in when the help came.)

I also enjoyed Heidelberg. It's a cute town/small city. We climbed 300 stairs in the snow (uphill both ways) to the castle with a great, though foggy, view of the city. I bought Playmobil there because I mean, it's a German toy and we were in Germany! We also spent a few hours in a wonderful, warm little cafe. Good friends, hot milk (with honey! I felt like I was in Canaan!), my notebook, and gorgeous snowy scenery outside made for a fabulous time. I grew to admire the German people. I have to admit, in the back of my mind I was a bit nervous about going to Germany. Not to be racist or anything, but all the painful history we've learned in relation to Germany throughout the years has left me with a subconscious apprehension, though I know they're not like that in this era. They are a beautiful people, and it's amazing to see where they are now after all they've been through. We were sad to leave Germany, but we were excited for the next leg: classy, beautiful Paris.