Bringing Back Cocktail Hour - Christmas Markets in Germany

Our friend Katie had told us that Germany was the place to experience the holidays.  When she sponsored “dinner and drinks for two”, we decided to set off on a search for the most delicious food and lively libations available in the country’s celebrated Christmas markets.

We started our tour in Düsseldorf, a large, pedestrian-friendly city with several markets, each with its own unique atmosphere.  Our favorite was Altstadt (Old Town), home to a giant ferris wheel overlooking an intimate collection of well-lit holiday stalls.  We explored the offerings from the local vendors and satisfied our hunger with fried potato pancakes, pork shank, and a heaping helping of grilled mushrooms topped with spicy chili sauce.  As the temperatures dropped we warmed our hands and our bellies with spiced glühwein served in decorative mugs.

We boarded a northbound train to Osnabrück, the town where three of Jenn’s grandparents were from.  It didn’t take long for us to fall in love with the historic town and its Christmas market which was the perfect size; the people were friendly and the food was among the best we’ve encountered.  We strolled through the stalls surrounded by beautiful, colorful buildings as we consumed Nordic salmon over a bed of lettuce.  The salmon had been smoked on a cedar plank secured over an open flame that gave it an out-of-this-world char grilled flavor.  This first dish of the day satisfied our immediate hunger, but it wasn’t long before we were queued up at another stand where we ordered a thick pork nackensteak “mit kraut”.  The glühwein continued to flow as we ate our way across Germany.

The final stop on our fun filled Katie-funded Christmas market tour was one of the country's largest and oldest.  Stuttgart houses more than 270 stalls filled with holiday goodies, and it accommodated an immense weekend crowd during our visit.  We tried two new plates – A sauerkraut dish that included sausage bits and hot mustard, and a hearty chili con carne.  You can surely guess what we selected for our warming beverage of choice.

We raised each new cup of glühwein (and glühkirsch, and glühschnapps) saying “Prost” and “Thank you Katie” for bringing back this wonderfully non-traditional cocktail hour.  Have a Frohe Weihnachten!

Bringing Back Cocktail Hour - Dublin, Ireland

As soon as Noreen’s “Dinner and Drinks for Two” sponsorship came in, we knew exactly where we were going to spend it – Ireland.  The weather in Dublin turned cold and rainy, so we sought a welcoming pub that would warm our bellies with hearty fare.  Attracted by the soft, muffled sound of Irish music, we stopped in our tracks and entered The Porterhouse Brewing Company.  A quick perusal of the menu confirmed that this was the place for us.

The ground floor was packed, so we saddled up to a wooden table on the second floor where we could hear the live music.  We ordered a half dozen Carlingford Oysters, baked with smooth salmon butter and topped with salmon chunks and breadcrumbs. This deliciously rich starter could have been a meal on its own, but we were in no rush, so we sipped our locally brewed Porterhouse Red, and a smooth-tasting Oyster Stout in anticipation of the main course.

It wasn’t long before two traditional dishes arrived to weigh down our table.  Matt sliced into the tender roast beef in red wine gravy served with more-than-generous portions of roast vegetables and incredibly good Yorkshire pudding while Jenn started into the bacon and cabbage dish.  This wasn’t any ordinary American bacon, it was more like a giant slab of marbled ham coated with whole grain mustard and brown sugar, topped with a creamy white sauce, all displayed atop crunchy shredded cabbage.

At the conclusion of our indulgent meal, we raised our glasses and proposed a fitting toast to Noreen’s generosity, “May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home.  May good and faithful friends be yours wherever you may roam.”

Guinness Stew and Irish Flu

Seeking the comfort of pub food and familiar language, we hopped a flight from Madrid, Spain to Dublin, Ireland where we encountered very friendly people and unseasonably nice weather.  We spent many days walking around the city, weaving through the crowded streets to some of the main tourist venues, and enjoying a pint of Guinness at the end of the brewery tour.  Like usual, we found greater pleasure blending in with the locals at Oxmantown coffee shop, which dealt out the most amazing sandwiches, and taking in Wuthering Heights at the historic Gate Theater.

Another highlight was our excursions to neighboring towns like Howth and Dun Laoghaire.  Howth offered a beautiful and refreshing 12 km hike along the coast which reminded us how much we love walking through the many splendors of nature.  Dun Laoghaire engaged us with its Maritime Museum and a complementary exhibit of photos from Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Antarctic exploration during the early years of WWI.

For our final few days in Ireland, we'd planned a trip down to Cork.  Those plans were detoured when we both encountered what we dubbed "the Irish flu" - A 48 hour illness that took the wind out of our sails and demanded a sedate recovery period.  Cork will have to wait for a future visit to Ireland, one in which we hope to stretch our hiking legs to further shores.

Great Expectations - Spain

We had great expectations of Spain.  We were familiar with the language, love tapas and seafood, and heard wonderful things about it from many of our friends.  With high hopes, we arrived in Madrid on a one-way flight with no set departure date.

The city of Madrid has a lot going for it.  A wonderful transportation infrastructure would deliver us anywhere in the city quickly and affordably.  We were impressed with the parks which were numerous, vast, and well kept.  And overall, it seemed pretty safe.  Sadly though, we never quite "clicked" with the locals.

We wore our most congenial smiles and used our best Spanish language skills.  We also observed the local behavior and tried our best to emulate it.  Unfortunately, nearly every interaction was met with frowns and seemingly unnecessary complexity that made us feel exhausted and a bit unwelcome.

We hoped things would lighten up in the seaside town of Malaga, anticipating the soft sandy beach and fresh seafood.  The seafood didn't disappoint; it was some of the best we've had in Europe.  The beach was vast and had a lovely and lengthy boardwalk, but wasn't as picturesque as we were led to believe, and while we encountered a few welcoming souls in Malaga, we again ran into several more challenging personalities.

Most trains out of Malaga head north, so we decided to spend a few more days in Madrid to determine if we were being too quick to judge.  We thoroughly enjoyed a day taking in the expansive collection at the Prado Museum, but when things got difficult once more, we sought out the most familiar and comforting thing we could think of...an American language movie theater.  Here, we received a warm welcome from Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in what could be described as the least mentally taxing movie of all time, 'Dumb and Dumber To'.  We ate popcorn, drank a few beers, and suspended reality for nearly two hours in our cocoon of ignorance...It was divine!

After day-trips to the beautifully fortified cities of Toledo and Avila, we decided it was time to move on.  Perhaps we had set the bar too high.  Perhaps we shouldn't have held preconceived notions.  But in the end, we can't help feeling just a little let down by our Spanish encounters.