Holidays in Dresden

Dresdeners take their Stollen (this holiday bread) very seriously. Families have their very own special kind from a local baker. The candles on the tree didn't catch the tree or anyone's hair on fire! (Unlike our tree in 1988 in Berlin.)



Falk's family opens the presents one at a time. Uwe, his brother, wraps the presents meticulously. As you hand the recipient their gift, you say, "it's not a CD" (unless of course it is).

At -10 C, Dierk wore this hat.

There was never a food shortage. After this dinner, we did the worm (breakdancing).

The family parties begin with dessert (coffee and cake) around 4pm, then move on to the main meal, then finally around midnight comes the red wine, Sarotti chocolate, and whiskey or vodka. The former East Germany has kept what it liked from the Russian occupation: Parliament vodka.

Traveling on the train and bus, we went skiing in the Czech Republic with Bastian, Dörte, Tilda, and Levin where there are over 200km of groomed cross country trails.

Our hut was on the top of a mountain in the Isergebirge Mountains. The beer cost ~$1/liter and the mineral water ~$3/half liter. Czech is part of the EU but doesn't switch to Euros until next year, so we exchanged money at the train station. The closest town of Liberec reminded me of many other Eastern European towns where I had to fight my way onto and off of the street car. Having a pair of skis in toe helped.

Along the way while skiing, we stopped at these hot drink kiosks: coffee, Gluhwein (mulled wine), instant hot chocolate, black tea, and of course Bratwurst! That comes with a squirt of not one, not two, but four varieties of mustard.

Bastian wanted to take us on a "long tour." I didn't realize that meant 25-30km; luckily, Dörte armed me with the best blister prevention package available before we left. When it got dark, we just put on our headlights.

The woods all look the same after awhile (gorgeous), and the maps have no "you are here" indication, so luckily I had my GPS along with us.

Those Czechs take their skiing seriously. I thought I could hold my own CC skiing, but I was the slowest one around. One guy had a baby on his back, another two kids in a trailer behind him, and he passed me skating on the uphill! I didn't see or hear any other English-speakers while we were there, and maybe ~10% of the skiers were German. Bastian knew what to order in Czech on their menus: gulash, borscht, Turkish coffee, and beer.




...with the wild pigs.




Jim, Heike, and Lukas live in Austria now (spec. Kufstein nestled in the Alps) with a sauna in their house too! Their town has a milk automat where you bring your container, put in 80 Euro cents, and fill up with raw cow milk! That is one thing Oakland lacks.