Christmastime in Europe

Traveling during the off-season may not seem as appealing as taking a trip in the summer when the weather is beautiful and warm, but there are a lot of perks to winter trips, particularly during Christmastime, when all the big cities in Europe are all dressed up for the holidays!

The big Christmas tree in Gdansk

Presents all over Warsaw

A tree in Pariser Platz

Old Town Warsaw

A tree in the Stockholm harbor

Christmas elk!

Plenty of opportunities for ice skating!

Even Checkpoint Charlie is festive

Frankfurt's Christmas tree

More holiday spirit in Frankfurt

Poznan's sculptures are ready for Christmas

And so is the main square

Christmas markets, where you can buy handmade and homemade goods, are a European tradition, and I have seen my share of quaint and cozy little Christmas markets where locals sell everything from candles and woodcarvings to cheeses and jams. I think I've been to at least six or seven big ones this season.

Stockholm

Skansen

Gamla Stan

Berlin

Alexanderplatz

The Christmas spirit might just be worth the cold weather!

At Home in Stockholm

The only downside to the Christmas party was that it was the night before my (really early) flight to Stockholm. I managed to get a few hours of sleep before I had to catch a shuttle to the airport. The flight itself was a quick hop over the Baltic Sea. I had the entire row of seats on the plane to myself which was the first time that's ever happened!

One bus ride and a large cup of coffee later and I was ready to check out (and fall in love with!) the city. I dropped my bag off at my hostel where the owner gave me a map and directions to the Old Town and set off to eagerly explore. The weather was sunny (if not warm) and the sights of Stockholm did not disappoint.

Gamla Stan is Stockholm's Old Town, a union of winding cobblestone streets, rows of shops and flats in shades of gold and red, climbing ivy, and whirlwind activity. Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan are the two main roads that wind through the old town, framed by spindly trees and frescoed facades . I could appreciate them, even though I couldn't pronounce them! Situated within the Old Town is the Stockholm Cathedral, Storkyrkan, which used to be a Catholic church and is now part of the Church of Sweden. 

Beautiful Stockholm

Gamla Stan

St. George and the Dragon in Storkyrkan

The Royal Palace is also located in Gamla Stan, home to the Swedish Royal family, over 1,000 elaborately bedecked rooms, and plenty of interesting historical artifacts. I caught the changing of the guards in front of the palace at noon, which was a pretty elaborate affair.

The Royal Palace

The changing of the guards at noon

Inside the palace

Am I royalty yet?

Neighboring the Old Town is the little islet of Riddarholmen, the Knight's Islet. Riddarholmen is perhaps one of the easiest sights to find in Stockholm thanks to the towering church, Riddarholmskyrkan, which is a familiar silhouette on the Stockholm skyline. This was my next destination. Unfortunately the church is closed between December and February, so I couldn't go inside, but the outside is plenty impressive.

Riddarholmskyrkan

I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Moderna Museet before the end of the day. It was a smallish museum on Skeppsholmen island, and it had some really fantastic displays. So far it's my favorite modern art museum that I've been to!

Back at the hostel I learned that I luckily and completely coincidentally happened to be in Stockholm on St. Lucia's Day (December 13). St. Lucia's Day is one of the biggest Christmastime traditions in Sweden. St. Lucia (whose name means 'light') was a Christian martyr who, according to a legend, brought food to Christians hiding from persecution in the catacombs of Rome. She wore candles on her head so that she could carry as much as possible to the catacombs. Today, the tradition is celebrated in churches and in homes with a young girl dressing as St. Lucia with a wreath of candles on her head, bringing food to the family and singing traditional songs. The hostel owner told us we could see a public celebration of St. Lucia's Day in Skansen.

Skansen is the world's first open-air museum, founded in 1891. It's like a miniature little town recreated to past historical periods, complete with plenty of animals. Me and a friend I made at the hostel decided we couldn't miss the celebration that we so serendipitously had arrived in Stockholm for, so on Sunday we headed to Skansen to witness our first St. Lucia's Day. In Skansen, we were directed to a public hall where we were packed in with crowds of people on wooden benches. A Swedish woman gave a little presentation (in four different languages) to all of us, and then the children came in, singing songs. The processed around the hall, lead by the oldest girl who was dressed as St. Lucia with the wreath of candles on her head. They were really cute (and amazingly well harmonized)! After the celebration, there was plenty more to do in Skansen such as wander the giant Christmas market, eat delicious homemade waffles, watch a Swedish choir performance, and avoid all the chickens and pigs running amok! It started to snow lightly in the evening, and honestly, Stockholm in a gentle snow felt like something from a fairytale!

St. Lucia and her entourage

A Christmas market!

A surprise Christmas choir

I had just enough time after the Skansen to see one last sight before heading back to the airport: the giant Vasa warship in the Vasamuseet. Luckily, the museum was quite close to Skansen since they are both located on the same island of Djurgården, so I was able to get there very easily. The Vasa is a gigantic Swedish warship that was built in the 17th century, but sank on its maiden voyage. It wasn't found again until the 1950s where it was salvaged, restored, and given its very own museum. The ship is really impressive, especially because so much of it and its contents were preserved as it lay undisturbed under the sea. The museum is also extremely nice and well put together; it's often listed as one of the top sights to see in Stockholm.

The Vasa

And so I was very, very pleasantly surprised by Stockholm and how much I liked the city! It's definitely gained a spot as one of my top five favorite cities!

I really liked the famous Stockholm elk!

 

(P.S. - if you need another reason to like Stockholm as much as I do, just Google 'the King of Sweden wearing hats.')

A Christmas Party (of course)

Once I used the phrase 'of course' when I was speaking to my students and they asked me to explain what it meant. Now, one 3rd grade boy has decided it is his new favorite English phrase, or so I have inferred from his frequent employment of the phrase.

"Are you finished with your snack?" I'll ask him.
"Yes, of course."

Later, "Do you have your homework?"
"I have the homework, of course."

The students wrote about their favorite school subject and I get a paper that says, 'P.E. is my favorite subject. Of course.' I knew who wrote that one right away. It's so funny what the students pick up. But it also reminds me to be very deliberate with whatever I say in class!

A trip to Stockholm from Gdansk costs about $20 round trip so I decided that this would be an excellent destination for my first trip outside of the Poland in Europe (of course). But more about this trip later.

The day before I left for Stockholm was the school Christmas party. I was told that the Christmas party was quite the shindig, so I was excited to see how the Poles celebrated and to eat all the traditional foods. I was teaching the entire day, but I brought a fancy dress in my backpack, changed into some not-so-practical-for-teaching shoes, and did a quick transformation at the school as everyone was arriving for the party. My boss arrived looking beautiful in a floor-length dress and her husband was decked out in a fancy suit, so I immediately knew they weren't kidding about the party being a formal occaision. The main room in the school was transformed into a dining room for the night, and it was absolutely beautiful! Formalities were completed, important school members introduced, and then dinner was served. Except 'dinner' doesn't quite do justice to the incredible meal that was served. The Polish people celebrate Christmas with twelve traditional dishes, and the tradition is that you must eat each dish, otherwise you run the risk of having bad luck for the year! Well, trying all of the food was by no means a problem for me! The main course was wild boar, hunted by the school director himself. This was accompanied by pierogis, salads, meats and cheeses, potatoes, beets, soups, chestnuts, Silesian dumplings known as kluski, and more that I can't even remember! And dessert (of course) of gingerbread, apple pie, and chocolate! If it sounds like a huge meal, be assured that it was!

During the meal, the school director collected money for a children's charity, and did a raffle for prizes if you donated. I won an adorable fox mug that I'm pretty sure was made for me and... a giant bottle of whiskey. My boss told me, "Jenny, everyone likes you, but now that you have whiskey they like you even more!" I had no idea what to do with a giant bottle of whiskey though, so I offered to trade with a Polish co-worker. He agreed, but only if I did it in Polish (luckily he was willing to teach me the Polish way to trade, I guess the whiskey was good motivation)! Maybe if I get more whiskey I can get myself a Polish tutor!

It was pretty late by the time we finished eating and partying. A coworker drove me home (which was greatly appreciated considering my not-so-practical-for-teaching shoes) and I attempted to pack for Sweden while fighting off the urge to sleep off the giant meal. But the entire Christmas party was really lovely and so exemplary of the wonderful hospitality and generosity of all the Polish people I've met and spent time with. I am reminded again how lucky I am to have found such a great school to work at for my first job abroad!

My Buddy Copernicus

 Frombork is about 20 miles from Elblag situated right on the coast of the Baltic Sea. After a Saturday morning teaching at school, I hopped on a bus to Frombork hoping to make the most of the rest of the day and do a little exploring. Frombork is a very ramshackle little town; there are docks and fishing boats along one end, and houses and buildings in various states of disrepair as you walk your way up from the coast.. As you turn and face southward, however, you see a different side of town - Cathedral Hill - the centerpiece of Frombork.

Cathedral Hill

Copernicus the bodyguard

Cathedral Hill, aptly named after the gigantic cathedral dedicated to St. Mary and St. Andrew that sits atop it, is guarded by a giant statue of Nicolaus Copernicus. Frombork gains its fame from the astronomer who lived and worked as a church cleric in the town in the 16th century, and used it as a site for many of his scientific observations. The cathedral and buildings on the hill are encircled by a fortified 14th century wall. I climbed my way up the hill and infiltrated the castle fortifications (by infiltrated I mean I walked through the gate). Except for a group of older Polish men and women with their tour-guide, I was the only other tourist there, so I followed the group around in order to see what places I was allowed to go inside. I saw the beautiful (and massive) cathedral, the belfry with its Foucault's pendulum, and Copernicus' tower which is arranged to resemble Copernicus' study.

Invading the castle

The Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Andrew

And the overwhelming interior

Castle fortifications

Frombork, like Elblag, suffered massive damage after WWII, so a great deal of the town was reconstructed towards the end of the 20th century. Interestingly, the reconstruction effort was lead by Polish boy scouts.

I walked to the coast and enjoyed the picturesque ocean view until I decided that the freezing wind made the scenery slightly less picturesque. I spent the rest of my time hanging with Copernicus in the town square before heading back to Elblag on the bus.

Ocean view

My buddy Copernicus keeping warm

The Polish Capital

 Teaching English continues to be both challenging and amusing. The other day a boy told me he had a 'turntable' as a pet (he meant a 'turtle'). My own experience speaking the Polish language continues to be frequently aided by the use of enthusiastic charades.

I visited Warsaw in November for a brief day trip. Warsaw is about a four hour drive from Elblag, so I hopped on a Polskibus really early on a Saturday morning and set out for a visit. No one I've met in Elblag is a fan of Warsaw. Most of my friends and students have told me it's dirty and there's not many interesting sights there. I found this description to be true for the most part. Warsaw has a smallish Old Town, rebuilt after the war, a large shopping selection, and a handful of museums, but for the most part I felt like I had seen most of the sights worth seeing after only a day traversing the city.

I started off in the Old Town, in the rebuilt Castle Square (Plac Zamkowy). Both the square and the Royal Castle for which it is named were rebuilt after WWII with the bricks from the original buildings (and some shipped from places around Poland like Elblag). The Royal Castle is a copy of the original which had been built in the 14th century, became a royal residence for Polish and later Russian monarchs, and later served as the residence of the president after WWI. These days it's a museum full of historic art and furniture from the days of royalty.

Plac Zamkowy, the main square

Branching out from the main square is Ulica Nowy Swiat, the main historical street that was a part of the 'Royal Route' that runs from the Royal Castle to the (17th century royal residence at Wilanow). The street is packed with shops and restaurants. Along my way down the street, I happened to pass by the Presidential Palace at exactly noon, as the bells were ringing the hour and the changing of the guard was taking place.

King Sigismund's Column and impending rain

Changing of the guards

 Later in the day, I visited the National Museum, full of art and sculpture from famous Polish artists through history, and the notorious Palace of Culture and Science. The Palace of Culture and Science, a 'gift from the Soviet people' in 1955 has been viewed with varying degrees of dislike by the Poles since it was built. According to one of my Polish adult students, "The best view in Warsaw is from the top of the Palace of Culture and Science because that's the only place you can't see the darn thing." I remember having a Polish professor at Loyola who expressed a similar opinion. Originally named after Stalin, the palace was disliked for the suggestion it presented of Soviet control, as well as simply because many residents thought the Socialist Realist architectural giant ruined the aesthetic of the city. The palace is still the tallest building in Poland, and inside there are museums, theaters, and recreational centers. The Polish people frequently refer to the palace using various nicknames, including 'pajac' (clown) and 'patyk' (stick) which are similar to the word for palace, 'palac,' and more colorful names like 'Stalin's syringe' or the 'Russian wedding cake.'

Warsaw's National Museum

The Palace of Culture and Science

A street or two behind the Palace of Culture and Science, sequestered within a cluster of flats, is the last remaining piece of the Jewish Ghetto Wall. The wall now is a small monument and historic reminder of Warsaw's past.

It was too late to get into another museum and too cold and wet to enjoy the parks, so I opted for a cup of coffee in a cafe on Nowy Swiat before making my way back to the bus station, humming Chopin for thematic atmosphere.