Augsburg and Christmas!

Hi guys!

Today was a really special day because Tanja took me to meet her parents and to walk around her hometown. 

Our morning started off with an "instagram" breakfast. We stopped by the local bakery and then prepared a bread and cheese spread for the day. By we prepared, I mean Tanja did. It's been so nice to not have to make my own meals, between Tanja and Max I am living my full German princess life. Seriously, I wake up every morning and a cappuccino is prepared with fresh baked goodies and then by the time we come home, dinner is already on the stove ready. It's magical haha. I went with Tanja to the bakery, check these goodies out!

Here you have my instagram breakfast. We literally ate a little bit of everything. I'm so jealous of the cheese they get here!!! And then the breads were everything from olive to carrot to sunflower seed. Oh and that fancy thing in the middle of the bread plate is a Berliner, basically a German doughnut full of cream and jelly. Are you guys jealous yet? Hahaha.

After we ate breakfast Tanja took me to one of the king's castles in Nymphenburg. The castle itself isn't much to look at, but it was modeled off of Versailles so the gardens really are something to look that even in the middle of the winter when everything is dead. The only downside? I was so cold that we probably walked 15 minutes in the gardens before I called it quits and suggested we grab a coffee in the Palm house. One thing I discovered is Tanja is absolutely horrible at taking selfies!

Tanja's attempts:

Versus mine:

It's all about the angles mate. 

Anyways, I was over the wind and the cold after that selfie series so here's the Palm House we escaped into! You know when you're really really good company and then time just flies? That's what happened over our coffee. If you asked me in that moment how long we were there I would have sworn it had only been 30 minutes, but when we checked our watch it had been over an hour and a half! Man, I've really missed being around Tanja and our Tuesday night diners, somehow we always talk about everything and nothing at once, and it's the best. 

After the Palm House I went to Tanja's childhood home in Agusburg and met her mom and dad. They are two of the sweetest people ever! Even though they said they didn't speak great English, they totally did and we had wonderful conversations over cheesecake and cappuccinos. If you've been listening, you've probably realized that this is my fourth cup of coffee of the day and man is the espresso and coffee here so good! You think I would be wired, but seriously I can't get enough and it hasn't affected me too much. 

German cheesecake tastes so different from our American one. They don't use cream cheese but rather a special kind after yogurt but before cheese. It's so weird but so so good. I'll have to ask Tanja for her family recipe. 

Then we went into the "city" and did something really special, we picked up Tanja's wedding dress. Her mom and I were so excited. Apparently in Germany you have to get married by a city official and then you can get married on your own with a priest or whomever, but that second one doesn't count legally. So technically you have to have two ceremonies. Most people don't do them at the same time, so technically Tanja is getting legally married this December with her closest family there to witness but she's doing her actually ceremony this summer with a priest and reception. 

This is the princess outfit she is wearing for her December wedding! Ah, I can't believe that last year we were only joking and talking about her wedding and now it's actually here!

With the bridal chores done and the dress safely stowed away in the car, Tanja, her mom and I decided to explore my very first ever Christmas markets! It was so cute, there were lights and candles everywhere, shops selling ornaments and food, and Christmas trees! It's nearly impossible to be a Grinch here when everyone is celebrating and so excited for the first advent. 

GUESS WHAT? They have Latkes here as street food!!! I was in heaven and they serve them with apple sauce or sour cream as well. Tanja and her mom were laughing because I was literally dancing the whole time I was eating this. In case you were wondering, latkes are called Reiberdatschi here in Germany.  

See what I mean about everything being festive and cute? I never wanted to leave!

I wanted to try everything, and thankfully Tanja and her mom were more than accommodating since they would finish whatever I ordered that I didn't like hehehe. Yet somehow my jeans are getting tighter and Tanja and her mom are slimmer than ever. Maybe it's a good thing I don't live here after all. 

As you can see my drink was on fire! My look says it all, I am clearly not responsible enough to be holding this lol!

We took a quick break from the Christmas markets to walk over to one of the 12 German cardinal domes which is from the year 800! Unfortunately the church wasn't open otherwise I would have gone in....because who doesn't want to go into a building from the year 800. Even wilder was the fact that it is build on top of a year 400 building basement that you can go into on special occasions. I'm so jealous of all these old buildings. They're so special and yet somehow that's just average or normal for people in Europe. 

It got cold so we hightailed it back to the Christmas markets for more food and lights. Apparently this dome fan thingy is a typical Christmas structure. And yes, dome fan thingy is the official name so decreed by me. 

They had chicken sausage called Bratwurst which was kind of like a spiced hot dog. It was yummy and I was really excited to finally be able to eat some form of German sausage!!!

As you can see, I have had no issues eating my way through Germany, especially when I have two Germans to do the ingredient checking for me! What a treat.

Before I knew it, it was 9:30 and we had to drop Tanja's mom back at home and make our way to Tanja's house. I was exhausted but so so content. She has such an amazing family, I can see why we get along and why she loved mine! Literally her parents invited me to stay with them over the summer when I come for her wedding, and I might just take them up on that offer. Cheesecake and cappuccinos? I'm all in! And good company too of course. Just don't tell Tanja I'm stealing her parents hehehe. Anyways, that's all for now. Talk to you tomorrow!

Love ya lots,

Carolyn