Wilkommen to Munich, Germany!

Because I couldn´t afford to go home and my original plans for Christmas in Ireland fell through, I have decided to spend Christmas and New Years with my German relatives in Munich. I love coming to see my family here. They are ridiculously awesome. They feed me, they tease me (gotta love my Tito Peter!), they offer me lots of alcohol, and most of all, they are just the nicest, most welcoming people I know. The minute you walk into their house, you immediately feel at home. This is my third time visiting them (the last one was five years ago), and I still love it!

I arrived late friday night. Tito Peter picked me up at the airport with a bag full of winter accesories. My Tita Mary Ann knew I had barely anything to survive the German winter, so she wanted to make sure I wouldn´t freeye. And of course, Tito Peter had a bar of chocolate for me (I´m telling you, these guys are awesome!). We took the train to Haupbanhof, Munich`s Central Station, and met with my cousin, Stefan, and his girlfriend, Kathi. After feeding me with some pretzel sandwiches, we took another train to Wolfratshausen. They live close to Wolfratshausen, just outside of Munich.

Saturday, I took a very very long hot shower! I didn´t want to get out. Then we did some grocery shopping (Tita Mary Ann got me Nutella) for dinner because we were having a fondue style meal. I can`t remember what it`s called but basically you have this portable looking stove in the middle of the table. Each person gets a miniature pan where you can put as much cheese and vegetables and meat as you like. Once your mixture gets all cooked, you put it on some bread or pretzel. It was pretty freaking awesome. Natania, it was like random cheese everywhere!!!!

Side note: My aunt just called me from downstairs b/c she just baked some cookies...at 2 in the morning!!!! Man, she is awesome!

Today, we went to Regensburg, a tiny town about 2 hours from Munich. The Reidl´s wanted to take me to a real Kriskindlmarkt. The market is located in the town´s royal palace grounds, and it is known to be beautiful at night when the entire palace is lit up. So to kill time, we walked around the city. We looked at the Cathedral and saw the Danube river. It was the classic German town and every scene was something out of a postcard.

However, the weather was not so great. It was super super cold. I thought my fingers and toes were going to fall off. At first I was frustrated for not being able to handle the cold. I`m from Chicago for god`s sake! And then I realized the difference between Chicagoans and Germans. In the winter, Chicagoans drive everywhere and stay indoors as much as possible. Germans, on the other hand, walk everywhere!! All I kept thinking about was sitting on the couch with a blanket, watching a cheesy romantic comedy, and sipping on hot chocolate with marshmallows. I just couldn`t believe how many people were walking outside!!! I was cold for myself and everyone else!

Finally, once it started getting dark, we walked to the Kriskindlmarkt. It was awesome of course. There were lots of handcrafts and all sorts of other stuff being sold. I didn`t buy anything due to a lack of funds...and really what would I do with a glass plate??? It´s pretty and all, but it really would just collect dust. I did find these wonderful warm boots for kids. I really wanted to buy it for my nieces and nephew, but it was something the parent´s should buy for their kids and not their poor aunt.

Regensburg