Christmas - Lili on the Loose

28 11, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: Ulbricht Night Watchman Nutcracker

By Lili|November 28th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2011, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Christmas Market, Christmas Museum, decoration, Europe, Germany, Käthe Wohlfahrt, night watchman, Nutcracker, Rothenburg, rothenburg ob der tauber, Ulbricht|0 Comments

As I've written before, I really enjoyed the "Night Watchman" tour in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. On my last day in Rothenburg I stopped by the large Christmas store Käthe Wohlfahrt to get some souvenirs. This location is their head office, and actually spans multiple buildings and has its own Christmas Museum on site. One item that caught my eye was a wooden and leather mini Night Watchman Nutcracker made by Ulbricht. It stands a little less than 5 inches tall, but is beautifully crafted. He carries with him a traditional symbols of his job: the halberd and a lantern. I'm glad

23 11, 2015

Travel Missteps: Bag full of Mugs

By Lili|November 23rd, 2015|Categories: Buying Guide, Drinks, Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2011, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Christmas Market, Cristkindlmarket, deposit, ein Pfand, Europe, Feuerzangebowle, Frankfurt, Germany, Glühwein, Heise Schokolade, hot chocolate, Kinderpunsch, Mead, mit Schuss, mug, mugs, Munich, Pfand, rum, Warmer Met, Weinahtsmarkt, wine|0 Comments

People Making Merry at the Frankfurt Christmas Market Staying Warm at the Market with the Best Christmas Drinks Christmas Markets are the perfect place to meet and socialize. Many stalls will have places to sit, or standing tables to gather around. But the trick to stay warm for this winter pastime? Drinking hot beverages! Here are the traditional drinks you may find: Glühwein is the most popular of the holiday drinks. It is made with mulled wine, usually red wine, but you might see versions that are made with white, rosè, or fruit wines. It is mixed and heated

14 11, 2015

The History of the Christmas Nutcracker

By Lili|November 14th, 2015|Categories: Buying Guide, History, Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2011, Alexandre Dumas, Austria, buying guide, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Christmas Market, decoration, E.T.A Hoffman, Europe, Fuchtner, Germany, guide, history, Nutcracker, Salzburg, Steinbach, The Nutcracker, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Ulbricht|0 Comments

Nutcrackers at a German Christmas Market. Nutcrackers in some form have been around since ancient times. However, they were much different in design and from from what we consider the Christmas Nutcracker. Those didn’t appear until the mid 1700's when many Germany mines had shut down and the workers had to figure out other sources of income. They turned to the abundant forests and their woodworking skills to craft dolls, toys, Christmas Pyramids, angels, and nutcrackers. The first nutcrackers were made to look like authority figures such as kings or soldiers. These “nut cracking” officials symbolized the

10 01, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: La Befana

By Lili|January 10th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2006, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Christmas, Epiphany, Europe, Hag, Halloween, Italy, La Befana, Rome, Santa Claus, Venice, Witch|0 Comments

On Monday we discussed the story behind La Befana, the Italian gift giver around the Epiphany. I wanted to share with you the little La Befana that I got in a roadside shop on the way from Rome to Venice. The witch has wide eyes, warts, and a fur hood. She carries some straw on one side, a broom on the other, and a bag that held candies on her back. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

5 01, 2015

Travel Missteps: La Befana

By Lili|January 5th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2006, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Christ Child, Christmas, cookies, Epiphany, Europe, guide, Hag, Halloween, Italy, Jesus, La Befana, milk, Piazza Navona, Rome, Santa Claus, Three Kings, Three Wise Man, tour, tour group, Trafalger, travel, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, wine, Witch|0 Comments

Walking through Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy I hear the unmistakable cackling laugh of a witch! I turned towards a nearby stall and spy hundreds of flying witches hanging from the roof. Big ones, small ones. Some like an old woman, while others looked like a creepy old hag warts and all! Some even were animatronic whose eyes glowed red (and made the cackling laughter that caught my ear.) But surely this must be a mistake? For its not Halloween time, but after so soon after Christmas! I was confused but had no one to ask about this strange sight,

23 12, 2013

Travel Missteps: Lost for Christmas

By Lili|December 23rd, 2013|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2011, Bavaria, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Christmas Market, Cristkindlmarket, dragon, Europe, food, Germany, lost, Marienplatz, Munich, Secret Santa, subway, U-Bahn, ubahn, Weinahtsmarkt|0 Comments

On December 23rd, 2011 I was with my family, enjoying the last evening of the Christmas Markets of Munich. This year we had decided not to buy each family member a present, but instead this year we'd do a "Secret Santa" where we would pull a person's name out of a hat, and only buy them a gift. However, that person couldn't know who was their "Santa". This secretiveness, combined with just the amazing sights of a real German Christmas Market, meant I was especially distracted and awestruck. Throughout the night I did fall behind, or dart around to another

18 02, 2013

Travel Missteps: Lost in Italy

By Lili|February 18th, 2013|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2005, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Assisi, bus, Christmas, church, churches, Europe, Italy, lost, New Years Eve, police, smart car, taxi, tour, Trafalger, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, view point|0 Comments

This is the view I should never have seen, but because I got lost I had a chance to see it. When you are on a strict timeline, getting lost can be a disaster. In late December of 2005 I was on a bus tour of Italy with my family. We were adamant that we were not "Bus Tour" people. We were use to doing things on our own. But we didn't speak any Italian so we decided to utilize a bus tour "but only for the transportation logistics". So we set out to plan down our moves in each "stop" of the tour,

21 01, 2013

Travel Missteps: Punks on a Train

By Lili|January 21st, 2013|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2011, Bavaria, beer, cannibal, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Europe, Germany, locals, Munich, music, Punks, Rothenburg, train|0 Comments

Travel is all about the journey and sometimes that journey is unexpected. In December 2011 I was traveling through Germany with my family. I am the navigator in my family, it is my duty to plan out all methods of travel to make sure we get where we need to go. After spending Christmas in Munich we were making our way to the Medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber by train. Our first train was packed and so we had to spread out. My mother sat next to an old German woman who spoke quick German to my very confused

24 12, 2012

Travel Missteps: A Grave Christmas Tree Mistake

By Lili|December 24th, 2012|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2011, Bavaria, Christmas, Christmas in Germany 2011, Christmas Tree, Europe, Germany, graveyard, Home Alone, local culture, Movie, Munich, Odeonsplatz, ornament, traditions, U-Bahn|0 Comments

A decorated Christmas Tree in Munich. A little large for what I was looking for. My little sister had been teaching in Kenya, so the family decided to meet "halfway" in Germany for Christmas 2011. I felt like Kevin McCallister in the "Home Alone" movies, worried we wouldn't have a real Christmas tree. So I had researched ahead of time where to get a little Christmas tree and Odeonsplatz in Munich was recommended on a ex-pat forum. The key issue with this plan is we were staying two U-Bahn stops away from Odeonsplatz, which would make for an interesting subway ride if