one in, one out.

I know the Christmas decorations have come down and I've promised lots of exciting stories from my trip to Scotland. But I just can't move on without one last Christmas market story. 

During Andrea's first week we went on a Christmas market marathon. Six markets in five days and I think I found my limit (trust me, I never realized I'd reach it!). One particular market, though, presented a very unique opportunity. 

The Münster Weihnachtsmarkt is actually 5 little markets spread out around the city center. And the night before we went to Münster we received a tip to head to the Kiepenkerl Markt and ask for "ein drin, ein draußen," which literally means "one in, one out."

Before I continue, you should know that sometimes I encounter things that live so up to absurd American stereotypes of Germany (singing along to David Hasselhoff over breakfast, ordering a beer before 1pm, things like that) that I just can't help but chuckle. This moment was one of them.

"One in, one out" is a shot - so what could possibly be so stereotypically German? Oh you know, just mini sausages hanging out of the shot. Well, one sausage in the shot and one out, to be exact (get it?!). So here's the drill: you eat one würstchen (sausage), drink the liquor, then finish it up with the other würstchen. 

What enhanced the experience even more was the the man at the stand. When I asked him to take a picture of Andrea and I with our sausage shots, he insisted he photograph the entire experience. So, thanks to the "ein drin, ein draußen" stand man, here is our first sausage shot experience. I hope the pictures help strengthen everyone's ridiculously inaccurate stereotypes of Germany!
 

*

*Lawlz, that smile! 

The Zeltlager Series: Taufen

Every year, the people on their first Zeltlager have to take part in a little event known as Taufen. Taufe literally means baptism in English, and is basically the initiation for new Zeltlager participants. 

Once I knew I'd be able to join for the Zeltlager, people started feeding me horror stories about the Taufe. Most of them had to do with having to eat some horrible combination of food. Even after I realized that most the other people taking part in the taufe were under 12 years old, I still couldn't help my imagination getting the best of me (think American frat/sorority hazing, except all in German). 

So on the first night, all the first years marched down to meet early before the Taufe and find what fate awaited us. 

In the end, it turned out to be pretty tame. We all got giant sheets of paper that we had to decorate with, who I'll refer to as(sticking with the theme of American frats/sororities) our big brothers/sisters. We decided to decorate mine with German/American stereotypes, which resulted in the following hamburger and flag for America, and bratwurst, Lederhosen/Dirndl, and beer for Germany.

After we all decorated our sheets (which were worn as shirts), we went up in groups of 4 or so the campfire where the rest of the campers sat waiting for us. In each group we had to introduce ourselves (name, age, instrument) and answer a different question each. Mine was something like what was the closest city to where I was born - nothing bad, really! 

Finally, we each got a piece of paper with an animal on it. We had to act out the animal while our bigs drew what they thought we were on our backs (on the paper, of course). So we only had to make fools of ourselves for about 2 minutes (which, if you know me, isn't really anything new). 



After surviving the Taufe, I was then ready for the next 4 days of camping as a full-fledged Zeltlager participant! 

Beer Gardens and Lederhosen

Stereotypes is a topic that comes up quite a bit in my job*. Especially when I meet a new class for the first time, I always get asked what stereotypes Americans have of Germans. I address this issue more in depth in a previous vlog post, but my answer is basically always the same: the American stereotype is a that Germany is a giant Oktoberfest 24/7, with lots of beer drinking, lederhosen and singing and dancing. (Convenient that I'm living in Bavaria**, right?). 

So what better place to live out these stereotypes than in Munich? The heart and soul of Bavaria. The place where Germany is really what people expect. And what a great first impression for Patrick and AJ who spent the first 4 days of their first trip to Germany in Munich. 

So I gave them the full "German" experience: 

We went Lederhosen shopping: 

We enjoyed our liters of beer at Hofbräuhaus:

 

<--------Ate giant pretzels

were entertained by an oompa band over dinner: 

Enjoyed a beer at the famous Chinesicher Turm beer garden in the English Gardens (which are famous for nude sunbathers -- who we never encountered, luckily):

And, finally, tried out fancy German-made cars: 

*I use the term "job" loosely.

**Not really, I'm living in Franken. Bavaria has nothing on us.