Willkommen in Deutschland

“Fünf brötchen bitte.” My mom, dad, Randa and I were ordering bread in a little bakery in Wetzlar. We were in a little town called Altsatdt, in Germany, located about 50 kilometers from Frankfurt. That little bakery was our frequent stop and what I remember most while exploring the town. This old village was full of historic discoveries and was perfect to walk through to see the German culture. I loved walking on the bridge through the Lahn River on our way to get Italian ice cream or walking on the cobblestone streets looking at the houses, stores, and people passing by. We would go next to the Wetzlar Cathedral, on Sundays, to a small Spanish speaking church in the town. Randa and I were the altar girls and we’d bring the wine and holy bread, stand beside the priest and collect the offerings. Later we would go to the little markets they had in town and afterward eat gyros, bratwurst, or super-sized pretzels with salt. It was so unreal, now that I look back at it. Of course, since I was so little I didn’t realize how lucky I was to be in such a place, but I did enjoy it. Although this little town had so many things for you to discover and do, this was only a little part of what we enjoyed while living in Germany.

Castles were a great part of the tourist attractions we would go to. There are about 25,000 castles in Germany. I had never seen a real castle before, so as you could imagine I was very excited. The only castles I really remember visiting were the Neuschwanstein (which was the inspiration for Disneyland) and Heidelberg castle. They were huge and decades of history were kept within their walls, but since I was little all I could think about was: this would be a perfect place for playing hide and seek. Although, since it was packed with people and my parents didn’t want me to get lost, that was not an option. Besides the enormous dream-like castles, holidays were by far the best.

Nikolaustag(Christmas) and the Oktoberfest were celebrated at big, by big I mean, greater than anywhere I’ve ever been to. During Nikolaustag everything would be decorated at its best and there would be Christmas markets in every town. I had never seen anything like it; everyone went over the top to get ready for this holiday. It was so cheerful and beautiful, like one of those Christmas towns you only see in movies. You could smell the pastries being baked and see all the types of candies and toys being placed through the store’s windows. Even through all the coldness of winter, I could feel the warmth and happiness of people, and that was the most amazing thing of all. I remember going to Rothenberg to one of the many Christmas markets they had. There were endless stands with ornaments, food, games, and anything you could imagine for the holidays. The Oktoberfest was all about eating, games, dancing and drinking beer (which obviously I didn’t do.) There were tents with different varieties of food and little stages for dancing, although at the end it would be filled with kids jumping around and playing tag. Besides the holidays, everything was a great experience. I learned and did so many things I would have never known or done. I lived in Germany for three years and it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.