The Holidays Are In!

Coming from a family that orients itself as little as possible around religion, I always look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving. No religious denomination, just a cheerful, friendly get-together over delicious food and fun conversation. NYU was kind enough to organize a Thanksgiving dinner outing at a restaurant that promised an “American style” buffet. Of course, as the holiday approached, we NYU-in-Berliners began wondering what this meal would consist of. We were doubtful about how “American-style” it would be. Surely there’d be turkey, but what about pumpkin pie and – gasp! – stuffing? Some of us had resorted ourselves to the possibility that we would be munching on bratwurst and cranberry sauce.

The dinner was actually held on Wednesday the 25th, in the case that students would be traveling on the actual holiday weekend. We all showed up at the restaurant and were pleasantly surprised: turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce… and corn (?). It was a wonderful gesture taken by NYU. Certainly no one complained about the food at all – it satiated our collective turkey-craving bellies, and everyone left happy.

Weihnachtsmarkt Kulturbrauerei: inexplicably Finnish and Norwegian-themed.  Following the dinner, our program administrator took us around a Weihnachtsmarkt (“Christmas market”) in the area. It was located in the same complex that the restaurant was in, a former brewery called the Kulturbrauerei. The area was not unlike a condensed version of the Meatpacking district, if you could imagine that entire neighborhood fitting within the courtyards of a single warehouse complex. The brewery moved elsewhere following WWII and it is now rented out by various clubs, restaurants, and soon enough, NYU. The classrooms and offices will be in the same building as several clubs, bars, and the Christmas markets, which is a drastic improvement in my opinion (See my post Buses, Trains, Concrete, Commuting for an idea of what our current class building and neighborhood is like). So, right after Thanksgiving, we transitioned directly into Christmas.

My family only celebrates Christmas when we’re with a larger group of family and friends, and so I’ve never really been able to catch the Christmas bug in New York. Here, however, you can’t get away from the glittering Weihnachtsmarkts offering you steaming cups of spiced mulled wine, Glühwein (“glue-vine”). They are in every major plaza and space that you can fit booths in, and who knew that you could fit so many ferris wheels and carnival rides in one city? The markets began on November 23rd so for us, our Thanksgiving holiday become one celebration in a series of ongoing winter festivities. For the first time in years, I am truly looking forward to the rest of what has started as a wonderful, indulgent, Christmas-and-candy-filled holiday season.

Glühwein stand

Location