My group of 9 flight attendants left Oak Harbor, Washington on November 26, 2012, wearing army guys to Leipzig, Germany. We stopped in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for refueling and for the appreciation reception the Pease Airport Greeters continually give the infantrymen going to or coming from areas of warfare. No count number what time of day or night the greeters are there with huge smiles, welcoming hugs, hot coffee and chocolate, popcorn, desserts, ice cream, and items. This time, they had bags stuffed completely with knitted caps, which got here available for me considering that I forgot to bring my personal. Although it changed into bloodless in Washington, it became chillier where we had been going. After 7 hours, we landed in Leipzig, quite a large city in East Germany, about a hundred miles south of Berlin. The infantrymen deplaned to relaxation for three hours earlier than persevering with to Afghanistan. Our crew took a shuttle in a single day in Halle, a few 20 minutes away, a metropolis recognized for harvesting salt (its name manner salt) because of the Bronze for a long time. It is likewise regarded for chocolate and is home to Germany’s oldest chocolate manufacturing facility. It’s been an 18 hour workday for us. Do Some Work

The inn Maritim is a vintage and fashionable resort with all of the facilities; spa and health club, retail keep, salon, eating place, bar, smoking room, nighttime club, chocolate shop, even a simulated golfing room. My room appears without difficulty German. There’s a bath with a single sink and a small bath. The sitting vicinity consists of a marble table between 2 small chairs. 2-night stands and an unmarried bed mattress wearing crisp white linen topped with a gentle white cover are the bedrooms, along with an identical chair and table with a nicely stocked fridge under it. The Germans are very green, no longer overly indulgent, except for about food and drink.

After 14 hours of sleep, I arose, very hungry, to a dreary and biting cold day. Another flight attendant and I struck out to find something to eat. The motel is centrally located in this city of 2 hundred,000 humans. The teaching station is convenient for purchasing to Berlin, an hour and 15 mins away throughout the street. We’re heading to the buying district just across the corner, a no motors pedestrian avenue walking blend of cost-effectively priced retail stores, rapid food eateries, candy stores, and pastry cafes. Up ahead, there seems to be a flurry of the hobby, so we stroll toward it. It seems to be a rectangular town. There’s a massive tree at the beginning of it. Oh, look. It’s a Christmas tree, a stay one, with a choo teach filled with smiling kids going spherical and spherical. The tree must be 25 ft tall. How lovely. What? Do I pay attention to bells ringing? Yes, I do. I smell roasted nuts also and gingerbread. Oh, my! To our tickled pink marvel, we’ve walked into a German Christmas Market.

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A nonetheless man spray painted gold and wearing seventeenth-century finery all at once comes to lifestyles and greets us. We shake his hand and take a picture. I trust he is the famous Baroque period musician and opera author George Friedrich Handel, born right here in 1685, whose actual bronze statue we discover at the opposite give up of the square. He faces the Market Church of our Dear Lady and the Red Tower majestically overlooking the rectangular. Built within the 1500s, these ornate architectural landmarks stand by using aspect, anchoring the square, and silhouetting the city’s skyline. The middle of the rectangular is a superb 3 tier Nativity German windmill that reaches closer to the clouds. The attention to the element is astounding. The entire scene looks as if a medieval wonderland. We are in awe of the life-sized fairy story characters staged in scenes, 10 of them in all. There is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Little Red Robin Hood, Rumpelstiltzchen. Ah, the purpose for the season, there may be infant Jesus and the manger scene, all intricately carved in wood. We wonder how real they look while drinking Gluhwein (mulled wine), a spiced wine that may be a Christmas subculture, like eggnog in America. The wine is served heat and every so often spiked with rum or brandy. It’s clearly true, smells divine, and goes properly with our bratwurst sausage. I didn’t have the coronary heart to try the reindeer sausage, particularly after seeing the pair of reindeer on display in the center of the square delivered over from the Halle Zoo.

The arts and crafts are, in general, all handcrafted. Stalls brim with distinctiveness candles and holders, hand-blown glass ornaments with glowing angels and lit Christmas trees inner of them, and timber-carved figurines and incense smokers. I love the timber Santas and reindeer blowing frankincense through their nostrils. There are items and meals from Russia and Sweden, and Finland. Oh my, the handcrafted toys make valuable items. We enjoy our time until dusk. Then, it’s getting colder, and the gang begins to thicken. By nightfall, the square is packed tight with locals and visitors, a multi-cultural revelry of pride.

The subsequent morning I depart the lodge looking for a low-priced all-American breakfast. I’ve had enough of worldly culinary treats. I want easy bacon and eggs. I try an area known as Cafe Softi. It’s packed with locals, so it needs to be properly, besides I cannot apprehend something on the menu. Luckily, the owner Stephan comes over and assists me. He has visited the states lots and speaks understandable English. He shows what seems to be a very scrumptious ham and egg omelet. It turned into exquisite amusing talking to him. His cafe makes a specialty of fruit and ice cream chocolates, made at the cafe. He serves a sample of a sweet treat propped on the aspect of my espresso cup. Um!! It’s satisfactory. I’m feeling lucky now, after a remarkable meal and pleasant conversation. More than fortunate, surely blessed. I in no way could have discovered myself in Halle Germany, sitting in a cafe, chatting with a communist over coffee, if it were not for divine want. I sincerely enjoyed my stay in Halle, a gem of a town, and can’t wait to go back. Everyone must see more of the sector, up close and private. Seeing the sector is the important thing to know-how it.