Saarland Destination December 2010: Saarbruecken Christkindlmarkt

Ho-Ho-Ho! Christmas is in the air! And I proudly present the Saarland destination December 2010: Saarbruecken Christkindlmarkt.

What is that actually? It's a Christmas market. It is held annually from Bahnhofstrasse to St. Johanner Markt from the end of November until Christmas day.





I actually cannot say anything about the market. It is very great. And it's the reason to be happy in this cold weather.

The foods

1. Dampfnudel


It is actually like mantou. Do you know that Chinese food? There are two kinds of mantou: steamed and fried. So is Dampfnudel. Unfortunately I cannot find the fried one in Saarbruecken. Of course Dampfnudel is different with mantou. Dampfnudel is served with vanilla sauce. And it is a great food during the cold weather because it's sweet and warm. It costs 2,30 EUR per portion.
My tips: Add cinnamon and sugar! It smells even better with cinnamon

2. Reibekuchen

It reminds me of Bala-Bala, an Indonesian snack. It is made of grated potatoes and then they are deep-fried. There are several ways to eat it. You can also have an Apfelmus, a dressing made from apple. But because I don't really like apple, I have no topping at all. Reibekuchen tastes also good with salmons and mayonaise. One portion contains 3 Reibekuchen and it costs 3 EUR per portion.
My tips: Take a lot of tissue papers. Reibekuchen are oily.

3. Schneeballen

Schneeballen means snow balls. Perhaps this sweet food get its name due to its shape. There are various flavors like Nutella, Rhum, etc. I'm unfortunately not a fan, so I can't say anything about this food. Each ball costs about 2 EUR, depends on the flavor of course.

4. Schwenker


Photos by Gerry Prayogo
THIS! This is so delicious! It is called Schwenker, it means like Barbeque. It's actually Saarlandish, even not all Germans know this food. It is basically just grilled pork and served with a bun. It costs 3,50 EUR and it is very big. You will have your stomach full after eating this. It tastes even better than normal steaks in restaurants. It can be found easily in Saarland actually. In summer festivals you can find it a lot as well.
My tips: The good schwenker is grilled above woods, not above coal.

5. Lebkuchen
Have a date? Buy him or her this gingerbread!

This only exists at Christmas market. They're gingerbreads with sentences like "Ich liebe dich" which means "I love you". The words are interesting actually like "Fuer mein Schatz" which means "for my honey" or even no-love-related sentences like Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas).
My tips: hang it around your couple's neck after buying it. That's the tradition.

6. Coated fruits

Photo by Gerry Prayogo
Well, you know what this is. I recommend you the bananas.


What to do?

1. Buy these high quality wool products
Of course you need something to prevent coldness, and buy these handmade wool products.


2. Buy Saarlandish stuffs

Yes, this Made in Saarbrigge offers you Saarlandish stuffs like T-Shirt with rhyme "Oh Leck!" on it. And many kinds of interesting things. I also bought a Christmas card with Saarlandish greetings on it. Stated on the cards "Frohe Weihnachde un e gudden Rutsch ins neije Johr!". Lol. In German, it would be "Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!".

3. DRINK!

Photo by Gerry Prayogo
Yes, spend a time to drink Gluehwein (boiled wine). It costs only 2,50 EUR. Or my favorite drink is actually Knecht Ruprecht (picture shown above). That's Bailey's mixed with hot chocolate. It tastes really good.

4. Listen to the Christmas carols
Yes, these musicians play Christmas carols and I don't know but Christmas carols always make me joyful. Don't forget to have a Gluehwein as well while listening to the carols.


5. Entertainment for the kids

They'll be happy for sure.

And, the main event is...

6. See the flying Santa Claus

Every 5 PM and 7 PM there is a flying Santa or fliegende Weihnachtsmann or Le père noel volant. He rides a carriage pulled by the reindeers from McDonald's to St. Johannermarkt. And then he tells children stories and Christmas tales. There's always fireworks afterwards! This is just great. I am always happy after seeing this spectacular show.


Unfortunately it's almost over. I'm going to miss Christmas market again. See you next year! And merry Christmas everyone!

Saarland Destination November 2010: Voelklingen Ironworks

It might be just old metals. But, it is Saarland heritage to the world. It is Voelklingen Ironworks, my Saarland destination of the month.



Voelklingen Ironworks is located in Voelklingen, a city near to Saarbruecken, the capital city of Saarland. In year 1994 it was listed to UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a cultural heritage based on criteria ii (to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design) and criteria iv (to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history).




Voelklingen Ironworks was built in the 19th century. The ironworks portrays architecture during the industrial revolution in Europe. During this time, Saarland depended on its steel productions. Besides Voelklingen Ironworks, there is also another big ironworks in Neunkirchen. Until today the machines in Voelklingen Ironworks hasn't been replaced by the new one. That is why this ironworks is a cultural heritage. We may imagine how people produce steels from 19th to 20th century.





The area is divided into 7 parts. It is open everyday from 10 AM to 6 PM. The entrance fee is 12 EUR for adults.

How to get there?
There are actually many public transportations to reach this site. You can take a train from Saarbruecken and get off at Voelklingen. The ironworks is very near from the train station.

My personal experience

Okay, enough with all infos about Voelklingen Ironworks. I'm going to tell my personal experience today. First, screw snow. I could only get in to 2 rooms because the area was too dangerous. I haven't explored the whole ironworks! That is so lame.

But the good part is that it has this exposition: Die Kelten. Druiden, Fursten, Krieger. It is an expo of celtic culture. And, I'm happy because I learned many new things. I even hadn't known that the Celts lived in Saarland around 400 BC. And, I got many infos about the Gauls and the Romans.






In the end, I recommend you to visit Voelklingen Ironworks before this expo ends. It ends on May 22nd. Besides that, Voelklingen Ironworks is a must-see destination in Saarland for its huge unmodernized machines. Voelklingen Ironworks also lets you experience a miner's life in the 19th century.

Source:
http://www.voelklinger-huette.org/
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/687

n.b. some of the pictures were taken with my phone. Sorry for the bad quality

Project until October 2011

Hello.

First of all, I'm sorry for my unannounced hiatus. My life as a college student has begun and I needed to get used to it. I'm now a student at HTW des Saarlandes and study Internationales Tourismus-Management (international tourism). It is actually interesting. My favorite subject so far is probably microeconomics. I know people think it's a hell. And, of course French and English. I always have this huge passion to languages. My least favorite subject? Math.

To avoid more absence in posts, I decided to make a project for a year. This project begins on November 2010 and ends on October 2011. If I see good responses, I will extend this project.

So, what's the project? The project is...


SAARLAND DESTINATION OF THE MONTH


It is simple. Every month, I write at least one touristic destination in Saarland, where I reside currently. I will explain to you in the next post about Saarland.

This is the plan

November 2010 - Voelklingen Iron Works (UNESCO world heritage sites), Voelklingen
December 2010 - Christkindlmarkt in Saarbruecken (Christmas Market)
January 2011 - Churches in Saarbruecken
February 2011 - Wolfspark Werner Freund, Merzig
March 2011 - Neunkircher Zoo*, Neunkirchen
April 2011 - Bostalsee*, Nohfelden
May 2011 - Saarlouis City
June 2011 - Saarschleife, Mettlach
July 2011 - Bliesgau, Blieskastel
August 2011 - Roemische Villa Borg, Perl
September 2011 - Deutsch-Franzoesischer Garten, Saarbruecken
October 2011 - Schlossberghoehlen, Homburg



*I might be in Indonesia for 5 weeks on March and April 2011, so I don't think I can travel in Saarland, I will just post about Neunkircher Zoo, where I used to be an intern, and about Bostalsee. I've actually reviewed Bostalsee in this blog.



I hope I can do this project well. And I'm so excited that I'm going to visit Voelklingen Iron Works this month.

2 Great Restaurants in Kaiserslautern and Mannheim

2 days ago I went to Kaiserslautern, Germany to dine with my friends at my favorite restaurant in Germany, Cantina Mexicana.

Why do I love this restaurant?

First, when you're there, it feels like you're not in Germany but in the US. The US Army has a base in Kaiserslautern, Germany. I never know the reason why they have it there but they make Kaiserslautern a very unique city. It is not unusual to hear people speak English in big cities like Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich or Cologne. But in small town like Kaiserslautern? Yes, Kaiserslautern is a small town in Germany but we can hear people speak English everywhere there. And in Cantina Mexicana some waitresses and staffs can hardly speak German. It's not a problem at all for them because basically most of their guests are Americans... American armies.

Second, every Wednesday the restaurant has this all-you-can-eat baby pork ribs! I mean a pork rib is very expensive. And we can eat pork ribs as many as we can there with only about 9 Euros!

And the foods taste so great. The nacho, the fajita quesadilla, and the fried ice cream. They all taste very great. The place is also very cozy and 'mexican'. Last Wednesday a Mexican trio sang and played music for all the guests in the restaurant. The staffs are all very friendly and helpful too.

So how to get there? Well the nearest train station is Einsiedlerhof. It is only about 2 or 3 stations from Kaiserslautern Hauptbahnhof. And then you have to walk for about 8-10 minutes to the restaurant. But of course if you have a GPS in your car just type the address of the restaurant.




photo taken from speisekarte.de

photo by Yana C. Jurnatan

Cantina Mexicana
Kaiserstrasse 117
67661 Kaiserslautern
Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 631 99328



The next day, I went to Mannheim. I just found out that the ticket to Mannheim is very cheap. You can buy this 24+ ticket from any ticket ATMs in Rhein-Neckar (well cities like Kaiserslautern, Neustadt, Ludwigshafen, etc.). It costs 20 Euro for the whole day and you can take 4 persons with you.

Mannheim is a nice city. For me, it is like a smaller version of Frankfurt. And Mannheim is also not far from Frankfurt by the way.


Wasserturm in Mannheim

But the best part of Mannheim is Supan's Kueche. Well that's a Thai snack bar in the city center. Why is it so special? Because Supan's Kueche has that original Thai foods. My favorite food is probably the La Ped (not sure how to write that correctly). It is a salad served with duck meats. And it is very very very spicy. The tomyam is also great. I definitely have to come back to Mannheim and eat here again. And also, the restaurant has Thai ice tea with milk just like in Indonesia.


Lha Ped at Supan's Kueche, Mannheim

Thai Ice Tea at Supan's Kueche, Mannheim

How to get there? It is in the center. And you can go by tram from Mannheim Hauptbahnhof to Paradeplatz. Then you have to go on foot. I guess you should first find a Commerzbank and Nordsee. Well, just call

Supan's Kueche
Tel.: +49 (0) 621 26172


And here are some snapshots taken in Mannheim by Yana C Jurnatan.

Saar-Lor-Lux

Travelling in low-budget in Europe? That is definitely possible. I recommend you to buy a Saar-Lor-Lux ticket!

DB (Germany), SNCF (France), and CFL (Luxembourg) have this cooperation that allows people from Saar-Lor-Lux to travel cheaply on Saturday and Sunday. Saar-Lor-Lux stands for Saarland-Lorraine-Luxembourg. The ticket costs 20 Euro for one person, 30 Euro for 2 persons (@ 15 Euro), 40 Euro for 3 persone (@ 13,33 Euro), 50 Euro for 4 persons (@ 12,50 Euro), and 60 Euro for 5 persons (@ 12 Euro). Of course it will be cheaper if you have 4 people to travel with so you can buy the ticket for 5 persons.

So, what are the rules of this ticket? With this ticket you can travel for one day with all trains in these 3 regions (Saarland-Lorraine-Luxembourg) inclusive Trier and Zweibruecken in Germany. The ticket can be bought just in these 3 regions. So you cannot buy it in Paris or in Cologne.

Last Saturday I travelled again with this ticket. The first time I travelled with it was in spring and the weather was terrible. And it's summer this time!

I travelled to
1. Metz Ville, France
2. Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
3. Trier, Germany
and I'll give you then some info about the city where I live: Saarbruecken, Germany


Metz Ville, France
I departed from Saarbruecken Hauptbahnhof at 7:30 am to Metz. The journey takes an hour. Metz is the capital city of Lorraine. The city is still very ancient and unique. It is so 'french'. It has many allies with old buildings and the best part of it is that it is passed by the Moselle, a beautiful river that in the end meets with the Rhine in Koblenz (read my previous post about Koblenz). In Metz you should visit the Cathedrale St. Etienne. It is basically the main attraction of the city. It's a very big cathedrale with beautiful sculptures at the front gate. Unfortunately it was under renovation when I was there. But actually there are more to see in Metz than just the cathedrale. The centre ville is very interesting with lots of shops if you're into shopping. And of course you have to visit the Mosel. There is a delta on the river and on the delta there's a little church. And it is so beautiful. I actually don't know what's the name of the church.




The cathedrale St.Etienne, Metz


This is the beautiful church on the Mosel. Look at those swans!

Ville de Luxembourg, Luxembourg
So let's head to the capital city of Luxembourg. I always believe Luxembourg is the heart of Europe because of its location. Luxembourg is an interesting country for me. It's like so small and so rich. I guess it has higher standard of life than France or Germany. The EU parlament building is here and Luxembourg is the country where Schengen policy was ratified. Its capital city is now part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites due to its uniqueness. The people don't have any stereotypes I guess. I don't know what's the typical character of Luxembourgeois. Anyway let's just talk about the trip there.
I departed from Metz at 12:20 pm. The journey to Luxembourg takes 45 minutes. I can divide the great spots of Luxembourg into two parts: Ville Haute and Ville Basse. Well, if you speak French of course you know what it means. Ville Haute means high city and Ville Basse means low city. Well I recommend you to first take the Ville Basse. In Ville Basse there are beautiful old buildings and a medieval castle or something like that. Walking in the Ville Basse is really enjoyable and romantic. The river, the old little bridge, the flowers, the trees they're really a perfect dating spot. I haven't done it yet but I recommend you to have a picnic at Vallee de la Petrusse. It is very beautiful there.
Here are some views from Ville Basse



In Ville Haute you can see the Ville Basse from above. And they're extremely beautiful. In Ville Haute you can also find the Centre Ville with many shops like Louis Vuitton, etc. If you like shopping, it is the right place. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the centre ville. It's not really my thing.



Anyway, tips to travel in Luxembourg:
Wear comfortable shoes! Luxembourg is very up-and-down with lots of steep roads. Never use high heels because the streets are still made of stones.


Trier, Germany
I don't know whether it's true or not but all German towns were totally destroyed during the second world war except Heidelberg and Trier. That's why Trier is worth a visit because it still has medieval buildings. The main attraction of the town is Porta Negra. It's a medieval monument. There are still many other buildings like Roman amphitheater. And, visiting the Mosel again is not a bad idea.




And the last I'm going to tell you about the city where I live, Saarbruecken, Germany.
Saarbruecken is the capital city of Saarland, one of the smallest state in Germany. If you read its history, Saarbruecken was badly damaged during the world war. Of course it was. Saarbruecken is located at the border between France and Germany. So, all french or english troops have to go through Saarbruecken first to reach Germany. Although we don't have many medieval buildings than other cities in Germany. The city is still very beautiful. It has a river at least and sunbathing or biking or jogging along the river is worth a try. Saarbruecken doesn't offer you many things to see. But I think Saarbruecken is a very nice place to live. A friend of mine told me that all cities in Saarland are not very interesting for tourists but they're nice to live in. Most Saarlanders come back again and live in Saarland eventhough they have got a good job in other parts of Germany. I guess it is true. I also feel so comfortable in Saarbruecken that I don't want to leave this city anymore. But if you're a tourist, then visit Ludwigskirche. The church is unique because it's all white unlike other churches in Germany. Churches in Germany are mostly dark with coloured glasses. But Ludwigskirche and St. Basilika in Saarbruecken is so bright with white walls and transparent glasses so that the sun can come in. And of course I suggest you to hang out along the river Saar.



So one day, you can visit 4 cities in 3 different countries with just 12 euros for the transport! Worth trying, right?