Just over a week ago I was able to spend a little time browsing through an Austrian Christmas fair. Doing so always takes me back to my childhood in Germany. Maybe it’s because our childhood memories manage to retain something of the excitement and mystery of the child’s-eye view, and maybe it’s because my German childhood ended when we moved to Ireland (I was seven years old at the time), but I could not help feeling that Germans (and Austrians) ‘do’ Christmas better than we do. The smell of ginger Christmas pastries, and the Glühwein (mulled wine), the quaint stalls and the music all combine to create what at least to me is a unique atmosphere.
I brought back too much, however. It’s wonderful where it is, but I am not sure how well it travels. But try as I might, I cannot get quite the same feeling of Christmas when I walk down Grafton Street in Dublin, even with the lights and decorations and cheesy music coming from the Brown Thomas store. I don’t often miss Germany, but this time of year I do, just a little bit.
University Blog 
Recent comments