Discovering Deutschland

The Hanukah fun didn't stop with Saturday. This past Sunday I hopped on a train to Bielefeld, a smaller city on the way to Duisburg from Berlin to continue the celebrations. Night 5: In Bielefeld JDC participated in the community's Hanukah event by working with local madrichim ( teen mentors) to put on a Hanukah program for kids. The theme for this event was dreidels; we learned the rules of the game passed out gelt and even made paper spinning dreidels. Night 6:  After making it safely to Duisburg, my boss Tanya planned a really great Hanukah celebration and I got to know a few more of the local community members. Alex (her son) and I had a great time listening to hipster Hanukah music (yes this is a real spottify channel), and baking cookies that were a little prettier to look at than to eat. Night 7:  It was due time for some cross cultural exploration and so I decided to spend some time at the Christmas Markets in Dusseldorf. These markets are a

It's been a packed Hanukah season in Germany it's hard to even know where to start! I don't think I have ever celebrated Hanukah so thoroughly with something going on almost every night. Unfortunately my (not so) dear camera met its end last week so I had to make do with my phone for pictures. I'll happily take advice/ suggestions for a new camera (aka please save me from camera overload). Anyway to the important part, heres a recap of all the celebrations in Berlin: Night 1: The first night started off in style with, rumor has it, the largest menorah in Europe being lit at Brandenburger Tor. I have no idea how to even go about fact checking that but it was the tallest menorah I've ever seen. It was definitely an impressive sight with the Mayor of Berlin lighting the menorah using a torch and a crane (but actually) right in front of the city's most famous tourist spot. Night 2: Thursday night a local organization called "Stu