We're feeling festive over here! With an early December snow in Vancouver (it hardly ever snows here on the West Coast) and the excitement of a baby's first Christmas, things are getting merry and bright! One particularly transient holiday season brought us to Christmas markets in four different countries. By the end of our tours we were brimming with Christmas spirit. In hopes of topping up your Christmas cup with cheer, here are a smattering of sparkly and cheerful pictures. So put on that digital fireplace, grab a hot chocolate and have a little scroll!
London, England- We went to the Fatherland (literally, my father's homeland) in late November, and along with having the most wonderful time visiting with family, hitting up some touristy spots in London (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Borough Market, Piccadilly Circus, etc. and even caught a performance of The Lion King), we delighted in the fact that everything was getting super Christmas-y and sparkly all over the city. As we tromped through London, we would come across pockets of Christmas joy and could never resist stopping for a mug of Christmas cheer or a tasty little nibble of some sort (special mention to the Yorkshire pudding wraps for bringing Christmas dinner to the streets). Enjoying the Christmas vibes so much, we dedicated one of our entire days to the Christmas market in our Uncle's town, shopping, eating, drinking and generally being 'Mary' with a gaggle of Harwoods.
HappyChristmas!
Tirana, Albania- Definitely not a Christmas market that is making waves on any of the 'top ten' lists...but we were so lucky to have such a fantastic market on our doorstep! (Generally speaking though, Albania should be on everyone's top ten European travel list.) For the two years we lived in Albania, we whole-heartedly enjoyed the Christmas market hosted at the huge Skanderbeg Square. It was delightful to see that in the second year, the market only grew to be bigger, brighter and more festive! In fact, the whole downtown core of Tirana does a great job to deck the halls and light up the dark winter nights. Having an insatiable appetite for Christmas, the market was basically our restaurant and entertainment of choice for the month of December. We spent our fair share of evenings gathered around a fire, mulling wine, and filling up on zgare (grilled meats, veggies, bread & cheese...If you have the opportunity to eat at an Albanian grill restaurant, don't pass it up!).
GëzuarKrishtlindjet!
Vienna, Austria- Finally we were on Christmas vacation and off to spend two weeks in Spain and Morocco. But first we took advantage of a 12 hour layover in Vienna, and spent the night on a Christmas market crawl through the city. And holy Christmas crackers! If Albania was a zero on the notable Christmas Market list, Vienna's markets must be topping the charts--With Christmas markets being a tradition since the 1300's, Vienna is very merry and bright. Just as we'd finish one glühwein, the next market's lights were already twinkling in the distance. What a delight! Ice skating, carolling, manger scenes, market treasures, sweets, treats and sugar plum fairies galore! We finished our abridged tour of Vienna at the city's main and biggest market outside of City Hall. Aptly named The Viennese Dream Christmas Market, is was pure magic! With the impressive City Hall serving as the backdrop, spirits were high. A fun tidbit about City Hall (which I cannot verify because I was told this afterwards by an Austrian friend) is that the windows are used as a living advent calendar, lit up one-by-one as Christmas Eve draws near. Love the idea and I hope it's true, but again I did not notice this wonderful detail when we were there. Perhaps this hearsay is as whimsical as the whole Viennese Christmas splendour!
FroheWeihnachten!
Barcelona, Spain- Admittedly, we felt a bit spoiled for Christmas festivities at this point and weren't actively seeking any markets. As we arrived in Spain on the 24th, things were generally winding down and getting quiet. Even though we've spent our share of Christmas days away from our family, (many by choice, wanting to spend the holidays travelling), Christmas Eve is always a mixed bag of emotions. Without fail, there comes a moment on Christmas Eve of heavy sadness and homesickness, missing settling down in the cozy company of family and soaking in the magic of the holiday. Along with inevitable tears, we usually occupy ourselves by drinking, eating and generally over indulging in anything to distract ourselves. Our Christmas in Spain was no different... up until a point. Having just popped into a bodega to grab more libations, we stepped out into the square to a large crowd quietly singing Christmas carols. And oh my, oh my! My heart was aglow with warm Christmas feelings. That Christmas I got the gift of one of my most treasured travel memories 💕
FelizNavidad!
Now...Go slip into your best/worst Christmas sweater, get those shortbread in the oven, belt out Oh Holy Night, and from us to you, have the most wonderful holiday season!
Months after making the decision and signing contracts in Albania, we have finally arrived! Tirana, Albania is our new home. If you're still wondering where on Earth (literally) we are, check out our last blog post which includes a handy little Google Map. Otherwise, more locally, we're in a great little neighborhood, tucked into a nice little apartment, a stone's throw away from restaurants, coffee shops, parks, and are happy as clams.
So we arrived six days ago, and haven't had a hiccup yet! *Knock wood* We were delightfully surprised when we wheeled ourselves through arrivals and noticed someone standing at the airport holding a sign with our names- That almost never happens! We are notoriously ripped off when it comes to negotiating airport taxis--We've come to accept it and have learned to let it go...along with our money. But this time there was no need! We jumped in our new school's van and were whisked off towards our new host-city, Tirana! While driving we received sim cards complete with activated cell plans and were informed that we were being taken to our new apartment. No time was being wasted.
We were a bit apprehensive about the apartment situation, as we had planned on spending some time over the next couple of days looking at different accommodations and checking out some different neighborhoods before we decided on a place to call home for the next two years. Through some meaningful eye contact in the darkness of the van's backseat we agreed not to take the apartment, as making a decision after 24 hours of travel and having only been in the country for about 20 minutes seemed a bit hasty. Welllll you know what, hasty decisions have often seemed to work out for us, and we're hoping this one does too--because we took the apartment. So, to recap, we've now been in the country for 25 minutes and have gotten our phone and apartment sorted (With immense help from our school, and our stellar abilities to make on-the-spot choices). We were feeling pretty good about the move!
Our new mini maison!
Wonders worth capturing
...at the time.
No such thing as jet lag!
Since we had sorted out some priorities pretty quickly, we decided that we would reward ourselves by continuing our summer vacation while chilling out in our non-refundable hotel (We went from being homeless to having two homes very quickly). We walked around the nice streets of Tirana's downtown neighborhoods, taking in first impressions. What strikes us as interesting in the first couple of days in a new place is always hilarious to look back on when you become more accustomed---In Korea we marveled at the mass variety of instant noodles in the grocery stores, in Malaysia we couldn't get over the size of flora the jungle produced...and in Albania, it's the coffee. There are cafes everywhere ...and boy, we've indulged. And with coffee comes pastries, with pastries comes the need to exercise, with exercise comes the need for more coffee, it's become a jittery cycle....even now, I'm typing at an extraordinary speed..WPM is off the charts!
On our quest to begin to get the lay of the land, we have been wandering. A lot. With Tirana's population of about 400,000 (compared to Kuala Lumpur's 7 million) the city feels pretty wide open for exploring! We've eaten a lot of great meals mainly consisting of grilled meat, cheese, tzatziki, tomatoes and peppers. We've frolicked in Skanderbeg Square, puzzled over the Pyramid of Tirana, lounged in parks, descended into a nuclear war bunker, ya know, the usual when exploring a post-communist country.
A huge shoutout to all the amazingly fresh food-Time to ditch the processed/frozen food section...with the exception of gelato of course ;)
The history of Skanderbeg Square is nothing I know of yet. However the very odd pyramid in the bottom right corner is a bit of a fun one--It was built in the late 1980's as a museum dedicated to communist leader Enver Hoxha; however since the collapse of communism in Albania in the early 1990's it has been used as a conference&expo centre, NATO headquarters, broadcasting centre...and now finally, a parking lot and vandalized, derelict jungle gym of sorts. Can't wait to see what's next for old pyramidy!
We came upon this ex-nuclear bunker turned museum called 'Bunk Art 2' dedicated to Albania's bleak history spanning between 1910-1990. Some pretty heavy stuff, and with only 1/2 hour until closing time, we did not do this museum or the contents justice, but certainly a glimpse into Albania's past.
Finally, we've had the obvious reminder that living in a foreign country often requires you to at least attempt to learn the language. In Malaysia we were spoiled and incredibly lazy when it came to learning Bahasa--We took full advantage of the fact that pretty much everyone spoke English as their second (or third or fourth) language, and learned an average of one phrase for each year we lived there---Yep, four phrases in four years. I know 🙍. Here in Albania, we've quickly come to realize that we're going to need to pick up the language-learning pace. So far we've successfully said 'thank you' or 'faleminderit', and are like two proud parrots repeating it everywhere we go. Next, who knows, maybe 'Hello'?
Alright, what was meant to be a quick little post, has resulted in the full blown ramblings of a heavily caffeinated, excited-to-be-here individual. Cheers to Albania!
