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<\/a>Much like the yearly holiday showings of \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u201d and \u201cA Christmas Story,\u201d Germans enjoy watching a short film titled, \u201cDinner for One\u201d or \u201cDer. 90. Geburtstag\u201d on New Year\u2019s Eve. Afterwards we ate the traditional jelly-donuts \u2018Berliners\u2019 and also did the traditional \u2018lead pouring\u2019 called \u2018Bleigie\u00dfen.\u2019 This process involves melting lead shapes on a spoon over a candle, pouring the liquid into a pot of cold water and then telling fortunes from the shapes formed in the water.<\/p>\nWe then decided to brave the streets to watch the fireworks along the Weser River. Words cannot describe how chaotic and wild everything was. Little kids were handed rockets to set off, groups would walk along and toss fire-crackers in the streets and at cars driving by, and the cracks, pops and whistles were so deafening that it almost felt like I was in a war-zone. Unlike the big city-organized firework displays one finds in the United States, Germans buy and set off their own fireworks. Verena informed me that fireworks are only available during the few days before New Year\u2019s and that otherwise you can\u2019t find them in Germany, which helps account for their general pyro-enthusiasm. After lighting our own rather tame sparklers and toasting the New Year with some champagne, we managed to find our way back home through the smoke-filled streets. I hope to bring back some of the German traditions I learned!<\/p>\n
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With all other Dickinson students having flown the Bremen-coop, I was left to experience New Year\u2019s Eve in Bremen by myself. Fortunately I had two great Bremen-natives, Verena M. and Christine M. to show me the ropes of the quirky … Continue reading