New Year in Germany

If you like to celebrate the New Year in the square, in the crowd, you should go to the capital of Germany - Berlin. There, this holiday is celebrated on a grand scale. Generally, if Christmas is perceived by Germans as a quiet family holiday, then the New Year in Germany is celebrated noisily, in a large company of friends and acquaintances, usually not at home, but at festive parties.

On December 31 in Berlin there are numerous folk festivals (remarkably organized, it should be noted). Directly on the streets are famous artists and musicians. It does not do without a laser show, but at midnight on December 31 at the Brandenburg Gate suit the famous New Year's salute. Without this colorful and large-scale fireworks lasting more than an hour, not one New Year's celebration can do.

In the past year A grand open-air party at the Brandenburg Gate gathered about a million participants. The length of this party can be more than two kilometers. To the sound of the salute the Germans drink champagne and congratulate each other with the words "Prosit Neujahr".

By the way, With the onset of the New Year, the Germans have an unusual tradition. Those who celebrate New Year at home, with the firstthe clock strikes on chairs, armchairs, tables, etc., and when the clock beats off the twelfth blow, all present with joyful exclamations, greetings and congratulations "jump" into the coming new year.

Meet the New Year in Germany, do not miss the opportunity to eat traditional German food. In general, the New Year's menu coincides withChristmas, but in every land in Germany there are traditional treats. Traditional Christmas dishes in Germany are stuffed goose with apples, salmon in dough, baked carp, mustard potatoes, pork legs, German cucumber salad.

It is necessary to try and traditional Christmas baked goods. At Christmas in Germany, a stove stollen - pie from a heavy yeast dough withdried fruits, candied fruits, nuts and spices (each baker has its own special spice and spice composition). Stollen is widely known not only in Germany, but also abroad.

Even before the New Year a stove is accepted Baumkuchen - puff pastry baked with specialtechnology so that its cut resembles a tree cut with annual rings (the word "Baumkuchen" is translated as "tree-pie"). Well, like in other European countries, in Germany they bake gingerbread houses and Christmas carp-gingerbread - lebkuchen.

Of course, if you are going to celebrate the New Year in Germany, you will go there not for one day. Therefore, it is worthwhile to set aside time for excursions. One of Germany's most famous landmarks is Bavarian castle Neuschwanstein, "Fairy-tale palace" of King Ludwig II,built on a cliff. It is believed that it was the impressions from visiting Neuschwanstein (translated from German - the "new swan's nest") that inspired Tchaikovsky to write his famous ballet Swan Lake.

But in general, in almost every major cityGermany has something to look at. A couple of centuries ago in the territory of present-day Germany there were many different small states, so now different parts of the country are very different in traditions, customs, culture. So try to cover a few cities, except Berlin; offers Munich, Bremen, Hamburg, Dresden, Potsdam, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main and many other cities. There you can visit Christmas fairs and just have fun.

If you love active rest, you can spend New Year's holidays on one of the Alpine ski resorts in Germany. There are also famous Thermal spas with SPA centers, which is one Baden-Baden, famous for the whole world. By the way, vacation in the resorts of Germany in many cases is cheaper than vacation in similar resorts of neighboring countries (for example, Austria).

But keep in mind that those wishing to celebrate the New Year inGermany can be very much. And if there are usually no problems with tickets, then here with the places in the hotels there may be problems, so it's better if you take care of booking the hotel and purchasing tickets (or booking a tour to Germany in a travel agency) in advance. Happy holidays to you!