This week Benjamin travels back to Germany. He visits Annika in Darmstadt.
Benjamin excitedly tells Annika about all his experiences in Denmark and Great Britain.
When Benjamin has finished, Annika remembers that she has not yet opened her Advent calendar for this Sunday. In Germany, all children have an Advent calendar. It has a total of 24 doors. Every day from the first to the twenty-fourth of December, a door or a package with sweets or small gifts can be opened. This is to make the wait for the Christmas holidays a little more pleasant. Even though Annika is no longer a child she still gets her own Advent calender from her mother every year. Today Benjamin is allowed to open the package and together they eat the little chocolate he has unwrapped.
The two of them spend a very relaxed winter’s day. In the evening, the doorbell rings. Some of Annika’s friends come over and have brought a very special Christmas tradition with them: a so called Feuerzangenbowle. A Feuerzangenbowle is a typical German Christmas drink. It is similar to the well-known mulled wine, but has one more special feature. Before the Feuerzangenbowle is drunk, a sugar loaf soaked in alcohol is placed on top of a device. This is lit and then drips into the punch. Benjamin is thrilled that a drink can be such a big event. Since Benjamin has never seen anything like this before, he takes lots of pictures and fills a thermos flask with some of the punch so that he can show it to his friends on Christmas Eve. Together with Annika’s friends, they spend a nice and relaxed evening.
