By Roy A. Barnes

Christmas in Germany is taken really seriously and has much historical significance.  Decorated Christmas trees originated there in the 16^th century when Christians started bringing decorated fir trees into their homes (because of its triangular shape that represents the Holy Trinity).  It’s purported that Martin Luther was so impressed with a bright starry night amongst evergreen trees, that he re-created the scene for his family by putting up a tree in his house, substituting lighted candles for stars; and thus, starting the lighted Christmas tree craze. Do people really take the time to think about where Christmas gifts come from?  Well, some of Saxony’s locales are part of the answer.

To Saxony’s Capital for Stollen

The first Christmas market (Striezemarkt) originated in 1434 in the city of Dresden. And it’s here in the trendy and artsy Neustadt part of the city that I came across some really wonderful-tasting holiday season sweet bread called stollen.  Stollen can be made with a number of ingredients which include finely ground flour, yeast dough, butter (which makes up 1/3 of the recipe, including some that’s melted and then hardened), bitter and sweet almonds, raisins soaked in rum, salt, candied orange and lemon peel, sugar. When Stollen first came out in the 14^th Century as a result of a contest originated by the Bishop of Nauru’burg, each loaf weighed 30-plus pounds. People would not eat the first or last pieces because they saved them in hopes of good luck.

The Backerei Grundmann is near the Three Kings Church (Dreikonigskirche) and emanated a pleasant fruity bread smell.  A retired baker, Frank Ludolphy, still active in the bakers association (and baked for a living some 45 years), made some.  I got to sample the Zutaten (“very fine ingredients”), and found the rum-soaked raisins irresistible.  Ludolphy rolled out the dough and began shaping it. There’s normally a maturing time for the fruit flavor to soak into the bread.   He let me sample the dough (which he bakes at 356 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Centigrade for 40-50 minutes). The raw form had an orange-like taste, reminding me of the orange sweet rolls mother used to bake for the family on Saturday nights.

No artificial preservatives are used by this bakery, which sells their stollen at various locations around the city, baking some 14,000 loaves for the holidays.  It’s generally available between September – January.  The baked loaf is quite dense and the fruit juices can make the stollen appear to have brown spots. Nonetheless, I wasn’t let down by the incredible fruity, sweet taste of the semi-soft bread that’ll get even the Scrooge-iest of people into the Christmas spirit!

It’s “Time” for Christmas in Glashuette

In the town of a few thousand people about an hour away from Dresden to the south and very close to the Czech border lies Glashuette (founded in 1506), where some 10 watch manufacturers are located.   You don’t have to be one of the rich and famous to take a free tour of the Germany’s premiere luxury watch maker Glashuette Original whose watchmaking roots go back to 1845.   Because of the amount of components that are used, the hand assembly and craftsmanship, these watches are not your ordinary chain store timepiece. Getting a watch for Christmas with a glass bottom to witness the working parts means big bucks spent on one’s behalf for this brand, with 2009 US prices starting at about $6,700 and going up well over $150,000.  They’re sold in over 70 countries and in chic cities like London, New York and Hong Kong. This company uses gold screws, Louisiana alligator skin (for the watchbands), and Meissen Porcelain (for the dials) to make some of their watches.

The company produces about 8,000 watches a year via watchmakers who’ve had 3 years of apprenticeship training to install between 150-500 movable parts (some as small as a tiny bread crumb) per watch.  They implement concepts like spark erosion technology, bronze plating (superior to gold) and complex measuring and polishing of the plates.  It can take more than 40 hours to complete one watch.

Later, I took a short walk to the German Watch Museum where I got the lowdown on watchmaking via pictorial and computer exhibits, many of which are in both German and English.   I looked at numerous kinds of pocket watches, table clocks, and pendulum clocks on display.  I got see some really nice looking timepieces, including one dating back to 1778 as well as a pocket watch from 1899 that has over 800 components called the La Grandiose Universal Watch, a 12 year project.  The lobby contains a large priceless pendulum clock (a 32 year project) that was crafted by Herman Goertz circa 19^th century that not only tells the time, but the age phase of the moon and current Northern Sky representation.

Seiffen is all about Toys, Toys, Toys!

About 90 minutes southwest of Dresden is Seiffen, a town of roughly 2,500.  The town became a major toy maker for the Nuremberg market in the 18^th century because of its quality products and low manufacturing costs.   As I walked around town, I noticed a quaint toy shop at every turn or glance across the street.  They sell Seiffen’s wood-turned animal toys, nutcrackers, and intricately-crafted matchbox miniatures, the latter coming about to help cut down on the weight of toys to save on export taxes.  The Seiffener Volkskunst not only sells these goodies, but you can actually watch the toymakers ply their trade making these beautiful and festive objects.  The scent of wood dominates the nostrils, especially that of spruce, the principal wood used for ring-turned toys, which have been fashioned on the lathe for around two centuries to cut down on carving time.

The Erzgebrige Toy Museum is located on Seiffen’s main drag, and a must-see for those who love wood toys.  Over 2,000 items are on display via 3 floors at any one time that cover just about every Christmas-themed toy you can think of from trains, soldiers, smoking men, angels, games, and mining (since Saxony has quite a mining history).   Their collection of Christmas pyramids really helped me appreciate all the more the artistic talents that humans have.   I saw the attention to detail paid to those magical playthings that I noticed dated back to 1699.

Germany tourism website

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The author attended the German National Tourist Office’s 2009 “The Making of Christmas” press trip, in which he got to experience the following venues.  But he writes his impressions freely without any editorial scrutiny from the press trip sponsor.

Biography: Roy A. Barnes writes from southeastern Wyoming and is a frequent contributor to the The Traveler/The Traveler Blog.

Hawking, a hunting sport from distant antiquity with a history going back some 4000 years, is alive and well thanks to dedicated aficionados like Steve Robello and Mark Duval. These two local falconers periodically give public demonstrations sponsored by the American River Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing natural habitats where wildlife can flourish, at the Gold Discovery Park, located along historic Highway 49 in Coloma, Californa. No actual hunting went on during the recent lecture and demonstration since permitted hunting areas and legal seasons for hawking are tightly controlled by law. But the wide-ranging talk and exhibition stirred visions of old English barons hunting wild game with predator hawks, falcons and even eagles.

Raptors were a status symbol in ancient times dating from at least 1700 B.C., as shown on bas-relief in Assyria, continuing on through the 15th century. During their heyday, there were harsh penalties for disturbing nests or poaching falcons as the birds were quite valuable; such protective policies marked the beginning of modern-day rules on conservation. According to our lecturer, the advent of more efficient weaponry, i.e., firearms, in the 1400’s almost overnight ended the popularity of raptors and made their use as hunters less widespread.

Today there are some 3000 licensed falconers in the U.S. who have taken classes, undergone testing through state Fish and Game Departments, found a sponsor, completed a two-year Apprenticeship, upgraded to General level and after five years, finally achieved status as Masters. The conservation efforts of these experts have rescued species such as the Peregrine Falcon from endangered status.

As part of ongoing historical activities at Coloma, site of the 1848 gold discovery by James Marshall at Sutter’s Mill, the American River Conservancy offers a number of programs throughout the year. Living history events, sponsored by the Gold Discovery Park Association, occur around holidays and always on Gold Discovery Day, January 24th. The park museum was recently renovated and makes a worthwhile hour-long visit. Its vivid historical displays include an authentic stagecoach, period costumes, photographs and well-used gold mining tools. The adjacent gift shop offers gold jewelry, books, toys and period dress patterns.

Following the falconry lecture, two gleaming golden brown raptors were released into the sky as a highlight of the event. These were Harris Hawks, known as “wolves of the sky” because unlike most hawks that hunt in solitary, the Harris hunts in packs, working in tandem to capture their prey then sharing the kill.

Freed from their perches, away the two birds went, tethers dangling, flying low and banking purposefully one direction and the other, oblivious to legal hunting areas or seasons. They paused in nearby treetops, hungrily scanning the terrain for unwary ground squirrels or other appetizing morsels. The intimidating pair was lured back with treats of gory meat-bundles before they had a chance to snag any unsuspecting critters. In fact, we learned those sharp-toothed clawed critters could be hazardous for the hawks, who risk injury to their legs in attacking such well-armed prey. In open fields during legal hunting seasons, the birds prefer gentler fare of rabbit, duck, quail or grouse.

“Are they sort of pets? Do they like you?” someone asked Mark.
“Oh no,” he laughed. “If they could hold me down, they would eat me.”

Perhaps so and the caution was sufficient to restrain any effort at petting the beautiful, yet sinister-looking creatures. But the brief flight by these “wolves of the sky” was enough to make the pulse race and the breath quicken from the sheer primitive bloodlust of it. The thrill of watching those powerful wings and the cold, hungry look in raptor eyes brought a distant world of hunting into sharp relief.

• Melodrama at the Olde Coloma Theater. Five different shows are presented from mid-May through late December. This is one of only three theaters in the state that allows audience members to interact with the cast by cheering the heroine and booing the villain.
• American River Music Festival in September, held at nearby Henningsen-Lotus Park, features a day of rafting and music, naturalist-led hikes and music, musicians teaching in schools, and of course a wide range of performers on the main stage and in many smaller ones in local campgrounds.
• American River Acoustic Music Camp in August is a learning opportunity open to individuals and families.
• Coloma Gold Rush Live, which takes place in October, is full of sights, sounds, scents, and hands-on experiences as costumed volunteers living in a tent encampment and working a recreated mining camp demonstrate history.
• Christmas in Coloma offers an old-fashioned Christmas celebration each December, with period crafts, music, strolling musicians, historic trade demonstrations, 19th-century children’s games, and wreath making, highlighted by a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.