I know I’ve been lazy (and late) when it comes to Tourist Tuesday, but hopefully you’ll forgive me today because this post is Christmasy. Last Friday I went to Winter Wonderland with a bunch of my work friends (and one friend from college!) and it was a festive good time with food, drinks, games, and interesting sights.
I did try to go to Winter Wonderland last year with Ryan and our friends Sarah and Ben but the queue was so incredibly long that we went to the pub instead. This year, my friends and I were smart and we went during the day to avoid the crowds. However, it really is more magical at night when all the lights are bright – but actually it gets dark here at about 3:30pm so “night” is relative.
Anyway, Winter Wonderland is a fun place to go with a group because it’s nice to just walk around and look at things. It’s free to get in, and then it’s easy to just wander around and take it all in. To me, Winter Wonderland is a mix of Christmas market and the Boardwalk in New Jersey. That might not sound appealing, but I think it is. There are rides, games, food, shopping, and even the circus. While we were there we saw some interesting stuff. We saw a pub/carousel (bottom right above) where drinkers were sitting on horses and riding around in a circle. It looked both fun and a little sad. In the Bavarian area we saw this really tall statue of a man with a bird (top left above). It was creepy, and worse his mouth and eyes moved and his hair blew in the wind. How is he Germany or Christmasy? I don’t know.
The best thing we saw – or rather heard – was this guy in the photo above. At first, we heard him from afar and thought it was just recorded Barry White music playing over the speakers. I think he was singing Can’t Get Enough of Your Love. And then we got closer and we saw that it was an actual real person singing. He was pretty good, and a little bit hilarious to listen to. He was a little all over the place and hitting all kinds of high and low notes. He even had a small crowd of teenage girls dancing along at the foot of his pavilion.
Of course, while we were there we did stop to eat and drink. Some of us were drawn to German sausages, others got donuts, and I got some churros. Even though it wasn’t too cold, we did warm up with mulled wine and cider. I enjoy the festive gold foil stuck in this plastic cup. They really are pulling out all the stops to make it merry, am I right?
We also had a lovely time on the games. My friend Chi and I played one game where we shot arrows at balloons on a target. The vendor was somewhat un-supportive. I asked him to show me how to use the bow, and he did, but after he said he thought maybe he was going to need some protective armor. However, I showed him (sort of) I was able to shoot 2 of the 4 balloons. I actually shot one of the balloons on my first try! The last time I shot an arrow was in high school gym and I was awful. So, look at me now Mr. Randall, I am a semi-decent archer!
Anyway, I didn’t win a prize, but I felt like a winner. After Chi, Charlotte, and I played another game and Chi picked the winning number and won a giant Toblerone bar. In fact, it’s actually 58 small Toblerone bars but the giant packaging in impressive. Everywhere we went for the rest of the night people kept talking to Chi.
As for the rides, we were all tempted, though slightly fearful. We wanted to go, it looked fun. But after eating and boozing we were afraid of getting sick. In fact, I hate to say this, but I think we were also feeling a little bit old and lame. But, Chi, Imogen, Abi, Adam and I did eventually ride a medium-sized looking roller coasted called the Wild Maus XXL. The queue for the line was like a fun house with lots of obstacles. Instead of just standing in line, the floor had spots that spun around, boards that wobbled back and forth, and even a water area where you had to jump on logs. It was the best line I’ve ever waited in.
I’ve been on a Wild Maus ride before, but not one so big. Basically it’s a fast moving roller coaster and though it doesn’t go upside down, when it takes turns it takes them really really sharply. Basically as you go around the turns it feels like the car might fly off the tracks. It also has a lot of speedy up and downs. Needless to say we all did a lot of yelling and laughing. The photos of us afterwards were funny too. Our hair was flying everywhere and everyone was making crazy faces.
After Winter Wonderland we headed to a Christmas party hosted by our other work friends Dan and Dominique. I know there party has nothing to do with Winter Wonderland, but I wanted to tell you about the Christmas pudding. I wish I had taken more pictures of everything because they made everyone a big Christmas feast and there house was decorated with lots of decorations. But, the Christmas pudding (above) was my favorite thing because I had never seen one before. It’s a holiday tradition here in the UK and it’s basically a rich, boozy, fruit cake that you cover in brandy and light on fire. How beautiful is that?! I thought it was delicious and maybe next year I’ll try to make one for myself.
It’s almost Christmas, but Winter Wonderland is open until 3 January in case you’d like to check out some of this ridiculous fun for yourself.
