Christmas in Medellin (Colombia) + Soccer Madness

Photo BorisG via Flickr

After going to Germany last year to spend the holidays with my lovely (and crazy!) family, we decided to visit Daniel's family in Medellin this year and spend the days before Christmas with them.

Medellin in December is a great spectacle packed with holiday spirit and lots of Christmas lights, which are traditionally turned on around December 7th. You will see them throughout the entire city, especially along major roads, parks and the Medellin River. The lights along the Medellin River are truly amazing! Lots of work and money (millions of dollar) create a beautiful arrangement of lights and unique themes that are different from the previous seasons.

I love going to Medellin! The climate is extremely pleasant with about 75°F all year around and the mountains that surround the city are spectacular. The people from the region, which are called Antioqueños (or Paisas), are also the nicest and most humble people I have ever met. The paisa culture is known to be traditionally Catholic, entrepreneurial, hard-working and incredibly hospitable.

And don't get me started on the food! It's quite heavy and greasy, but super delicious (like, super super delicious!). It mainly consists of meat, rice, plantains, soups, arepas, beans, and lentils (notice the lack of vegetable and salads?). There are also different fruit juices (milk or water based) with every meal (my personal favorite: guanabana in milk or tangerine in water!).

Bandeja Paisa - the most popular Colombian dish with the origin of Antioquia. It consists of ground meat, beans, chorizo, Colombian blood sausage, chicharrones, white rice, fried plantain, avocado and a fried egg.

Another really important thing in Medellin is soccer - no surprise here since people in South America take their fútbol very seriously. Medellin has 2 big soccer teams - Deportivo Independiente Medellin and Atletico Nacional (which was previously owned by Pablo Escobar). Everybody in my husbands family are huge Nacional fans and we had the chance of watching them play at the final of the Colombian soccer league during our visit. While I have been at quite a few soccer games before, experiencing a final was definitely something incredible and unique for me (and for my husband who was super stocked!)

The atmosphere in the stadium was amazing and tense. People dressed in green (Nacionals color) where yelling and singing everywhere - the kind of passion and energy we got to experience was unreal. It's hard to describe all the emotions that were going on during the game, but it was definitely something unlike anything I have every seen - especially when Atletico Nacional scored during penalty kicks and won the cup of the Colombian tournament (making them the team with the most titles in Colombia).

atletico nacional soccer match medellin colombia

atletico nacional soccer match colombia medellin

We also got to visit "El Pueblito Paisa", which is a replica of a typical Antioquia town with a traditional stone fountain in the town square, a church, vendors and different shops. It also offers an amazing view of the city of Medellin. Definitely worth visiting!