We have several holiday traditions that we celebrate from year to year, but they aren’t what truly matters during this festive season. Regardless of where we are, it always comes down to caring, sharing, compassion, and family. This week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge is Its’s Not This Time of Year Without… There are many things that remind us of the season, our Christmas tree, prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, or a fire in the fireplace. However, we have been away from home the past couple of Christmas’, which has helped us realize that it is about a phone call with loved ones, a card that says they are thinking of us, or most importantly, the two of us being together that is truly most important. Since this is a photo challenge, we have chosen a couple of photos taken during our travels at this time of year, probably a reason that we have always purchased unique holiday decorations from wherever we have been. We already have several spread out in our apartment here in Frankfurt to remind us that it is the holiday season, although a quick trip out of our door to the local Christmas market is all we really need to remind us that the holidays are upon 🎄.
Warwick Castle Decorated for ChristmasChristmas Market in WürzburgEven Las Vegas does Christmas, Somewhat
It has been an interesting few days here in Germany to say the least. First of all, we had been greatly anticipating our youngest daughter’s arrival here in Frankfurt as she and a friend were going to Rome and Naples before coming to spend the “holiday” weekend with us in Germany. First of all, obviously Thanksgiving doesn’t exist here in Germany, but we had taken time off of work, partially because it is a holiday in the US, but mostly because of the arrival of our daughter and friend. The day before they were supposed to fly from Naples to Frankfurt, we received a phone call letting us know that her friend had fallen and they were on the way to the hospital. Obviously not the phone call any parent wants to receive when you have children traveling abroad, but she is an adult, so all we could do was support her the best way that we could.
The ResidenzThe FortressThe Dom as You Walk Back from the Bridge
After a few hours, we received another phone call letting us know that her friend had broken her ankle and that they needed to get home to Chicago to receive further treatment. Immediately we began the search for flights that would get them home, forgoing them coming to Frankfurt, but instead just trying to get them from Naples back to Chicago. To make matters worse, Lufthansa pilots had chosen to strike, so finding flights was just about impossible and those that could be found had several stops and prices that were outrageous. After several conversations, they decided to take their previously scheduled flight from Naples to Frankfurt where they would have more options available, but obviously it would delay their return by a day. Perhaps because it was a holiday in the US, they were able to find a non-stop United flight that got them back to Chicago on Thanksgiving day.
Garden at the DomOld Town SquareBack of the Dom
That gave us about a half a day to spend with them, albeit not going anyplace other than our apartment, but we did at least get to see our daughter. Sometimes you just have to make the most of what life offers you and take it with a smile. We had a nice time visiting, but certainly not the experience that we had hoped for. One of the things that we had planned was a visit to Würzburg, a smaller city that has a wonderful palace called the Residenz as well as a fortress that looms over the town across the old bridge. We specifically chose this town because it was smaller and we wanted them to see something other than a larger city like Frankfurt or Cologne. With somewhat sad hearts, we went ahead and visited Würzburg over the weekend even though they weren’t with us. It was everything that we had hoped that it would be. The town was festive and busy, but not the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds that we have seen in other cities with Christmas markets.
Sculptures on the DomCeiling in the ResidenzFountain Sculptures at the Residenz
We toured the Residenz, which was truly magnificent and spent most of our time just walking the tiny side streets. We found a restaurant called Stachel that was over 600 years old and served incredible food. There was a wonderful Dom (Cathedral), which was, of course, surrounded by Christmas markets. We truly did enjoy our time in Würzburg, but we were definitely a little sad that we didn’t get to share it with our daughter as we had hoped. After a few stressful and eventful days, followed by a couple of days of relaxation, we are back to our normal routines and should be posting again on a regular basis. We have shared a few photos from Würzburg, but will talk more about this wonderful town in a future post (although it seems like we are way behind on fully sharing our experiences 😀).
Cathedral and Christmas Market at NightFortress Above the TownAnother Statue
We had heard a lot about how wonderful the Christmas markets would be before we ever left the United States to spend some time here in Germany. Even though the markets are just now being put together in Frankfurt and will be opening this Wednesday, we have already been to several Christmas markets as we have travelled the past couple of weeks. Obviously we will share posts on all of the food, wine, Glühwein, and various souvenirs, but we thought that we would share some things that we have observed that we were not told about and were not prepared for.
The markets seem to be around all of the major attractions in the various cities and towns. While this can be awfully convenient in some respects, it does detract from the ability to truly absorb the sight that you are trying to see and photograph. Having all of the stalls in front of a cathedral or palace doesn’t make for ideal picture taking and sometimes one of the giant Christmas trees blocks the view completely. Add to it the extra crowds that come to the market on top of those visiting the attraction and it can feel quite claustrophobic.
Market outside of the Dom in Cologne
There can be multiple Christmas markets all going on at the same time in various parts of the city. It probably isn’t true of some of the smaller villages, but in the larger cities there can be many different Christmas markets. At this point, we have seen up to eight markets in one city, Köln (Cologne) and are not sure how many we will have in Frankfurt, but we have walked past two getting set up just in the old town area. In theory, it should keep down the crowds because they have multiple to choose from, but as far as we can tell, people go from one market to the next, so it doesn’t keep down the number of people you have to traverse through.
Setting up the Market in Old Town, Frankfurt
The items sold are not often unique, hand-made, items, but tend to be the same items sold at each of the various markets. Obviously the markets are commercial, so it isn’t too surprising, but if you are hoping to find that perfect gift that can’t be found anyplace else, you will have to do some searching. It isn’t that there aren’t some truly special items that you can’t find anyplace else, but you will just have to take some time to figure out what is from a local artist and what is mass-produced.
Market outside Cathedral in Vienna
Not all Glühwein is the same. You have to be careful, some places will add rum or other liquor to the delicious, warming treat, making it even more likely to take you to a happy place. Often you can ask to have something added, but other times it is just added for you. Be careful, it can sneak up on you if you have a couple of glasses, but it will definitely put you in the holiday spirit.
Glühwein Mugs
People don’t pay any attention to where they are walking. We see the same effect in airports and train stations, where people walk without looking where they are going, but they are especially bad in the markets. Perhaps it is all of the shiny lights making them look anywhere but in front of them, so don’t be surprised to have several people walk right into you as you make your way through the crowds. Don’t get us started about the parents with strollers who fall into this category, it is as though they use their children as battering rams to move through the crowds.
View from inside Alten Limpurg
As we mentioned, we have already enjoyed some wonderful markets and are definitely looking forward to ones that are about to start here in Frankfurt. We will likely avoid them on the weekends, when the crowds will be even worse, and we wouldn’t be surprised if by the time Christmas actually gets here, we are a little tired of having to walk through the markets to get to some of the places we like to go. Unfortunately, the market in the town square is directly outside of our favorite watering hole, Alten Limpurg, and you can no longer even see the fountain and buildings from within restaurant.
