Advent in Germany

Juergen loves his work with the non routine schedules which allows him to take a short hike almost daily. The downside is - most of his colleagues are much younger with school age children, which means that at school holiday times, he is never off.   The good side is - we never have to fight the huge tourist crowds on the Autobahns when we take our holidays. Everyone living in the Benelux area of Europe passes through Germany on their way ANYWHERE!

The Advent season begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas. This means that the famous Christmas Markets of Germany usually open the weekend of Thanksgiving.  They are huge events and one must stand shoulder to shoulder when venturing out to join the happy crowds.  Open daily until the 23rd of December, thousands from all over the world visit the old part of Frankfurt.  We usually make one foray into the oceans of revelers sipping mugs of Gluehwien (hot spiced red wine) just to share in the spirit of Advent.  We missed the choir of Church of Christ the King this year as we were traveling back from our holiday on 10 December.

See this link for really good shots of our Market.

http://www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/cms/tourismussuite/en/events_trade_fairs_messe_frankfurt/christmas_market_Frankfurt_xmas.htm



Big cities like Frankfurt and Nuremberg have daily Weihnactmarkts, but most of the villages hold small ones, 1-2 days on one of the Advent weekends.  Last year we were atop a stone mountain in the Odenwald at the Otzberg for their Markt.  Quite a different atmosphere as you stroll down from the centuries old fortress through the winding Medieval streets lined with little wooden sheds selling home made articles.

courtyard of the Otzberg

I really prefer these small markets myself without the carousel and Ferris wheel, but of course my days of a young child in tow, with eyes filled with the glory of it all are long gone!  Howeve, we shared a few hours with Liela, Juergen's granddaughter last week at a local fair.  Although only 4, she really had a great time.

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