Christmas in Germany

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We certainly did... we spent a quiet Christmas here in Frankfurt, just the two of us. Daniel's parents and aunt headed back to the States a couple days before Christmas after a very busy two weeks of traveling. While they were here, we made it to Prague, Florence, Rome, and even a few Christmas markets around Germany. I will definitely blog all about our trips to Prague and Italy, but first I thought I'd share some pictures from the Christmas markets.

On Wednesday, December 8th, the day Daniel's family arrived, we headed south to check out Heidelberg. Normally it is a pretty little town, but of course the Christmas market adds even more charm.

In addition to checking out the market and shopping a while, we also wandered around town and made our way to the Old Bridge to take in the view of the Heidelberg castle up on the hillside.

After enduring the rain and cold for a few hours, we decided to head back to Frankfurt... despite the weather, we all enjoyed the trip to Heidelberg. The next day we were back on the road... this time we drove east towards Prague. About halfway between Frankfurt and Prague is the city of Nuremberg, which hosts the most famous Christmas market in all of Germany, so of course we had to stop :) First we checked out St. Lawrence Church and then it was on to find some lunch. One of the best things about the Christmas markets is the wide variety of food available, and we enjoyed some mighty good chow as we went from stall to stall approaching the main market square.

Once at the main square, I definitely took advantage of the photo op! Then we checked out the myriad of ornaments and other Christmas decor on sale as well as the Frauenkirche Church that dominates the eastern side of the square. Though our stop in Nuremberg was short-lived, it proved to be the perfect pit stop, and I am very glad we had a chance to visit its well-known Christmas market.

After our trips to Prague and Italy... check back soon to read all about those... we had time to visit yet another Christmas market, but this one was a bit closer to home... Frankfurt! Though it was pretty chilly, it turned out to be a great day to go to the Christmas market... it was snowing! It was really quite beautiful. Once again, we enjoyed the stalls full of wares of all kinds and some very yummy food.

Once we made our way through the market, we also enjoyed the warmth inside St. Bartholomew's Cathedral for a little while... I think it is so interesting how here in Europe, baby Jesus isn't placed in the nativity until Christmas Day. Before heading home, we braved the cold for a bit longer to take in the view across the Main River towards Three Knights Church.

I was very happy to share Frankfurt and its Christmas market with Daniel's family before they had to depart for North Carolina the next day. We had a wonderful time with them during their whole stay here, but like I said, you will have to stay tuned for much more on our other excursions across Europe! Until then, enjoy the last few days of 2009!