Christmas Festivites in Germany!

I just returned to Vitoria last night from my three week excursion through Germany and Italy. Since I have so much to share I will devote this blog to Germany and follow up with another one on Italy within the next couple days.
Day 1: Tuesday December 22: I went to my first German Christmas Market. It was a Medieval Market called Wilkommen in the city Esslingen. It was a beautiful walk to the market down a steep cobblestone path underneath a small arch way that over looks the city. This market is apparently different from all the other Christmas Markets in the sense that it has the medieval feel. It was neat to see all of the people at each of the vendors dressed up in Medieval clothes and there were even different performances intermingled in the streets of the market. At this market I tried a typical German drink called Kinder Punch which is a drink typically generated towards kids. It is a warm drink kind of in the form of Apple Cider with a little spice of cinnamon. Very tasty. As you order drinks at these markets they give you a decorative ceramic mug with the name of the Christmas Market on it to take home with you.
Underneath the Arch that overlooks Esslingen with Carol, Alli and Frito, the dog.
The Medievel decorations and the German buildings

















The large pots they used to cook out of

Alli and I with the Nutcracker

I climbed a rock wall and we played in this cool playground after the market.











Day 2: Wednesday December 23: I went to my second Christmas Market; a more typical German Christmas Market in the city of Stuttgart. It was definitely a lot bigger with many more booths and vendors set up. Both of the markets sold the same sort a things with a little variety. They mainly consisted of many typical German Christmas decorations, leather, jewelry and crafty type of things. Along with large pots of typical German food being cooked and different beverages typical of Germany. As you walk through the streets of these markets you will see many people standing around drinking and eating a lot. At this market I tried another drink called Gluehwein. It is a red wine spiced with cinnamon. I liked it however it is a very different taste considering it is a warm wine.













The entrance to the Weihnachten Market

This stand is dedicated to Moose...Love and miss him!

Day 3 and 4: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: we spent most of our time at the Crisps' home in Stuttgart just relaxing and taking part in normal Christmas festivities. On Christmas Eve, Alli's mom prepared a stuffed shells dish, which is something my mom prepares every year at home on Christmas Eve. On Christmas day my family was kind enough to send me a package of gifts so I could have some things to open under the tree along with a few gifts from the Crisp family. In the evening we enjoyed a Christmas dinner with Alli and her family consisting of ham, twice baked potatoes, green bean casserole salad, cooked carrots and a salad. Very delicious. It was nice to have a place to go to for Christmas.




















Day 5: Saturday December 26: we drove to visit a beautiful castle, Burg Hohenzollern, located on the top of a mountain. We drove part way up and climbed the rest to reach the castle where we walked around the perimeters of the castle. There was a beautiful view that overlooked the city on almost every side of the castle.
The View on our way up the mountain







The front of the Castle and the view from the side.













Day 6: Sunday December 27: Instead of visiting other areas in Germany to do some site seeing we took part in some American activities in the community the Crisps live in. We went bowling in the afternoon and that evening we saw the movie Avatar, which was very good.

Day 7: Monday December 28: My last day in Germany. We went on an excursion to a city called Rothenburg. It is a beautiful city with all of the typical cobblestone pathways and colorful German houses that you may see when typically thinking of Germany. Many of the streets were still decorated with many Christmas decorations such as Christmas Trees, vines and lights. There are also a few towers with archways that mark the boundaries of the city. We entered the city by walking along the older sections of the city which was really pretty with all of the stone walls and arch ways. In the older section of the city we also climbed up a wooden structure and walked along it. It gave a good view of all the German buildings including little holes that functioned as windows to provide a good look out of the rural area surrounding the city. While there we also visited a church called Zwolfbotenalater. As we left the city I tried a treat typical to Germany called Schnee ball which is a doughy like sweet in the form of a ball consisting of many different flavors.















The old section of the city









The center with the big Christmas tree













The tower that marks
entrance and exit to the
city














I had a great week in Germany. It was really nice to finally see my friend, Alli, again and be able to experience the culture of another country. Stayed tuned to hear about my adventure through Italy!