Rewind: Regensburg Christmas Market

I'm obviously in catch up mode, you guys.  I'm bringing you back to the holidays and to the Christmas Market in Regensburg.  We'd visited Regensburg last Fourth of July weekend and had a blast.  What a wonderful city!  We couldn't wait to go back.  Our friends, the infamous Finch Family, live about 25 minutes (by train) from Regensburg.  The train station is literally minutes away from their house, so it was so convenient to hop on the train with strollers and Sina in a Kelty backpack and instantly be in one of the most beautiful backdrops for a Christmas market. 

Ruckin' it!

Train Ride!

It wasn't as big as Stuttgart or Strasbourg, but I think that's what we loved most about it. No outrageous crowds, not too spread out. But the setting was lovely, cozy, and oh, the food was dee-licious!

Here's a disclaimer before I go any further:  The pictures aren't the greatest.  We went to this market at night and I take horrible pictures at night time.

The market is held annually in the Palace of the Saint Emmeram--a former Benedictine monastery dating back to the 11th century, turned royal palace to the House of Thurn and Taxis in 1748.  The Thurn and Taxis family is evidently one of the wealthiest families in Germany.  Why not?  This family was responsible for establishing the imperial postal system in Europe (starting in Italy), which paved the way for the creation of an international postal system at the turn of the 16th century.  I wish we'd had a chance to tour the palace during normal hours because even at night, you can see the place in all its splendor.

This was just outside the palace entryway, where there were booths mostly selling jewelry, ornaments, liquor, and other fine local wares.

When we got there, there was already a crowd gathered in the courtyard.  Notice all the people looking upward...there was a choir singing Christmas carols from a balcony overlooking the courtyard.  And the crowd was singing along...so were we, only in English.  Also notice the gorgeous, giant Christmas tree in the center of the courtyard.  Sina was in complete awe.  It was all so surreal.

As I said earlier, the food was fantastic.  There were so many things to choose from, which is absolutely ideal when you are completely famished from not having eaten hours prior to arriving in downtown Regensburg.  Of course, we had to have some brats.  But I found a booth selling this...

I need to make a note to scribble down the names for the things we eat because I want to call this goulash, but am not 100% sure.  This was a mixture of sauteed vegetables, sauerkraut, German noodles (I want to say this is dampfnudle) and some beef.  Interestingly, they served this up in waffle bowls with garlic cream sauce.  OMG...heaven!

Needless to say...we spent a good part of the night standing and walking around, snacking on whatever we could find.  Everyone always claims that I get them mid-bite in photos.  Guess they're right.

After eating, we took a walk around the grounds and scanned some booths.  We were mostly on the look-out for ornaments, but didn't really find any that we liked.  However, we did get our hands on some good schnapps liqueur.  I think we got some in raspberry.

After about two hours, we were back on the train with our exhausted little ones.  Sina just sat in her seat in a daze until she finally decided she couldn't keep her adorable little eyes open anymore.

My two darlings.

The Christmas lights around post finally came down sometime last week.  Until then, Sina would always yell "Christmas tree!" ("Tee tis tee") everytime we passed by one.  I miss the holidays and can't wait until next year.  My mom is thinking about joining us, and I am beyond thrilled about that.  Speaking of next Christmas...I've been taking advantage of all the sales on Christmas stuff for the past month or so.  Everything is slowly trickling in through snail mail and now, I've got a new Santa cookie plate and mug set and The Elf of the Shelf book and elf set for Sina, with more stuff to come!

But ugh..11 more months to go!

Hope you guys enjoyed this flashback with me.  I'm going to try to post about our MLK weekend trip to Bavaria next.

Happy Tuesday!

Edit: One of my German readers (I know!  I can't believe I have a German reader!  How exciting!) was kind enough to email me to let me know that the noodle dish that I had that night is called schupfnudel, which are thick, pan-fried noodles.  Now I know exactly what to look and ask for the next time I go out for fest food!  Thanks, Simone!

Joyeux Noel: Strasbourg Xmas Market

Joyeux Noel--that's Merry Christmas in French!  Strasbourg might just be my favorite city in Europe so far.  This past visit was the third time of been there and each time I fall more in love with the place.  While visiting us in Stuttgart two weekends ago, we took the Finch Family to Strasbourg since they'd never been and because it's an easy 2-hour trip from here (Yup, we've spent the last two weekends with these guys).    Before the Christmas Market season kicked off, my boss' wife posted a link on Facebook to an article on CNN.com about the 5 Great European Cities for Christmas Markets, of which Strasbourg is ranked fourth!  So we are officially one of 5 great Christmas markets and will hopefully get to the other four before our tours in Germany are over.  Whew!  That's going to be a lot of traveling because one is in Cologne (about a five-hour trip from here), and the others are in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Belgium.

Let me tell you...this place did not disappoint!

We got there in the late afternoon; pretty much just in time for all the lights to come on.  Many buildings were adorned with Christmas decor.  Most had themes!  Like that building on the corner behind me...

It was covered in teddy bears!  See?

Other buildings had just angels, or Santas or snowmen or whatever else.  It was amazing!  Even every street had a theme in lights...like these stars...

Or these huge lanterns...

Not sure what these lights were, but they were gorgeous.

Incredible.  Sina was enthralled by the lights too.  She kept saying "tee-tis-tee" over and over again (that's "Christmas Tree).  Cuteness.

We took the kids to the carousel with a perfect view of the cathedral.  Sina and I rode on the carousel four times.  This mommy was quite woozy afterwards, but it was all worth it just to see the smiles on Sina's face.

We shopped around at the many booths (bought some cool ornaments too!), snacked on some nutella-topped waffles and freshly roasted chestnuts (OMG, I love them!), and drank quite a few different gluhwein or vin chaud in French (because no two gluhwein are the same!).  We got our Strasbourg gluhwein mug and even had some warm, orange juice (which is mostly for the kids) that was pretty tasty!  Here are Malu and I in front of one of the food vendors.

Here are some other photos taken that day:

Left to Right:

Mattie standing in front of a booth selling ceramic dutch ovens and pans.  They were way too pricey for us!

Vats of the hot orange juice and vin chaud.

Sina and I on the carousel.

The Finch Family in a funny cut-out billboard.

Madisen and our little family having dinner at an Italian restaurant.  I had to crop out a very inappropriate picture of a naked lady behind us!  Only in France would they have naked lady pictures in a family restaurant.

And...

Madisen and I with her beautiful baby sister, Mackinley.

Everyone agreed that this Christmas market was well worth the trip.  I will personally never get tired of going to Strasbourg.  I'm already itching to go back!

Again...that's one down and four more major Christmas markets to go to!

One more to tell you guys about and I'll save that for tomorrow!

Happy Wednesday!

Frohe Weihnachten! {Stuttgart Xmas Market, Part II}

Last Friday, we took the Finch Family to the Stuttgart Christmas Market since Malu and I had such a blast the first time we went.  We had a slight hiccup that morning.  We were actually supposed to take the train to Strasbourg, but it didn't quite work out.  For our large party, it was going to cost us almost $500 to take the intercity train all the way down there.  Heck no...not for a two-hour drive that would only cost us almost a full tank of gas.  So, since we were in downtown Stuttgart anyway, we settled for going to the Christmas market just a short walk from the train station.  How convenient!  Strasbourg was going to have to wait another day.

The problem with going to the Christmas market on a Saturday?  The crowds.  I mean, it was hella crowded.  But not crowded enough to ruin the afternoon/evening.  We had such a great time.  We actually stayed out until the late evening, which either family normally doesn't do because of the babies and their bedtimes, the hassle of it all, etc.  But we braved it anyway and it was totally worth it. Because I took so many pictures...I had to narrow them down to a few that I thought everyone would enjoy.

It was rather chilly that day, but it was perfect because there was no rain!!!  Anyway, we immediately set out to look for some gluhwein and to start collecting our gluhwein cups.  Every place has a different kind of cup or mug and we probably picked up about 3 or 4 that day.  What's nice is you pay a deposit on the cups when you buy the drink.  If you choose not to keep the cup, you just turn it in and get your deposit back.  It's the same with some of the dishes that your food gets served in.  I actually walked around with a dish full of spaetzle (noodles) at one point.  People looked at me weird, but hey, I paid a deposit and turned it in when I was done!  We did some shopping, some munching, and--to be honest--a lot of gluhwein-ing.

And we all actually learned to say Merry Christmas in German that day.  Frohe Weihnachten! 

Madisen, the cute 4-year old belonging to Team Finch, is absolutely adorable.  She loves getting piggy back rides from Malu.  They posed in front of the life-size nutcracker.  The German Pyramid Windmills are a mainstay during the holidays, or you can see them year round at a local Kathe Wohlfahrt store.  This is a giant version of the windmill perched atop a Kathe Wohlfahrt kiosk at the Christmas market.  There, you can purchase miniature ones.  They are so ornate and intricately decorated.  Heat from candles at the base turn the windmill at the top.  I'll be buying one of these before I leave Germany...for sure!

At night, everything is lit and you just ooh and aah at the splendor of it all.  One of the best parts of the evening was listening to a live choir inside the Altes Schloss (or Old Palace).

 We stood amidst a large crowd in that palace and people around us were dancing and singing joyfully with the choir.  It was especially fun when we sang Jingle Bells.  The other best part of the evening was ice skating with Madisen.  Yup...there was an ice skating rink out there.  I hadn't been on the ice in..well...ages.  And Madisen chose me to take her skating.  Needless to say, I had to call for backup.  I snapped a cute picture of Madisen and her mama, Mattie.  Easy peasy for Mattie...she "skated" in her normal shoes!

We decided to go and warm up at a restaurant and have some dinner.  The pick?  Sushi!  I also hadn't had sushi for ages until then.  It was dee-licious!  While we were there, I was able to take a picture of little Mackinley, the newest addition to Team Finch at 7 weeks old.  What a cutie.  And there's Malu and Madisen with our yummy sushi!

One thing was for sure...we were all exhausted when we got home.  It's not easy being out all day and carting around three kids.  Still, we got our rest and headed out to Strasbourg the next morning.  I promise...I'll be telling you guys about that too!

In the morning, Malu, Sina and I will be heading out to link up with Team Finch in their neck of the woods.  Yup, we'll be spending Christmas weekend with them.  Guess we just can't get enough of those guys!

Please keep us in mind as we travel on the roads.  And everyone enjoy your Friday!

Creating Christmas Traditions: Advent Music Box & Ornaments

{Advent Calendar}

I don't really remember doing the Advent calendar countdown to Christmas when I was growing up.  We did the Advent candlelighting at church and that was special enough, but I wanted to start doing this for Sina just to make the holidays extra fun and to give her another reason to look forward to this time of the year for years to come.

Enter the German Advent calendar music box...we bought it at the Stuttgart Christmas market two weekends ago. Sina already received a chocolate Advent calendar from Malu's unit's Christmas party, so I didn't want to fill it up with more chocolate.  Instead, I loaded it bunches of boxes of raisins, which she enjoys.  As she gets older, I'll be getting more creative (i.e. small toys, little notes, maybe some cash), but for now, she looks forward to getting her little red raisin boxes every evening after school.  As soon as we get through the door, she walks over to her music box and pleads for me to make it play.  This thing cost us a pretty penny, but check this video out.

When the music plays, she mostly starts dancing.  And that look of anticipation...makes my heart melt.  I love this girl!  I'd say we're already getting a return on our investment!

After she got her raisins, she walked on over to her little chair, sat in front of her Christmas tree and snacked to her little heart's content.

Minutes later, I popped the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie in and she just sat there looking as cute as ever, kicking her legs up in the air.

Priceless.

{Christmas Ornaments}

I'm starting a collection of ornaments, not just for our family tree, but for Sina. A friend of mine has collected ornaments for her three boys for years so that when they're on their own, they won't have to go buying new ones--or they can add to the many they'll already have. Each ornament will hold some sort of significance for all of us and I can't think of anything more special than that. I've been scouting the Christmas markets we've been to already for some cute ornaments. We've only been to two so far and look what we've got. Some have even been given to us by friends and family.

Starting from the top right:

I received a couple of cookie ornaments from my boss' wife.  Apparently, she found them at a Christmas market, so I immediately set out to find some myself.  Someone's gonna get one of these next year!  By the way, Frohe Weihnachten means Merry Christmas!

At the Strasbourg Christmas market, I snagged the one with the pretzel and the stork for Sina.  The word Alsace refers to the region of France that Strasbourg is located.

At the Stuttgart Christmas market, I grabbed some traditional German straw ornaments.  I got Malu the guitar shaped ornament there as well.

The Pohutukawa Angel ornament was sent to us by Malu's cousin in New Zealand.  The Pohutukawa tree flowers at Christmas.  The angel's skirt represents the flower of the Pohutukawa tree, which is bright red with yellow stamens.  Sounds kind of like our Christmas poinsettias, but these flowers are more feathery and even more beautiful.

The Finch Family got us the glass Santa ornament.  I love it!

I love the girl and guy frog ornaments from the Stuttgart Christmas market.  They have nothing to do with Germany (other than being made here), but they are so darn cute and they match our red and lime-green Christmas balls perfectly.

And one more from Strasbourg--a replica of the Strasbourg Cathedral and their infamous stork.  More to come on the Strasbourg Christmas market soon!

And this is just from the past two weekends.  If we keep this up, we'll definitely have to put up more than one Christmas tree in the house every year!

These are but a few Christmas traditions that we're starting for our little family. 

What are your family's Christmas traditions?

Stuttgart Christmas Market

Christmas Markets, or weihnachtsmarkt or Christkindlmarkt {literally translated, Christ child market} have opened everywhere in Europe.  It's basically a street market in celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent.  In any major city, even small cities and towns, you'll see Christmas markets in the city/town center.  The place is adorned with lights and Christmas decor and there are tons of vendors selling trinkets, ornaments, and even some household gadgets.  Most importantly, traditional regional foods and nice, hot drinks (to keep you nice and cozy warm) are sold.  Here in Germany, you can enjoy a fine mug of gluhwein (hot, spiced red wine).  It's just an all around fun time for the entire family.

This past weekend, we went to the Stuttgart Weihnachtsmarkt.  We went in the evening and the weather was just perfect.  No rain or heavy winds, and it was probably in the low 50s.  Like I said -- perfect!  We had a marvelous time!

Here are some pics!

Clockwise:  A typical ornament stand; A bunch of beautiful ornaments; Sweet treats--thos big hearts are gingerbread cookies; a life-sized Advent Calendar.  The building is the Stuttgart Rathaus or City Hall.

Clockwise:  Star lanterns--I love these!; Malu and Sina in front of the life-size Nutcracker; I was able to find some herbs de Provence that I couldn't find at our commissary; and me buying chocolate-covered everythings.  Delish!

Clockwise:  Santa Claus ornaments; Since we weren't in a drinking mood, we settled for some heisse schokolade or hot chocolate.  It definitely hit the spot!; We were starving that night and helped ourselves to some wurst, brotchen (bread) with sauerkraut.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Clockwise:  Mommy & Sina; the display atop the tent that we bought our dinner from; visiting the Kathe Wohlfahrt where I bought Sina that Advent Calendar music box to the far right; more lovely ornaments in my favorite color!  

                                                                                                                          

I also bought traditional German straw ornaments and had some freshly roasted chestnuts to go with my hot cocoa.  The sights and sounds were intoxicating!

As I said, there are tons of Christmas Markets going on all over Europe and we intend to visit a good amount of them before we move back to the states.  As a matter of fact, our friends are coming into town this weekend and we intend to visit the Strasbourg Christmas Market.  My favorite city!

It's rough being away from family during the holidays.  I mean, there's no place like home for the holidays, seriously.  However, Germany does Christmas like nothing I've ever seen and we're enjoying every bit of it.  More to come on the holidays you guys!

Happy Wednesday to All!