12/19/11 Greenland is not green!

Silly title, I know. After all anyone who actually got an education before this generation and perhaps before that one, knows that Greenland is not green and Iceland is the nicer of the two. I had never seen Greenland before until my flight to the States for Christmas. I have kind of jumped ahead of the story though...so lets go back quite a few hours first.

I got up bright and early at my hotel in Frankfurt to make sure that I would get to the airport with plenty of time for check-in etc. What fun that adventure was. I woke up at 5:30 am got dressed, repacked a few things, goofed around for a little bit then walked (luggage in tow) from the hotel to the Lufthansa building next door...that is where the airport shuttle picks up to take hotel people to the airport. I am out there by 6:15 am in the dark damp air...luckily no snow and no rain. The shuttle gets there and off we go to the airport. Now I was under the impression that the shuttle would take me to the right terminal for my flight...wrong. They pick you up someplace other than your hotel and drop you off someplace other than your terminal. Actually they drop you off by the baggage pickup for who knows which airlines. Luckily, my flight was not until 9:45 and the airport didnt seem too busy, so I start off on my stroll attempting to find out where I am supposed to be...for some reason the Frankfurt airport doesn't give full disclosure as to what terminal or gate for that matter a flight is at.

I start following signs that seem to be giving me the right direction and at that time in the morning, who would know the difference. Finally after a long haul I think I am in the right place, so I ask information and they tell me, "no, you have to go up the escalator then take the tram to another terminal...just follow the signs." Off I go once again, bags in tow...I was smart along the way and just got one of the bag trolley things (or whatever the carts are called) so that did make life easier, especially since the Frankfurt airport doesn't charge for the carts...which is kind of odd since, in Germany, if you go to the store you have to put a euro coin in the carts to get them out to use them (you get it back when you return the cart). So I make my way up to the next level and get on the tram thanks to the help of a very nice gentleman and then realize how stupid, I took my bags off the cart and could have just drug it on the tram...oh well, live and learn. The tram stops at this point and that, and then gets to the terminal I need.

At this point I am figuring I will get to the counter and find that my bag weighs a whole lot more than I anticipated, which of course will cost me 75 euro extra (a little over $100) cause that is just the way things are going. I get to the check in podium and the lady there was so nice and pleasant, then off to see about the horrors that may await me upon baggage check-in, but to my surprise my bag was actually barely under the max weight. I get my boarding pass, get my stickers for my carry on items and off I go to the gate...which by the way they werent sure if it was the right one or not. They put on the boarding pass that it was gate D8? If we were talking a little airport the question of whether it was gate D8 or not would not be a big deal, but once on the gate level I realize there are about 70 D gates...the question of D8 or not becomes more pressing. But it was a starting point. I take the path to the D1-9 security screening area and find that no one has gotten in line to wait for the doors to open, so I stroll to the front of the line...someone has to be first right?

Not a good choice. As I stand there, others start to fill in behind and after a few minutes they open the doors for the security screening. I stroll up with a smile on my face and a good morning (ok really a gut morgen) from my mouth, happy to be one step closer to getting on the plane. I pass through the body scanner and go to get my stuff when this nice lady steps up and says "you will need to come with me." Ok at this point I am slightly stirred. I had nothing in my bags that were not ok, the liquids I had were in two little containers and way under 3 ounces, what could the problem be? Knowing that perhaps it was just a random thing I went along with no problem. I get to this side area which seemed odd since they had up a privacy screen but it was facing the wall rather than blocking off everyone else in line from watching...whatever, I had nothing to hide. So the lady says to put my arms up, which I do with no complaints. At this point I figure fine she has her wand in hand and they are just going to do the pass by with it and I would be on my way...nope, I got frisked. Heck I haven't been frisked like that on a date in a long time...but I wasn't exactly in a position to protest.

Then she asks me to open my bags...now you have to understand in order to get all the goodies back in as few bags as possible I had things jam packed in the bags...kind of like a stick of gum in the package, once you take the first piece out, you can't get it back in. But once again, I was not in a position to protest, so I did as I was asked. She tossed things around and then said, "thank you have a good day." At this point I was a little curious what they were suspecting me of having, so I asked her was there something suspicious or was it just because I was the first in line? She tells me, no nothing suspicious.  Ok, point for future reference, don't be the first in line when the security point opens in Frankfurt. I did however get everything back in the bag (shocker, I know).

By this time I figure I can sit at the gate and relax a little bit before loading begins. Nope, they had us wait in the gate foyer (for lack of a better term). Then finally they decide to open it up and we once again get to be asked if we have purchased anything (the duty free shop was on the way to the gate after the security screen point), did anyone give us anything, did we have anything that wasn't ours, etc. Once that was done then we were able to go to the gate. So I took a seat and this nice little family came up (a mom with her two small children). I am sitting there reading a little bit when all of a sudden there is this little hand on my arm and I look down and its this cute little girl (probably about Phe and Jack's age) and she just smiles up at me, so I said hello to her. Next thing I know she has put her head on my arm and is holding on to me, so I start a little conversation with her, during which she offers me a bite of her snack (thank goodness she wasnt one of those kids that gets insistent on things like that) which I turned down and she walked off and gave the snack to her mom; who at this point was telling me that Brianna is a very outgoing child...I could see that. The little girl starts to color for a few minutes and then next thing I know she is back over by me and has started to climb into the seat with me.  At this point I am wondering why her mom seems so uninterested in what her very young child is doing, although she was watching but she really said nothing. Meanwhile Brianna climbed up onto my lap and sat back leaning against me and just looked up at me. What can you do in that situation? So I said to her mom, "she is quite outgoing isn't she?" Mom replies, yes they both (Brianna and her brother) seem to be quite comfortable with others. Strange, but the little girl just seemed to need to sit there...maybe it is the grandma effect, I don't know. So she sat with me quietly for a few minutes, then it was time to load the plane.

I make my way all the way back to the tail end of the plane...my seat was the next to the last row. I of course I have an aisle seat cause that is just what everyone wants on a long flight, but seat placing was not high on my list of priorities to tell the truth. I get my stuff stowed away in the overhead compartment and a nice lady comes up and points at the window seat. I find out soon enough my seatmate doesn't speak any English at all. Fair enough, I wasn't planning on a conversation anyway. Luckily, I could understand enough German that when the attendants came by (speaking only English) I could help the lady get what she wanted to drink. Now wouldn't you think they would have flight attendants on a Germany flight know at least the minimal words in German like coffee, water, etc? There was one attendant on the flight who spoke German so it all worked out. Basically the flight was uneventful, unfortunately, sitting on the aisle seat meant I couldn't get a good view out of the window most of the time...so I missed being able to possibly see England and Scotland as we flew over them. But, there was a stroke of luck further in the flight as we were passing over Greenland...my seatmate had to get up to use the restroom and I got to see how beautiful Greenland is...but I thanked my lucky stars I was up above it in a warm plane because it does not look like someplace I want to put on my list of places to visit. Perhaps you can see why:

After that I kind of started to doze a little..more like cat naps.But I was glad I got to see Greenland in all its snowy icy beauty.

A few hours later we landed in Detroit...then the fun began. I had a two hour layover in Detroit and this is how it started. Although my bag was checked through to Denver upon departing from the plane I would proceed to customs then I would have to retrieve my checked bag in order to take it to customs in order to then recheck the bag so that I could then go on to my next gate. Easy, right? No, not so fast. Being all the way in the back of plane meant waiting for hundreds of others to get out in front of me. Then you get off the plane and walk for a mile (ok, maybe not that far but a good distance) to get in line to show your passport, your customs declaration, etc. Finally my turn arrives and for some reason they couldn't find me easily in their system. Then after about 10 minutes the guy finds me and clears me to go on to the next step. By this time my bag was making its way around the carousel, then off to wait in line for the customs check.

Now keep in mind I had put lovely neon zipties on my bag so that the zippers wouldn't open in flight etc. They were still intact..At no time had anyone along my travels asked me to open that particular bag, so I assume on this entry point customs check they would have me open it. Nope, I waste five minutes with the guy at customs asking me where I live, what I do there, then I waste more time trying to explain to him what teaching gifted students is (because he asked me what subject I teach and I was silly enough to say gifted), then explain to him what I have that I would declare as being worth $400, and yet at no point does he want to look in the bag...odd, I thought they always liked to mess with people and look in their bags. Not that I had anything to hide, but it seemed odd when they were looking in other bags, but hey, I caught a break on this one.Thank goodness recheck was no big deal...just hand the bag to the next guy he scans the tag and off to wait in line for yet another security screen. Now wouldn't you think that if we had nothing getting on the last plane, never got out of a controlled area, that we would have no reason to be going through a security screen yet again? Obviously, they don't think like I do.

So we wait in line to go through the process all over again (meanwhile I am thinking to myself, on the way home I am checking in anything and everything that I can to minimize what I have to carry). Finally my turn arrives...I go through the lovely body scanner, and wouldn't you know it, I get patted down again. Only this time they said they only had to check my right ankle...wonder if it picked up the little bit of titanium pin that is still in there? Not a big deal. Then I go to get my stuff from the conveyor belt for the xray and the guy asks what I have in the bag so I tell him not much, some cookies, candies, and other goodies for the grandbabies. He looks at me all serious and says "you aren't allowed to take the cookies and candies, they have to stay here" By this time I was exhausted (yes sitting on a long flight can wear you out) so I just looked at him dead in the eyes and said, "if the cookies and candies don't make it to my grandbabies they will be very disappointed and cute as you may be they are cuter." So he just chuckled and said Merry Christmas and I was on my way, yet again.

Once again, the airport is no podunk airport...it is huge and of course my flight is not close by, it is clear on the other side of the airport (or so it seemed). I was on the escalator, then on a moving walkway, then another, then another, and yet more. Finally, I make it to the gate and somehow in my mind as I was making my way there I thought I only had a half hour to get to the gate...so I was in a hurry to get there. Only once I arrived did I realize that I had no clue what I was thinking as I still had about 50 minutes before the flight. Glad I was walking at break neck speed to get there LOL So I went and got a Pepsi...that in itself is a joyous thing as very rarely in Europe do you find stands that sell Pepsi products, went back to the gate and relaxed for a few minutes. About the time that my eyes started to close it was time to board. Yep you guessed it, I got an aisle seat again. Not a big deal this time though, I figured I would nap despite my location...wrong, there was a lovely older lady and her husband in the seats next to me. Her hubby had the window seat and proceeded to pull the shade and fall asleep. That left her to talk to me...luckily she was quite nice and the time flew by quickly.

YAY we arrived in Denver. After everyone got out of the plane (ok I wasn't all the way in the back but not far from it) it was off to baggage claim. So I got on the tram, and there I was sort of...I had to figure out which baggage claim would have my baggage...lucky guess, I found it. Now came the challenge, with no cell phone I had to find Heather...but I thought she was just going to drive by and pick me up so not a big challenge...get my bags go to the right level and wait outside. Next thing I know Alex comes running up to me. I guess they had been looking for me and missed me while I was waiting outside. But we found each other and Dale swung by with the van, so off we went.

Finally after being up for basically 24 hours it was time for bed (ok, the ride to the Springs, dinner, and a little time talking preceeded this). 8 hours and up again :) While I was lucky and it did not snow before I left Germany the day in the Springs brought about some snow. It was fine by me, I was spending the day with Alex and Phe while Dale was up in Denver and Heather was at work. When Phe went to take a nap Alex and I were playing with the Legos. I had to laugh he all of a sudden looks at me all serious and says "Legos are my life, man!" I sure miss these moments being so far away. Then he proceeded to make a song for me and it went a little something like this:

It snowed through the evening and so we woke to this:

Seems a great start to a winter break! Speaking of breaks, Phe has done it again, so he has a rather festive right legL

Haven't gotten to see Jack yet, I guess not till Wednesday evening...but that is better than not at all.

A few of Alex and Phe:

12/17/11 OH what a world, what a world....

You might be wondering why I would title this "OH what a world, what a world..." well, have you ever had one of those days when you got up and the sun was shining and you could just tell it was going to be one of the most beautiful days you have ever lived? Well, yesterday wasn't that. Actually, it started in the afternoon on Thursday. The rain started, yet again, and then the wind started. We aren't talking a gentle breeze, no no, we are talking gale force winds...that weren't going to stop for a while.

Friday morning comes around (no it wasn't bright and sunny...I get up too early for that right now anyway) and after a night of hearing the wind blow so hard that you would have thought the roof was going to take off, I got to get in my car and drive my happy butt to work. It was still raining like anything and the wind made you definitely drive slower and with both hands on the wheel...unless of course you were one of those daredevils on the autobahn with a death wish...then disregard the slow and both hands. I get to work wondering why with the weather as it was, they hadn't cancelled school...but hey, like always, no one asked me. So time goes by (because I always seem to get to the school extra early, just in case) and then it's time for the buses to show up, but guess what? Many weren't going to be on time...why? Because of the weather. Not a problem for me since I have my gifted enrichment first thing in the morning and I knew all of mine were staying in their regular classes for party/fun day.

So I am sitting there in my classroom, which by the way happens to be on the second floor of a portable building, listening to the wind blowing, the rain tearing down (no gentle falling, it was on a mission), and the acorns slamming into the roof, and occasionally what sounded like a branch slamming into it also. The beautiful trees that I normally love to look at through the window right by my desk were swaying to and fro, then bending more and more and more. Needless to say, I closed my rolladins (the window covers...they are on the outside of the windows) and pretended that it was going to be ok. In all truth, I didn't want to be looking out and see some witch riding by on her bike with a little dog in her basket.

Guess what? I know this may be hard for some people to believe but Germany can get hurricanes, and we were in the middle of Hurricane Joachim. Now wouldn't you think that people with half a brain would think that maybe walking kids out in torrential rain with winds strong enough to knock down trees was not a good idea? Yeah right, some still had those poor little kids out in that weather rather than just contacting the specialists and saying, "hey since the weather really sucks you think we could cancel the normal class with you, or could you possibly come to our room so the kids wont have to go out in this weather." I know my 4th graders for specials showed up in the morning. The 5th grade teacher whose class I had yesterday emailed and asked if I would mind going to their room...she is a wise woman.

The weather continued, but hey at least it wasn't snow so less chance of me not being able to fly out on Sunday. The end of the day came about and I made my way home...luckily a lot of the really bad weather had passed. Unfortunately a lot of really pretty trees were now on the ground :(

I goofed around, repacked my suitcase as it was too heavy and since I am not really sure how much I am allowed (depends on whether you believe the travel agency, the airport site, or the plane site) I figured better to take the time to adjust things (fingers crossed it is OK now).I did some laundry, talked some on phone and email to the kids, read for a little while then went to bed, figuring I could sleep in till 8 am or so. Wrong...6:30 am comes around and guess what? I had forgotten to shut off my alarm...OOOPS! So I got up tried to find something to keep me occupied until the airport shuttle showed up (at 1 pm). Time was dragging to say the least. But the sun was out and it was starting to look like it was going to be a beautiful day!

Finally, the shuttle shows up and we are on our way. We cross over into Bavaria and things started to change...the sun disappeared. You remember watching those old versions of Frankenstein where the sun is all but blocked out by the grey clouds and its dreary and rainy and well you get the pictures...that was my first view of Frankfurt (funny thing, we drive by Darmstadt to get to Frankfurt and Darmstadt is where Frankenstein's castle is). It's rainy and dreary and the shuttle lady tries to make me get out at the airport...despite the fact that I made the reservation to take me to the hotel that I am staying at tonight...I didn't want to risk bad weather in the morning that might have made me miss my flight...which of course its not supposed to be bad weather at all...obviously because I made reservations to come today. I have never heard a German woman use such profanity until today...she really liked saying shiza (or however you spell it). I thought she was pissed at me but then figured out she was mad at the people in charge at the shuttle place for not telling her I was going to an airport hotel not the airport. So anyway, she got me to the hotel and I sat here for a while kind of bored...not much you can do when everyone back home is asleep.

With nothing else to do I went downstairs to find out when the restaurant opened...it wasn't opening today :( but luckily the bar was open and I could get some dinner there. What a dinner it was. OK, I wont say it was cheap, but not much choice considering where the hotel is and there is nothing close by and its rainy out. So I went with their local cuisine meal. OMG they have the best potato soup...its a creamy potato soup with bacon and fried onions in it...yum!!!! Then I had the beef with horseradish sauce and parsley potatoes. Can't really say it was all that great, but to tell the truth I am not really a big fan of German food anyway...kind of bland. You could barely taste the horseradish. I wanted that sauce to stand up and slap me in the face so that my nose would be nice and clear....that didn't happen. It was good but not great. Then for dessert; walnut ice cream with a slice of apple strudel with vanilla sauce on it. The meal started great and ended great. Needless to say, there was a lot left on my plate but I did enjoy the meal none the less.

So now, I have gotten back to my room (which is not bad at all of 47 euro)...wish I had some shorts or a bathing suit with me since they have an indoor pool and sauna...silly me not thinking of those things. I could have taken out one of the goodies I was taking with me to bring those, but noooo I didn't plan ahead. Anyway, got back to the room, took a look at the TV shows...just like in the States...120 stations and nothing on (OK, a lot on but all in German), took a shower, wrote this blog entry, and now that I am at the end, I think I will see who is up and around back home so I can say hi! Tomorrow, back in the States! (well for a visit at least).

Merry Christmas everyone (or in German minus the correct letters, cause I dont know how to get German letters on here...Frohe Weinachten)

12/12/11 Gluhwein, Brat, Vinegar and Christmas markets

So I was really bummed out when the USO cancelled the tour that would go to Rudesheim for the Christmas market. Oh no, it wasn't just a run of the mill Christmas market, no no, it was an international Christmas market. I still have no idea why more people hadn't signed up for it, but they didn't so I didn't get to go there last weekend. Instead I went to Saarbruken with another teacher and a few parents. I got up early and was ready to check it out... after all the Christmas market site said that it had 80 stalls in the main market plus some on side streets. Sounded good to me, even if it was raining.

We had made arraignments to meet at the school since its kind of centrally located. I got to school a little early (partially anticipation of the day and partially to get some work done). Then I get a call saying they were running late...so, I goofed around a bit longer. Finally we were on our way. Off to see the wonders of the Saarbrucken Christmas market...visions of gluhwein danced in our heads. (In case you don't know what gluhwein is...its wine that is warmed up and sold at the markets...there are different kinds...my favorite is the white but they typically sell the red which is more a punch kind of wine...sort of).

After the 40 minute drive we get to Saarbruken...definitely not 80+ stalls with sellers, but the gluhwein did cut the edge and stave off the chill in the air from the rain. I did actually find a couple things at that market, and enjoyed the company so it was worth the trip :)

Here are a few pictures from that Christmas market:

This one and the next are really from the Landstuhl Christmas market...I liked this St Nicklas and the street band was pretty cool too (Below)

in Saarsbruken....this was a candy stand...it looked like a gingerbread house.

Belinda's behind and a nutcracker..at a nut stand :)

This cracked me up...its an alcohol level tester at the parking garage, right by where you pay before you leave....pretty smart!

Saarsbruken was not exactly as planned, but as I said, still a nice day with some nice people. That left me with the week considering whether to try some other christmas markets or give up on it for this year. With that mulling around I decided on Wednesday to take a little drive (about an hour) after school to Venningen to go to this vinegar place. It's not run of the mill, in the grocery store vinegar...no, it is made the old fashioned way and with really good wine. I guess this is vinegar that is well liked by many chefs, too. It's called Doktorenhof vinegars. They have all sorts of flavors of vinegar and people drink it like it was still wine.

At any rate, so I decide to go on Wednesday (since they stay open until 6 pm on Wednesdays and I wanted to be able to get some to send home as presents); I look up the directions on google maps (since I dont have a gps yet...note to self, get a GPS) and print out three routes. I finally get to leave the school at about 4 pm...no problem the place is only about an hour away. I get on my way on the autobahn. All seems to be going really well; only a few kilometers left and I will be at the ausfahrt (exit) that I need to take...when all of a sudden, I am stuck in a stau (traffic jam) on the autobahn. Time is slipping by as I am stuck. I keep looking at the clock and although the time is moving, the traffic is not. Finally, slowly, I reach the exit that I need to take. I make my way into the village and find the right streets. There it is, the third house on the left (seriously, that is where it is, in the third house on the left). I look at the clock...6:02 pm. ARGGGGG!

I figure what the heck, I drove all this way, I might as well see if I can somehow slip in...after all the lights are all still on. So I go through the courtyard and up to the door and there are all kinds of people inside (they were waiting to take the tour...which I didnt get to do but I sure want to). I figured they would turn me away but instead I was welcomed in and told I could taste test if I wanted to. Well I sure wasnt about to turn and leave, so I got a basket and started trying to figure out what everything was (go figure it was in German). They had so many people in the place that it was difficult to get through. Next thing I know the owner (I know it was the owner because I have read articles about him and the business) came over and asked if I wanted to try anything. I asked about the fig vinegar and he had a young man come and give me a sample...not in a dixie cup...no not even close...in the most beautiful hand blown glass.

To top it off, the vinegar is bottled in hand blown bottles. The mixture of this beautiful tasting vinegar in these beautiful bottles makes it well worth the price, which really isn't all that bad. Anyway, I choose a nice selection (knowing that I will go back when I have more time to do some tasting) and get on my way. By now, it is of course way past dark and I know (luckily) that I do not want to attempt to get back on the Autobahn since I saw an accident on the other side as I was coming (a semi blocking the entire other side). So I pull out my handy dandy copies of my routes and take the back way...through the forest and villages. I got lucky though, it didn't start to rain until I was almost back to my village...thank goodness. Oh I meant to tell you, this vinegar is so good that people buy it to drink...well that an to use with foods. Enough on that though...I will save it for when I can go back and go on the tour...definitely something I want to do.


By Friday I had decided I wanted to try another christmas market before time to fly back to the States for the winter break from school, so I decided to rely on the USO (fingers crossed that they wouldn't cancel on me again) and signed up for a tour of three Christmas markets...Bad Wimpfen, Michelstadt, and Erbach. The good thing about taking a tour for the visits to the Christmas markets is that I don't have to drive roads I don't know, to get to villages that I have no idea where to park, plus then I could drink the gluhwein.

I got up nice and early on Sunday morning and drove over to meet my tour bus (which was a little late). Then we were off. I had a good shopping bag with me and euro in my wallet...ready with anticipation of finding some great and wonderful treasures. So we drove for close to two hours...made the typical rest stop for breakfast...lovely brochen with cheese and ham...then off for the first stop...Bad Wimpfen.

Now in case you are wondering Bad doesn't mean that it is a bad place, merely that it was known for its bathe houses...its a spa village (or was at one time). We pull into the valley and start making our way up...but couldn't see much as the valley has the Nekkar river in it and so it was foggy. Along the way we did see trees so full of mistletoe they almost looked like it wasn't winter.

the big clumps in the branches on the trees are clumps of mistletoe

The fog was so thick you couldn't see the River at all

Now if you know nothing at all about the Nekkar River, a famous writer from the States was known to raft along it...along with the Mississippi River...yep, no other than Mark Twain.

As we wound our way up the hill we came to Bad Wimpfen and our first Christmas market:

The Blue Tower (there is a red one too but we couldnt see it well with the fog)

I loved this cobweb with its frost all over it.

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Feuerzangen Bowle is gluhwein with Rum...definitely more potent than plain gluhwein...but when in Rome :)

I loved how they decorated the tops of the stalls at this Christmas market...so pretty.

I have no idea who this child is but she was just so darn cute all bundled up in her stroller.

It's hard to see in this picture but there was a band up in the Blue Tower playing Christmas music

Chestnuts roasting

Frohe Weihnacht (Merry Christmas)

What an odd assortment of decorations for Christmas time but these were out.

This was a cookie cutter stand

Santa and the angel turned just as I was taking the picture :(

This is the commemorative sign on the original Bathe house, from 1534. After being a bathe house it became a brothel.

The Nekkar River.

So after a few hours in Bad Wimpfen we were off on another hour trip to Erbach...to a smaller Christmas market. But alone the way there were some pretty sights too.

Then in to Erbach. Erbach and this region are known for their use of ivory. Not ivory from elephants (although they do use that as well with certification that allows them to) but they predominantly use Mastodon (don't ask me how they do that, seems to me that would be something that wouldn't be acceptable as a material for their carving). Needless to say, the price of the ivory pieces was hefty. 


This was a small Christmas market centered around the palace...which actually has a count living in it (on the top level).

I go to a German Christmas market and what do I find...dream catchers at an American Indian stand. The guy didn't know what he was talking about though as he called the dream catcher, beaded jewelry, and totem poles all Navajo. I never heard of a Navajo having a totem pole...oh well.

Blacksmiths making a sword.

A statue person

It was only a short stop in Erbach then off to Michelstadt. Michelstadt is only about 10 minutes from Erbach but it took a while as we got stuck in a stau trying to get to the market...it was packed. By the time we got there it was already about 5:30 pm which means it was already dark. As Paula (a lady I met on the tour) and I attempted to make our way through the crowds one thing became quite apparent; this market seemed to mainly be food. We of course made the best of it...including a stop for gluhwein with amaretto for me and schnaps for Paula. Funny walking through the market we discovered that Paula had gotten here basically when I had and she had looked at the house I am living in...possibly being here the same time I was on the open house night. Not a whole lot eventful at this market other than good company, good gluhwein, and a tasty fresh pretzel.

A one man band

Human statue

Needless to say, odds are that is the end of my Christmas market experiences for this year. I suppose I could see about the one in Kaiserslautern, although I heard it wasn't very good. I could always try the Johanniskreuz one (it's not too far away) or perhaps on Saturday when I go to Frankfurt to spend the night to catch a plain the next day, I might visit theirs. But all in all, it was a nice time visiting the markets I did go to.