Christkindl Markets - Nürnberg, Germany (Nov 2012)

Christkindl (Christmas) markets are all the rage here in Europe, especially in Germany.   Since we love Christmas, we set out to find one of the best. We decided on Nürnberg in Bavaria, Germany where they have the oldest Christmas market.  The drive was about 6 hours away but thankfully for the unlimited speed limit in Germany, we made it in 5 hours.

We planned our trip on the opening weekend of the Christmas Markets and it was COLD.  It was also very crowded and to our surprise, with many Americans.  It was odd to randomly hear American accents walking through the town.

Our first stop was to try the warm gluwein (Germany mulled wine).  It is served at special stands at the Christmas markets and is a traditional warm beverage combined with different spices, red wine, citrus fruits and sugar. They even had one for kids, which tasted like warm kool-aid.  In Germany, they serve drinks in real glasses and you are charged for the glass, and then you can get part of your money back if you return the glass. We kept the mugs because we were in need of some more hot chocolate mugs, and these will help us remember our trip to Nuremberg!

We went for traditional Bavarian food for dinner our first night.  It also happened to be our last.  As you can see in the pictures everything is super sized, from the beer to the sodas to the portions.  I couldn't look at another pork shank for days.  It was delicious though.

Yummy pretzels and sausages

Christkindl Markets

Close to 200 stalls at the market

Figurines carved out of prunes.  They were ugly but seemed to be popular.

Famous Nürnberg sandwiches, it comes with 3 sausages on a mini baguette

Again with the theme of super size, they served 1/2 meter long hot dogs....Ethan and Ava convinced me that they each NEEDED to have a one

Kinderweihnacht "Children's Christmas Market"

There was a separate section just for children with hands on activities and rides.  It was a big hit!

Candle making

Daredevil Ming hanging out the ferris wheel

Making their own gingerbread cookies

Carving our own mugs

Train ride

Of course we found a carousel

Warming up inside the Playmobil stand

At the first sign of snow, Ethan and Ava went into taste testing mode.

Taking a break with some hot chocolate and video games.

Super size cups, even at the Starbucks!

Dirty Santa - this guy had quite the gig with his dog, "Rudolph".  He would also cat call young ladies who walked by him with a sultry "Ho, ho, ho".

Our first snow of the season and even with only 1-2 inches, they managed to throw a few snowballs!