Christmas Markets

Our first holiday season here we went with some friends to the Christmas Markets in Cologne, Germany. Last year Audrey was born in the middle of the holiday season, so the Christmas Markets weren't even considered. This year, being our last year here, we tried to hit as many Christmas Markets as we could in a 36 hour period. We were lucky enough to have some friends that humored us and joined us. So, this past weekend we hit 3 different places with Christmas Markets.

Our first stop was Valkenburg in the Netherlands. This Christmas Market is in caves. A fabulous idea for the Netherlands since the weather is so unpredictable. And it was raining on and off that day, so we were more than willing to pay 3 euros a person to get into the caves. We learned that you need to make sure you have cash on hand, because PIN machines don't work down in the caves. They had the tunnels of the caves all decked out. We enjoyed strolling through checking things out and purchasing some ornaments. My one complaint would be how crowded it was, but that's not exactly something you can avoid. Maybe it would have been better on a weekday... You can go bike through the caves other times of the year. I think it would be a fun adventure, but I'm not sure they would have baby seats on the bikes for rent. Something to look into and maybe do at a later date. Here are some pictures of us in the caves:

From Valkenburg we drove about an hour to Siegburg, Germany. We arrived there around 4:30, but it felt like it was 9 and time to go to bed. It was so dark already. Anyhow, our main purpose for going to Siegburg was to experience a Medieval Christmas Market. It definitely had a medieval theme, but I was very disappointed in the quantity and quality. Everyone was dressed in medieval attire and there was no electricity - candles and torches lit the booths. We did get to watch a blacksmith make a nail and a Medieval music performance. Andy and I had a Medieval dinner (something like a burrito with bacon and onions inside). We all enjoyed some Medieval bread - the outside was as hard as a rock. And the kids got dinner at the local grocery store - you can never go wrong with cheese, bread, and yogurt! :) Don't have any pictures of Siegburg, sorry to disappoint but it was so dark the pictures probably wouldn't have turned out... :)

The next day we enjoyed the Christmas Markets in Dusseldorf, Germany. I have to say I was most impressed with Dusseldorf. We were able to take a tram from our hotel to the heart of the Christmas Markets. Dusseldorf had a total of 6 different markets and we were able to hit them all because of the close proximity they all were. I was able to find a German Christmas Pyramid that was a reasonable price. The highlight of Dusseldorf was Rachel going ice skating for the first time - she had a blast and didn't want to stop... :)

Audrey riding the carousel with her daddy:Rachel happy to ride with Bailee, Talynn, and Chase:

We found some cute decorated store windows:

Before they hit the ice:

Not too sure about this:

Tried the little man and she wasn't a big fan:

Back to feeling safe in Daddy's arms:

It's always fun to do the Christmas Markets. We enjoy the atmosphere and food more than anything. And of course it was fun to go with our friends. I have to say that we stayed a lot warmer this year than we did 2 years ago. We all had several layers on and we are probably acclimatised a bit as well. We'll definitely miss the opportunity of the Christmas Markets next year...