The weekend after our trip to Strasbourg we flew to Munich for the weekend to check out the Christmas markets and celebrations there. And we thought it was cold in Strasbourg. The temperatures in Munich were another 5-6 degrees Celsius colder (high teens, low twenties in Fahrenheit). With the colder weather, no friends to join us, and having done a similar trip the previous weekend, none of us were as enthused about our trip to Munich. Lessons learned.
The highlight, though, was going ice skating at a holiday rink in one of the squares. Paige, Clay, and I really enjoyed ourselves and skated for an hour or so. It's funny how the cold temperatures aren't as noticeable when you are skating.
This past weekend we tried to go ice skating in Paris at the Grand Palais. Upon arriving, however, we found a two hour wait for skate rentals so we decided to pass. Instead we walked through the market along the Champs-Élysées, one of about a dozen Christmas markets in Paris. There we enjoyed some fresh churros (not exactly a French tradition) and hot chocolate and then walked to the Ferris wheel they have temporarily in place at the Place de la Concorde.
On Wednesday, I had a business meeting in Bonn, Germany so took the high-speed train there for the day. On my way back to the train station the taxi drove by a square that looked to have a lively Christmas market. It happened to be a couple minute walk from the station so I decided to walk back there to take a look instead of catching the next train back to Cologne to get my connection to Paris. I'm glad I did. I was able to pick up a traditional German Christmas pyramid. I'd admired these on previous trips to Germany and found one that I really liked. With the next train coming soon, I quickly purchased it and hustled back to the station with a minute or two to spare. I hope it brings a lot of enjoyment and good memories of our European Christmas market visits for years to come.
The highlight, though, was going ice skating at a holiday rink in one of the squares. Paige, Clay, and I really enjoyed ourselves and skated for an hour or so. It's funny how the cold temperatures aren't as noticeable when you are skating.
This past weekend we tried to go ice skating in Paris at the Grand Palais. Upon arriving, however, we found a two hour wait for skate rentals so we decided to pass. Instead we walked through the market along the Champs-Élysées, one of about a dozen Christmas markets in Paris. There we enjoyed some fresh churros (not exactly a French tradition) and hot chocolate and then walked to the Ferris wheel they have temporarily in place at the Place de la Concorde.
On Wednesday, I had a business meeting in Bonn, Germany so took the high-speed train there for the day. On my way back to the train station the taxi drove by a square that looked to have a lively Christmas market. It happened to be a couple minute walk from the station so I decided to walk back there to take a look instead of catching the next train back to Cologne to get my connection to Paris. I'm glad I did. I was able to pick up a traditional German Christmas pyramid. I'd admired these on previous trips to Germany and found one that I really liked. With the next train coming soon, I quickly purchased it and hustled back to the station with a minute or two to spare. I hope it brings a lot of enjoyment and good memories of our European Christmas market visits for years to come.
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| You'll frequently see large versions of Christmas pyramids at German Christmas markets |
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| German Christmas Pyramid (with Santa, kids, pets, and presents spinning around the Christmas tree) |
HI, Erin & Family! Sounds like you are having an amazing experience in Europe- wish I had more time to follow your blog closer- so interesting when I do. I miss you all, and it will be sad without you at the family xmas on January 13th- quick visit home? (-: Will have to make up for it next year by having an extra great time together. Happy holidays to you all- hope to talk to you soon! Love, Andrea & Fam
ReplyDeleteThank you for the well wishes Andrea! While we are missing family and our usual Christmas traditions, we are trying to create some new traditions and doing some unique things.
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