Weihnachtsmarkt

Let the celebration begin! The Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) opened this past week in the City Center. The area near the old Rathaus (Town Hall) has been transformed into a Winter Wonderland. Words don't quite capture how festive the area is. Lights galore. Christmas trees tied to every pole that can be found. Stalls selling any kind of treat that you might want to eat. The smells are so inviting - Brats, stone-baked pizzas, cotton candy, caramel popcorn, sugar-glazed nuts of all kinds....it's like going to the State Fair only at Christmas time. We decided to make it our goal to go for dinner as a family at least once a week and went last night for the first time. It sounds like a lot of eating out to me but really, it's only set up for another three weeks. Wow! Christmas is around the corner!

~ Noah and Josiah eating their Brats ~
We think it so funny that Brats are served in buns that are always
about two inches too short at either end.

In the background of the photo is the Altes Rathaus - lit up with a very large
tree in front of it. The little stalls are all around the Rathaus - there are hundreds
of them! And then there are lights hung in the streets - the one in this photo
announces that you are at the Weihnachtsmarkt.

Everyone chose what they wanted for dinner - last night was Brats and pizzas.
And then we all chose one dessert - cotton candy for the boys! Tracy and I
shared some really tasty English walnuts coated with some crispy kind of topping.

~ Noah with fingers dyed red after consuming so much Erdbeer (strawberry) cotton candy ~
All the boys decided on a different dessert for next time since their fingers
were frozen after licking all of the sugar off of them!

Each street in the city center has lights to announce the street name and then
decorative lights on further down the street. I might finally learn the names
of the streets this way. I still won't be able to pronounce them so that a
German person will understand what I'm saying though!

I love how there are Christmas trees everywhere! There
is a tree on every and any post available. It sure does make
the area so festive. Some of the trees have even been decorated.