{"id":5296,"date":"2022-12-23T09:23:21","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T15:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/?p=5296"},"modified":"2022-12-25T07:42:28","modified_gmt":"2022-12-25T13:42:28","slug":"christmas-is-king-in-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/christmas-is-king-in-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Reigns in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wpf_wrapper\"><a class=\"print_link\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Print this entry<\/a><\/p><!-- .wpf_wrapper --><p>H\u00dcRTH, GERMANY \u2014 Germans <em>love<\/em> their Christmas markets. Over eight days, my Beautiful Mystery Companion, daughter Abbie, and I browsed, nibbled, sipped and gawked our way through towns in and around our temporary headquarters \u2014 a pleasant hotel a five-minute walk from daughter Mere and son-in-law Matt\u2019s apartment in H\u00fcrth. That city adjoins K\u00f6ln (Cologne), a much-larger city and home to one of the largest markets in Germany.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Our first Christmas market stop was to the Bonn Christmas market. Most trips started in the late afternoon after Matt got off work and could ably serve as both our driver and interpreter, while Abbie helped him navigate the area\u2019s tricky roundabouts<strong>. <\/strong>A large ferris wheel and even-larger lighted Christmas tree sent cascades of sparkly light patterns upon the cobblestone streets of Bonn\u2019s town center, glistening after a light drizzle \u2014 a near-constant feature of German winters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Bonn is the birthplace of composer Ludwig von Beethoven. A large statue of him in the plaza\u2019s center anchors the market. His house is just a few blocks off the plaza. We walked over there. Nobody answered. Apparently, Ludwig was not home. (I used that dumb joke on my Bonn Facebook post, which led to a series of bad puns possibly worth perusing.)<\/p>\n<p>An imposing twin-spire church, the <em>Bonner M\u00fcnster<\/em>, dominates the skyline. This Roman Catholic cathedral is one of Germany\u2019s oldest, built between the 11th and 13th centuries. It is currently under restoration \u2014 apparently a nearly permanent condition of many of Germany\u2019s cathedrals.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Next stop was Dusseld\u00f6rf. As with the other markets we visited from our home base in H\u00fcrth, it was less than an hour away. For brief periods, we were on the <em>autobahn<\/em>, which I learned was not a single highway but a network of more than 8,000 miles across Germany where there is no speed limit. Matt, a careful driver, nonetheless took their newly acquired 2011 Renault up to roughly about 140 km at times \u2014 about 87 mph.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are seven Christmas markets in Dusseld\u00f6rf; we made it to two. The first had an ice-skating rink, where children glided by while their parents followed on wobbly legs. We decided to celebrate with a bottle of champagne safely split among five of us, while we watched the skaters. Just off the plaza we discovered the <em>D\u00fcsseldorf Altstadt Glockenspiel<\/em>, a house whose third floor features a carillon with 18 bells of varying sizes. The bells sound every quarter-hour \u2014 a three-story cuckoo clock.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We made it to Br\u00fchl while there was still light, taking the bus for a short trip. Matt joined us when he got off work. Br\u00fchl is home to the Augustusburg Palace which is also a UNESCO site and is now owned by the state government. It was securely locked behind an imposing gate and protected by a moat, my first to witness in person.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One of my favorite photos of this trip was made here, of a jolly violinist (we\u2019re in Germany so he\u2019s not a fiddler, I figure) with a Santa Claus beard and belly, playing for change. I took his photo and tossed a couple of Euro coins into his violin case.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In Aachen, my BMC reunited with a dear friend from her days teaching on a military base in England. Her friend now lives and teaches in the Netherlands. Two decades ago, she was Abbie\u2019s kindergarten teacher. It was a sweet reunion in the town where Charlemagne, first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, is entombed in the Aachen cathedral.<\/li>\n<li>On the afternoon of our last day in Germany, we returned to the K\u00f6ln market. This city of 1 million is home to <em>K\u00f6lner Dom<\/em> \u2014 the world\u2019s largest twin-spire cathedral. It is Germany\u2019s most visited landmark with an average of 20,000 people each day walking inside its magnificent doors. Construction of the cathedral began in 1248, with several stops and starts before construction was completed in 1880, more than six centuries later. Even now, scaffolding covers one side of the cathedral. The interior took our breath away: countless elaborately carved wooden altars, marble tombs, stunning stained-glass windows.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The K\u00f6ln Christmas market surrounds much of the cathedral\u2019s grounds. The stalls in all markets are elaborately built out of wood, with singing reindeer and other Yuletide creatures decorating the area above the stalls. All manner of elaborately carved wooden creations, ornaments, knitted scarves and hats and other festive items are for sale. Christmas music fills the air. On our first visit to the K\u00f6ln market after a three-day detour to Amsterdam, the wind was bitterly cold. Even the<a href=\"http:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/christmas-is-king-in-germany\/ko%cc%88ln-market\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5298\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5298 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-market-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-market-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-market-600x800.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-market-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-market-680x907.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-market.jpeg 1125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a> warmth of <em>gl\u00fcwein<\/em> \u2014 a delicious, mulled wine \u2014 couldn\u2019t cut the chill. But we returned the afternoon before flying home to a balmy 50-degree day in K\u00f6ln, where we enjoyed Yuletide carols being sung by a choir without us having to be dressed as Eskimos. The choir made up with enthusiasm what they lacked in singing ability.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>On our final evening in Germany, before a 4 a.m. alarm would force us to the airport for an early flight, we headed to Essen for the largest market in the area. First, we toasted Matt\u2019s upcoming birthday with a visit to a renowned steakhouse that would have fit well in Dallas or Houston. This was our last chance to buy souvenirs. As always, here is where we end up going over the baggage weight limit. On this outing, I concentrated on photographing the market workers \u2014 the woman with thousands of cookie cutters, the fellow from Israel selling hand-carved nutcrackers while bad-mouthing the mayor of Chicago where he once lived, the young man slicing the World\u2019s Best Fries from freshly harvested potatoes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All the markets were similar, but all were different as well. A common denominator was the food and beverages available. <em>Gluwein<\/em> was a constant, a mulled wine served in either tall, skinny glasses or festive coffee mugs. One paid a 1 or 2-mark deposit on the mugs, which was refunded when returned. For food, there were delicious sauteed mushrooms, and a wonderful pizza-like dish called <em>flammkuchen<\/em>, both of which we loved. The fried fish, called <em>fischer backfisch<\/em>, was wrapped in a thick piece of bread. It paired nicely with K\u00f6ln\u2019s signature beer, a Kolsch. And sausage. Lots of sausage.<\/p>\n<p>The Christmas markets are such joyous places. It is impossible to be in a bad mood while meandering about a German Christmas market, a <em>Weihnachtsm\u00e4rke<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/christmas-is-king-in-germany\/ko%cc%88ln-french-fryer\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5297\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5297\" src=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-french-fryer-257x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"257\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-french-fryer-257x300.jpeg 257w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-french-fryer-600x700.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-french-fryer-768x896.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-french-fryer-878x1024.jpeg 878w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-french-fryer-680x793.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ko\u0308ln-french-fryer.jpeg 1286w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 257px) 100vw, 257px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/christmas-is-king-in-germany\/essen-steakhouse\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5299\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5299\" src=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-steakhouse-300x225.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-steakhouse-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-steakhouse-600x450.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-steakhouse-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-steakhouse-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-steakhouse-200x150.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-steakhouse-680x510.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-steakhouse.jpeg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/christmas-is-king-in-germany\/essen-cookie-cutter\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5300\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5300\" src=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-cookie-cutter-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-cookie-cutter-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-cookie-cutter-600x800.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-cookie-cutter-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-cookie-cutter-680x907.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-cookie-cutter.jpeg 1125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/christmas-is-king-in-germany\/essen-market-5\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5301\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5301\" src=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-Market-5-187x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"187\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-Market-5-187x300.jpeg 187w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-Market-5-600x962.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-Market-5-768x1231.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-Market-5-639x1024.jpeg 639w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-Market-5-680x1090.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Essen-Market-5.jpeg 936w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 187px) 100vw, 187px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Merry Christmas, my friends.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Next week: Amsterdam)<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wpf_wrapper\"><a class=\"print_link\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Print this entry<\/a><\/p><!-- .wpf_wrapper -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Print this entryH\u00dcRTH, GERMANY \u2014 Germans love their Christmas markets. Over eight days, my Beautiful Mystery Companion, daughter Abbie, and I browsed, nibbled, sipped and gawked our way through towns [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[75,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-75","category-columns"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5296"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5312,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5296\/revisions\/5312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}