Christmas Market

David and I have, on our own with colleagues and friends, gone to the Frankfurt Christmas market and enjoyed Glühwein and looking over all the German crafts and baked treats. But the kids haven't been to a market yet. We had heard that the little town of Rüdesheim on the Rhein had a delightful market and told the kids we were planning to go today. James had plans to go to the movies with friends and was more than happy to miss the Christmas market. When asked why, he replied, "Well, it's so crowded, and there are all these booths...and you and Dad have to stop and look at everything." Oh, the horror.

Rüdesheim is the perfect place to catch a boat for a 3- or 4-hour cruise up the Rhein to view the impressive castles that dot the hillsides.

Just the girls

Em and Bex riding the Christmas train

Inside the train tracks, Santa sits with his wild boars.

The Little Engine that Could

James was right. Every other time we have been to Christmas Markets together, they've been jam-packed. But today was a weekday and it had snowed all day, so there was no big crowd. It made for a very pleasant visit.

People enjoying their warm Glühwein, traditional mulled wine.

The Baby Jesus was already in place.

A Pretzel Tree

The lights grew brighter and brighter as the sun set.

Happy to be ordering some Reibekuchen (also called Kartoffelpuffer, potato pancakes).

Reibekuchen are cooked in a lot of oil and are eaten either salty as a side dish or sweet with applesauce.

Emilie wasn't crazy about hers. She should have dipped hers in applesauce, like I did.

Note the American flag flying from one of the booths, indicating that English is spoken there. I was surprised at how many Americans we passed as we walked around. But we had been warned that tourists come by the busload to this market. Come to think of it, that may be why all the music blaring from speakers was American Christmas songs. Too bad, really.

Little carousel

Bex on a swan. She always picks the swan.

A church high on the hill on the opposite side of the Rhein.

I was feeling a little melancholy as we made our way back to the car. This was our last visit to a Christmas Market for the foreseeable future. We've heard that Chicago has a German-style Christmas market, though. We may just be traveling there next December, if Glühwein and Lebkuchen are a sure thing.