A Tale of Two Christmas Markets
Before the Christmas Season began we sat down and planned which Christmas Markets we wanted to visit this year. Having heard many great things about the market in Strasbourg France, we added it to the list. We visited Strasbourg this summer with Mom and Becca and I thought it was a beautiful city so I was excited to go there again, especially at Christmastime. And the city was beautiful. There were Christmas lights everywhere, gorgeous window displays in the stores, and the roofs of the old half-timbered buildings were covered in snow. Really, just Christmas postcard perfection. Are you hearing a but under all of this? Oh yeah, there is a big, bit but (that makes me smile!) We did not enjoy the Strasbourg Christmas Market experience at all.
Driving in a bigger city always stresses me out, and this day was no different. The GPS was telling us all sorts of crazy things, "Turn left now, make a U-turn if possible, etc." So we turned it off and navigated our way through the city until we found a parking garage that actually wasn't full. Then we drove our big American van around the tiny European parking garage looking for a space. After driving around town for 45 MINUTES looking for a place to park we all had to use the bathroom. We found one in the train station, and like many bathrooms in Europe, it was a pay toilet. Unfortunately, we only had enough change to open the door one time. No problem, Jared just held the door open as we each took our turn. Ah, but there was a problem. The toilet would only flush when the door was shut, so that meant it would flush in between each paying person. It got a little gross before all seven of us (really six, because Natalie refused to use the "yucky" potty) were finished.
Then, we started the walk to the Christmas market. The closer we got to the market the more crowded the streets became. Eventually we made it to the market - it was a large Christmas market with over 200 different stalls selling Christmas ornaments, handcrafted items, and food. I think it would have been a really nice market if only we could have seen anything. There were so many people there; it was a standing room only Christmas market. We traveled through the market in a line being pushed along by the crowd. When we wanted to stop somewhere we would slowly maneuver our way to the edge of the crowd and stand as close to a stall as possible so the kids wouldn't get swept away.
We were still hopeful that we would have a good time, and at the very least that we could collect a new mug. Guess what? There is no Kinder Glühwein in Strasbourg, but there is hot orange juice in disposable plastic cups. And man, when we found that out it seemed like a wasted trip. There were some good points to the day though. We heard French people saying "Ohh, la la" and that was so funny that it made us smile and laugh every time we heard it. The food, of course, was good. French bread pizza in France is better than any French bread pizza I have ever tasted. When Abigail ordered a large cotton candy it was the largest cotton candy I had ever seen. After pushing and shoving our way through the crowd we found our way back to the parking garage and we happy to say good bye to crowded Strasbourg. I think we will go back one day, but not at Christmastime and not on a Saturday.
I couldn't stand the thought that our Christmas Market trip had been a failure with no fun and no new mugs to bring home. I remembered seeing a sign in Wallhalben (the town down the hill from us) about their Christmas market that was being held that day as well. We drove home and on the way home stopped at Wallhalben's market. It was amazing! They held it at the Kneispermuhle, a little hotel/restaurant just outside of town. There were pine boughs everywhere and twinkling white lights. There was a Glühweinkeller - which was a cross between a cave and a barn where we found delicious Kinderglühwein. So cool - glühwein in a cave! There were fires burning here and there to gather around to stay warm. The actual barn was converted into a restaurant. There were Christmas trees, lights, another fire, and really good food. I loved the Apfel Strudel and Goulash and Jared enjoyed a crepe much better then the ones we ate in France. There were a few people selling handmade items - knitted wool socks, beeswax candles, pretty home decorations, and carved wooden Christmas figures. Because there was no crowd I could look at everything and I found a star wreath to hang on our front door.
So the market in Wallhalben was smaller, but to me, soooo much better. The kids could look around without me worrying about them being lost forever in some French city. I was able to take my time looking at all the beautiful things. We could sit down to eat in a rustic old barn. It might have had less to offer but to me, it was perfect.
Driving in a bigger city always stresses me out, and this day was no different. The GPS was telling us all sorts of crazy things, "Turn left now, make a U-turn if possible, etc." So we turned it off and navigated our way through the city until we found a parking garage that actually wasn't full. Then we drove our big American van around the tiny European parking garage looking for a space. After driving around town for 45 MINUTES looking for a place to park we all had to use the bathroom. We found one in the train station, and like many bathrooms in Europe, it was a pay toilet. Unfortunately, we only had enough change to open the door one time. No problem, Jared just held the door open as we each took our turn. Ah, but there was a problem. The toilet would only flush when the door was shut, so that meant it would flush in between each paying person. It got a little gross before all seven of us (really six, because Natalie refused to use the "yucky" potty) were finished.
Then, we started the walk to the Christmas market. The closer we got to the market the more crowded the streets became. Eventually we made it to the market - it was a large Christmas market with over 200 different stalls selling Christmas ornaments, handcrafted items, and food. I think it would have been a really nice market if only we could have seen anything. There were so many people there; it was a standing room only Christmas market. We traveled through the market in a line being pushed along by the crowd. When we wanted to stop somewhere we would slowly maneuver our way to the edge of the crowd and stand as close to a stall as possible so the kids wouldn't get swept away.
We were still hopeful that we would have a good time, and at the very least that we could collect a new mug. Guess what? There is no Kinder Glühwein in Strasbourg, but there is hot orange juice in disposable plastic cups. And man, when we found that out it seemed like a wasted trip. There were some good points to the day though. We heard French people saying "Ohh, la la" and that was so funny that it made us smile and laugh every time we heard it. The food, of course, was good. French bread pizza in France is better than any French bread pizza I have ever tasted. When Abigail ordered a large cotton candy it was the largest cotton candy I had ever seen. After pushing and shoving our way through the crowd we found our way back to the parking garage and we happy to say good bye to crowded Strasbourg. I think we will go back one day, but not at Christmastime and not on a Saturday.
I couldn't stand the thought that our Christmas Market trip had been a failure with no fun and no new mugs to bring home. I remembered seeing a sign in Wallhalben (the town down the hill from us) about their Christmas market that was being held that day as well. We drove home and on the way home stopped at Wallhalben's market. It was amazing! They held it at the Kneispermuhle, a little hotel/restaurant just outside of town. There were pine boughs everywhere and twinkling white lights. There was a Glühweinkeller - which was a cross between a cave and a barn where we found delicious Kinderglühwein. So cool - glühwein in a cave! There were fires burning here and there to gather around to stay warm. The actual barn was converted into a restaurant. There were Christmas trees, lights, another fire, and really good food. I loved the Apfel Strudel and Goulash and Jared enjoyed a crepe much better then the ones we ate in France. There were a few people selling handmade items - knitted wool socks, beeswax candles, pretty home decorations, and carved wooden Christmas figures. Because there was no crowd I could look at everything and I found a star wreath to hang on our front door.
So the market in Wallhalben was smaller, but to me, soooo much better. The kids could look around without me worrying about them being lost forever in some French city. I was able to take my time looking at all the beautiful things. We could sit down to eat in a rustic old barn. It might have had less to offer but to me, it was perfect.
And once again....the Germans outshine the French. If the French hadn't been our allies in WWII, I would wonder if there's any hope for them :-) So glad that you made lemonade out of lemons and could enjoy yourself at the end of the day.
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