Wednesday 12 December 2012

Happy at... Christmas Markets

Christmas time! I love festive fun, but this year work has been so hectic and I am feeling the most disorganised I have been at this stage in the Christmas countdown. 

This year, I had 'pinned' countless Christmas crafts but, sadly, they are still on a rather long to-do list with little chance of getting any airtime this year. Never the less, I have not let this squash my festive cheer and I have been thrown into the Christmas spirit through visits to two full-of-festive-fun Christmas markets

First, me and Mr. went to London for the weekend. I had arranged the trip as part of my wedding anniversary gift, where I took inspiration from this post on Find Joy in the Journey, to create a 'year of dates' gift. We travelled down early Saturday morning and checked into a new favourite hotel, The Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington. We had tickets to see Jools Holland and his rhythm and blues orchestra in the evening and so spent the day admiring the displays in Harrods, Liberty's and Selfridges. All beautiful with far too many tempting potential purchases. On Sunday, we educated ourselves at the National History Museum. Next, we headed towards Hyde Park for London's Winter Wonderland Christmas market and spent the afternoon drinking mulled wine, browsing the stalls and chomping on bratwursts. Lots of festive fun!




My second Christmas market trip was a bit further afield. Last weekend I travelled across to Germany to visit a friend who now lives and works over there. After an early morning flight to Munich followed by a two hour drive, I arrived in beautiful Nuremberg. It was great to catch up with my friend. I hadn't seen her since a month or so after the wedding and there was a lot to catch up on over a good Nürnberger bratwurst with sauerkraut and mustard lunch.

I had heard a lot about the scale and spirit of German Christmas markets, and Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt in Hauptmarkt Square didn't disappoint. The market was split into different sections and included a children's market, Kinderweihnact, with a beautiful traditional carousel, Santa, and steam train. The wooden stalls across all areas of the market are filled with all sorts of lovely handmade items and edible treats.   

When the plane landed at 11am the temperature was announced at -7 degrees celsius. With the wind against us in the market, we of course found it necessary to warm ourselves up with lots of yummy glühwein, in these cute little cups! I managed to pick up a bottle to bring back and me and Mr. had it as we put up our Christmas tree!

It’s impossible to come back from snowy Nuremberg's Christmas market and not feel the Christmas tingle! I would definitely recommend a trip to Nuremberg, and to the city's Christmas market. Just be sure to remember your thermals!

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