Author: Ann Laemmlen Lewis

This afternoon (Friday) we left work at 2:00 and drove 2 hours to Köln to visit the markets here.  There are actually six markets spread throughout the city center and they all run individually and independently of each other.  Below is a train you can ride between them if you like (we never saw it, so we just walked).

There are several markets here.  We visited 4 of the 6.  Each market area has its own theme:  angels, gnomes, fairy tales, etc.  Below are a couple of maps to give you an idea of how the different markets are laid out.   Some were Really crowded and had lots of Gluhwein shops, others seemed to focus more on handcrafts and gift items.  We focused on those.

Here are a load of photos of all the different kinds of things you can find in the Köln Christmas markets.

I bought this waddling duck!  It made me laugh.

We loved the live music!

2024-12-13 Cologne CMS Market (1)

These cheese melters were so fun to watch:

And this man used a drill-like power tool to spiral cut potatoes into chips!

Blacksmiths making good luck charms:

I found a beautiful crocheted shawl in this shop:

Hairpins:

Mistletoe for sale:

Here is a beautiful wood-hewn Nativity:

It’s such a beautiful thing to see SO MANY Nativities in Germany.  I love it.

Roasting chestnuts:

This is the entrance to Heinzel’s Fairy Tale Market:

Here’s a lolipop shop:

The stars and lights high in the trees were magical.

Cookie cutters:

Roasting chestnuts:

We found our favorite potato tornadoes!

John bought a bowl of delicious pasta made here in these large cheese rounds, turned into bowls, that melt when the hot pasta is added.  YUM.

Oh, the stars!!

So many kinds of mustard!

A mushroom hut.

We found the ceramic graters (like the ones we saw in Frankfurt).  I had orders from several of the ladies who wanted them.

These candle domes seem to be very popular.

We really had a fun evening soaking it all in.  It’s such a visual feast!  The markets typically stay open until around 10:00 but we were there until 11:00 because so was everyone else, and the shops and vendors stayed.  This is a wonderful place to visit if you love Christmas Markets.  I loved seeing so many crafts (not just food and Gluhwein).  It really was worth the trip!

The Cathedral Treasury was closed this evening, but if you are able to get in to see it, you will find this shrine:

From Wikipedia, about The Shrine of the Three Kings:

The Shrine of the Three Kings (German Dreikönigsschrein or Der Dreikönigenschrein),Tomb of the Three Kings, or Tomb of the Three Magi is a reliquary traditionally believed to contain the bones of the Biblical Magi, also known as the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men. This shrine is a large gilded and decorated triple sarcophagus situated above and behind the high altar of Cologne Cathedral in western Germany. Built approximately from 1180 to 1225, it is considered the high point of Mosan art by various historians and scholars, and ranks amongst the largest reliquary in the Western world.

The shrine has gone through periods of damage and restoration during the 16th century. Although the shrine has always been on display, it was not until the 19th century when the relics were unveiled to the public. The relics of the three kings were first exhibited to public display in the 12th century.

Adorned with intricate decorations, the shrine’s surfaces narrate the stories of the three Magi, the Virgin Mary, and the life of Christ. These narratives are depicted with figures meticulously rendered gold-plated silver.

Today we were treated to lunch by the physical facilities team, as a thank you for all our work helping with the new apartments these last many months.  Ivonne was excited to share a traditional German Christmas meal with us:  roast goose.  This meal is being served in restaurants and homes all over Germany right now, and will be the traditional meal served on Christmas Day.  Many people schedule their restaurant goose meals a year in advance.

First we were brought some fresh brown bread and a bowl with a spread made from goose lard and roasted onions.  Then the meal came:  a leg and thigh, 2 Knödel (dumplings), some roasted chestnuts and a bowl of warm Rotkohl (red cabbage).  This is the beloved and traditional meal duplicated all over Germany right now.

I’ve been working on a project that was given out today to all of our Central Europe Church employees at the Christmas Devotional.  It’s a Come Follow Me flip book calendar.

One of my jobs in the communication department has been to create weekly social media posts centered on the Come Follow Me reading assignments.  Last year I created these weekly posts about the Book of Mormon.  This content was posted on our social media channels in 22 different languages in countries throughout Europe.

During these last few weeks, I’ve written all of the content for the coming Doctrine and Covenants year, then I got to help with the design of this flip calendar so it could be given as a surprise gift today at the devotional.

This has been one of my favorite projects.  I read the entire Come Follow Me course of study and wrote this content in a couple of weeks, which really filled my soul.  I am grateful for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for the blessings we receive in the content of our scriptures.

Each week gives the reading assignment, a question to consider, some things to ponder during the week. and a  call to action.   These flip calendars now sit on the desks of hundreds my friends here in the Area Office.

This morning we heard from our Area Presidency and their wives in a wonderful Christmas Devotional.  It was a really wonderful day, and for us, a little emotional.  We are realizing that after the Olsons and Talbots leave this week, we are the NEXT to go home.

As I looked around the room today, I wonder how I will get by without seeing these friends again.  We love being here.  We love these people.  How do you prepare to say goodbye??

I tried to take photo of as many friends as I could.  I wish I had them ALL.

This evening we drove over to Wiesbaden to visit my cousin, Elly Laemmlen. We’d planned to have her show us around town a bit, then she had a restaurant in mind for dinner.

We walked around the beautiful city boulevard to the Theater and the Casino Kurhaus, that was a huge beautiful spa/casino built in the late 1800s. This was a spa town then where the Kaisers came. Wiesbaden dates back to Roman times. This grand Kurhaus is now an event center with concert halls. In one hall there was an orchestra and choir practicing the Messiah. Wonderschön! On the other side of the lobby was the cassino. Elly said that’s where Dostoevsky gambled away all of his money, then after that in 4 weeks he wrote the book, “The Gambler,” to earn the money back.

In the plaza/park by the Kurhaus was a large ice skating rink set up for CMS time, with curling lanes on one end. Lots of people were renting skates and enjoying that with music and a water fountain in the center of the rink.

We circled around by the big cathedral/church. The CMS markets were around it, but we didn’t go in. Elly took us by a literary club building that was closed and a new museum of abstract art. We visited while we walked and enjoyed that very much.

Along the way, we spotted this Stolperstein for Joseph Mayer b. 1870.  He fled to his death in 1940.

Here is another for Leo Lazarus Rubinstein, b. 1904.  He was deported to Auschwitz in 1943.  He was freed and he survived!

Here is Elly in her apartment.  This piece of furniture belonged to her Grandmother, Sophie, who married my Grandpa Rudolf’s brother, Heinrich.