Every year the wives of the Area Presidency invite all of us over for a Christmas luncheon at one of their homes. Today we went to Sis Alliaud’s home. We came bearing salads and desserts. They provided the main courses–a chicken pot pie, a beef dish and a chicken dish. The food was fantastic.
Here are the beautiful faces of my Frankfurt friends:
Sis. McConkie, Sis Alliaud and Sis Gerard:
After lunch we had a lot of fun exchanging gifts we’d each brought.
Then we sang carols and visited and filled our hearts with Christmas Spirit.
These are the best of times with the best of women.
Today for our Saturday outing, we decided to go to Idstein, about an hour away. We got there by 2:00, just in time to hear the Alpenhorns being played by the Rathaus. That was fun!
This little town is really quaint and fun and festive. The market looped around the town and spilled out into small plazas. It felt like a fun community event with lots of locals. The town has lots of beautiful half-timber homes surrounding the plazas. All cobblestone, all old and charming. We really loved it.
The old city walls and gates and towers are still protecting the little town.
Here is a living Nativity which included donkeys, sheep. The children were quite taken by it.
We had some really tasty food treats here!
We went into a very old church with all the walls and ceiling covered in beautiful paintings. I think it dates back to the 1300s with a big remodel in the 1600s. An man and his child were carving an ice block of the church just outside.
Lots of gables!
Mistletoe for sale:
Egg warmers:
The local music is really fun and festive.
That’s Idstein.
This evening we went to a “Living Christmas Tree” concert in Frankfurt at this more modern church. No photos were allowed inside. It was kind of a gimicky choir that sang mostly in English. The choir stands/risers were in the shape of a CMS tree with 11 rows, making a really big tall tree. There were about 80 performers dressed in green smocks draped with silver garlands. They were middle-aged to older. The best part was when the concert started in darkness, then slowly the lights on the tree came on and eventually you could see the people singing.
Sunday evening we went back to Idstein where we saw a free “Gospel Choir” performance advertised at the old church. It was a beautiful venue filled with people and another older choir singing gospel songs in English. We’d hoped for some German carols. Oh well. It was fun to be in that church.
After visiting Wertheim and Miltenberg, we drove another on to Michelstadt, another 30 minutes down the road through country roads. We came to this Christmas Market last year and it was one of our favorites. The little old town goes all out for a couple of weeks.
We followed the Rundgang (loop of the market) through the cobblestone streets and shops. The market filled much of the old town, with pockets of stalls around every corner. The market features woodwork and hand work by local artists.
The city map (with waffle) shows how the old town is laid out.
Under the mistletoe at the market entrance:
The food in this market is a highlight. We each got a spiral-cut potato dipped in batter, then deep fried. They call them “tornados,” and they are delicious. They sprinkle them with salt, paprika and some other herbs. It was really good and we were hungry.
A beautiful large life-sized Nativity was in the center of the market.
Then we happened upon this group playing Alpenhorns. It was breathtaking! They played a few numbers, then they were gone. We were lucky to be there at just the right moment.
John found his favorite Raclette stand that we visited last year. He visited with those folks while waiting for our hot meal of potatoes, pickles and pearl onions covered in Raclette cheese. It’s his favorite.
It’s been a perfect Christmas Market Friday evening–Wertheim, Miltenberg and Michelstadt. We loved them all.
Miltenberg is another small town along the river, about 30 minutes from our last stop in Wertheim. The highlight here was being in the square for the welcoming of the Christkind and the opening of the market. There was a small local group of musicians, young and old, playing Christmas carols in the small square. There we stood, surrounded by old historic half-timber homes and shops, looking up at castle ruins on the mountain behind us, listening to angelic music in Germany. It was perfect.
The market was small but charming. We spent about an hour there, wandering and looking at the different offerings. Went into old churches, bought some Springerle cookies in a bakery. Enjoyed it all. We just soaked it all in.
Springerle cookies, like my Grandma Elsa used to make:
We were so happy to only pay .60 Euro for parking! What a delightful town!
Wertheim is a small town on the Main River by the confluence of the Tauber. We visited there last spring and loved it. The town stretches along the river (and has flooded many times). It’s basically one long main street full of fun shops and CMS Market stalls in the town squares.
We strolled down the main street, stopping for bakeries (I got a pretzel roll and John bought a Stollen to take home) and for fun shops. I also bought a bag of peanuts in the shell from a nut vendor.
On the doorway below you can see the high water marks from the years when it flooded here.
I am always on the lookout for unique hand-crafted items made locally. Today we met Johann Zimmerman. He said his family had a tradition of woodcarving in Hungary–his great-grandpa, his grandpa, his father, and now he carries on the tradition, the last. His sons aren’t interested in it. He had a small stall. We bought a carved Nativity from him–it’s one piece with Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus. Johann’s initials are carved on the back. He was thrilled that we’d come all the way from America to buy his Nativity. We took photos with him. He was great. That purchase made his day and ours too. Really. It was worth every Pfennig just to see him so happy.
We spent about 1.5 hours here, on this Friday afternoon, enjoying it very much.
The “Blue House” built in 1593 is one of the half-timbered houses in Wertheim’s old town. “Smalt” was used for the blue color in the framework. Smalt is a glass with cobalt in it. When finely grated, makes a pigment. It’s a very expensive process that would have showcased a landlord’s wealth. It was beautiful!
We are learning about more Christmas traditions in our German class. Today we learned some Christmas songs the children sing and we talked about advent calendars.
We also enjoyed a delicious dinner with the Binghams this week.
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 