This evening we went to dinner with the Edgingtons and the Romneys. We introduced them to El Dorado, our favorite (and only known) Mexican restaurant in Bad Homburg, about 20 minutes from the office. We had a great evening with especially great food!
After dinner we drove to where we saw some beautiful church spires lighting the night.
In the windows of the apartments we waked past, we saw these beautiful Christmas decorations spreading cheer:
Sis Enger is preparing all of us for Christmas. In our weekly German class we talk about German culture and traditions. Today we learned about some of the different decorations enjoyed here.
Sis Enger showed us some beautiful handwork her mother made to decorate their Christmas home. What a treasure!
We learned about the candle arches that are placed on windowsills.
And then we made some red beaded star ornaments.
We really have so much fun together each week as we learn about Germany!
To me, these fruits and vegetables are as beautiful as all the things in the Christmas markets! These tangerines were the first to catch my eye. All of my growing up years, my brothers and I picked tangerines and sold them at the end of our driveway to earn our spending money for Christmas. Dad always advised us to leave a leaf or two on the stem to show how fresh they were. These took me right back to my childhood.
In every market, grocery store and nursery, you can buy pine bows. They smell so good and they are so festive. You don’t see much fake here and I love that.
Here are some Advent wreaths.
Freshly made sauerkraut:
This morning several of us drove about an hour to Wiesbaden to visit the Christmas market there, but first we enjoyed their weekly free organ concert in the beautiful Marktkirche.
After the 30 minute concert we wandered through the Christmas market surrounding the church. There was also a wonderful farmer’s market adjoining the Christmas market.
The stone work on these old churches is so beautiful.
After the beautiful concert we spent some time out in the market areas, wandering, looking, enjoying all the fun details. Each market has its own feel. This one felt more local and not so crowded, at least for a Saturday morning.
Sample different spreads with some bread:
Beeswax candles:
Olivewood Nativities:
Filled pastry balls:
This was one of my favorite parts of the morning–watching children respond to a life-sized Nativity. The children stared and lingered. The adults rushed by. There seemed to be lots of families here today. A nice tradition for the locals.
We stopped here for lunch:
After circling the Entire market, these are the 2 foods we settled on for dinner tonight–potato patties (partly because the line was so long and everyone said they were SO good), and chimney cakes like we found in Prague because we Know they are good!
Here are the potato “puffs” or patties. They grate the potatoes and then add them to a batter made with eggs, flour, milk and chopped onions. They are then served with your choice of applesauce (traditional), or a garlic cream sauce that looked like Ranch dressing.
They were tasty, but one was enough for me. They were hot, crispy and greasy!
Then we had chimney cakes (also called turtle necks and several other things).
The dough is rolled onto the cylinders, then baked.
After they come out of the oven, you can decide if you want them rolled in something, or if you want something inside of them. I chose walnuts. John chose white chocolate.
The Markets SMELL good. So many foods being prepared, so many smells. It’s a sensory overload experience!
This evening after work we went into Frankfurt to visit the Christmas market there. It’s a big one, filling the Römerberg old town center and St Paul’s Square. The shops and kiosks branch down many streets in the area, so you can wander for several hours.
The history of the Frankfurt market stretches back to the end of the 14th century, when mystery plays were performed on the Römerberg. Now there are special activities, music playing, church bells, and the crowds bringing a lot of excitement.
With its sheer size and crowds of visitors (about 3 million each year), the Frankfurt Christmas Market is one of the largest and most popular Christmas markets in all of Germany. The stands are elaborate and creative and the setting is breathtaking! A massive Christmas tree that stands about 3-4 stories high is brought in and well lit. We had a really fun evening. Here are some pics:
Each little shop is festive and well decorated. Here’s a candied almost shop:
Cookies and baked goods:
A double-tiered carousel:
Here is the massive Christmas tree:
Live musical performers
The plaza was so crowded, body to body!
Quetschemännchen, which are figures made out of prunes and nuts. These go back to the days when young men would send these figures to the girls they fancied. If the figure was not returned to sender, he knew that he had a chance to win the hand of the girl.
Lots of Wurst and sausages!
There are beer and wine shops everywhere you look. Gluhwein is a popular drink, served warm.
Lebkuchen:
Pretzels in every variety:
Lots and lots of french fries, served with catsup and mayo:
These hanging grills were great! And the Brats smell so good!
My favorite: Stollen!
Here you have salmon being flame grilled on cedar planks:
These special Christmas stars were glorious! They’re very popular here–you see them hanging in windows. We’re taking a few home with us.
Chocolate tools!
How to provide condiments to the masses:
Herbs and spices:
Candied popcorn:
This year’s Frankfurt mug:
We found the Kathe Wohlfahrt store as we were leaving. We’ll save it for another time (it’s my FAVORITE place).
Here’s a look in the window:
In the next posts I’ll show some of the food we tried. YUM.
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 