Froliche Weihnachten!

Christmas in Germany is magical! Each village hosts their own Christmas Market (or Weihnachts Markt), some for several weeks, some for only a few days. We went to the Saarbrucken Weihnachts Markt on Saturday evening, and it was so much fun!

When we got there, the feeling of the Christmas Spirit was so strong -- the music, the smells (hot wine, sausages, cold air), the excitement on people's faces -- it was wonderful.

Shortly after we arrived, everyone seemed to be congregating in a central area, preparing their cameras, and directing their focus to a wire in the air, strung across the square. We couldn't understand the announcements, but we decided to wait and prepare our own camera. We weren't disappointed -- St. Nicholas visited us, on a sleigh attached to that wire! Lydia and Braden watched from atop Morgan's shoulders.

Each Weihnachts Markt has a nativity scene. This was the beautiful scene in Saarbrucken.

For dinner, we had (what else?) bratwurst! I just had to get a picture of the stand where we bought them from -- look at all those sausages! We also had hot "kinder puncsh" (children's punch), and bought a boot-shaped mug with 2007 Saarbrucken Weihnachts Markt written on it. Each market has their own mug, so we will collect them this season.

Our plan is to visit at least one market each week during the Christmas season. This will be a Christmas to remember!