Christmas markets are hands-down one of the best things about Winter in UK. Just this week as Mike and I sat down to breakfast at 7:00am I remarked that it was so dark we could well be sitting down to dinner. So you see, it doesn't have a lot else going for it.
Back in sunny Summer we made plans to go to the mother of all Christmas markets; Nuremburg, Germany. We scooted off after work and touched down on a snowy runway. We made our way to our hostel and settled in for the night.
The next morning we had a bit of time on our hands before our walking tour at 11:00am. In our search for somewhere to have coffee we stumbled upon... a cat cafe! And a vegan one at that! I'm very much Team Pupper but Mike has a soft spot for cats as well. I'd argue they're mostly all ar$eholes and I genuinely dislike kittens but hey, each to their own.
We went in through the two sets of doors, designed to let the punters in, but keep the residents from sneaking out. The cafe was home to 6 rescue cats. It was made very clear that this was their home, and we were simply fortunate enough to be visiting them. It wasn't long before we saw Peter, Samira, Joshi and Lucky made a beeline to Mike for some attention. We shared a slice of an apple strudel cake and coffees requested with non-nut milk. Cow for us, please. The audacity!
The walking tour took us around the Old Town and to the Christkindlemarkt for lunch, followed by a cheerful tour of the Nazi Rally Grounds. At the markets we double-downed on hot mulled wine and delectable "3 in Weckla": three bratwurst in a bun. Delicious! The Nuremburg bratwurst are the size of your middle finger, seasoned with herbs, cooked over flames and traditionally topped with mustard (and tomato sauce for us heathens). They were remarkably easy to put away!
Back on the walking tour we took a bus out to the Nazi Rally Grounds. In an earlier blog post you may have read that last Christmas we went to Krakow and on Boxing Day, visited Auschwitz. Pairing Christmas and war crimes has become somewhat of a tradition. It was very interesting and very cold.
When we arrived back in the Old Town we set back to the Christmas markets in earnest. With gluhwein in hand we wandered up and down the many stalls. The unique thing about the Nuremburg markets is that they don't allow any plastic products - everything is handmade. It wasn't long before I spied a stand selling beautiful blown glass decorations. I reached up to admire one and - whoops! - it dropped from its hook on to the velvet below. By the grace of gluhwein it didn't smash, but the shopkeeper chastised me for not being more careful. Before we scarpered I spied an even more beautiful decoration - glass snowflakes and knew I had to return.
On Sunday we returned for to the markets for brunch - 3 in Weckla of course. Three, 3 in Weckla from memory. Each. We settled into a bar to kill time before joining a German tour of the cellars underground Nuremburg with an English audioguide. The cellars were used for a multitude of purposes including storing beer, pickling, ventilating houses and as a bomb shelter during World War 2. When we emerged from the ground it had started snowing heavily. We wandered up to the Castle on the hill to admire the snowy panoramic view.
Back to the markets for more bratwurst and mulled wine. I found the glass snowflakes again. I took off my distinctive red gloves and tied my hair back so the stall owner wouldn't recognize me after my carelessness the night before! Purchase in hand, we enjoyed the rest of the markets in the snow.
It was only when we made our way back to the hostel to collect our bags so we could go to the airport, that we were messaged by RyanAir that our flight was cancelled. The snow was not isolated to Germany but was causing havoc in England, so our plane couldn't leave from Manchester to collect us.
Here is a summary of the events that followed:
And two days of travel later, through all the cancelled flights, re-routing, train rides, connecting flights and taxi rides, all the glass snowflakes survived!
Back in sunny Summer we made plans to go to the mother of all Christmas markets; Nuremburg, Germany. We scooted off after work and touched down on a snowy runway. We made our way to our hostel and settled in for the night.
The next morning we had a bit of time on our hands before our walking tour at 11:00am. In our search for somewhere to have coffee we stumbled upon... a cat cafe! And a vegan one at that! I'm very much Team Pupper but Mike has a soft spot for cats as well. I'd argue they're mostly all ar$eholes and I genuinely dislike kittens but hey, each to their own.
We went in through the two sets of doors, designed to let the punters in, but keep the residents from sneaking out. The cafe was home to 6 rescue cats. It was made very clear that this was their home, and we were simply fortunate enough to be visiting them. It wasn't long before we saw Peter, Samira, Joshi and Lucky made a beeline to Mike for some attention. We shared a slice of an apple strudel cake and coffees requested with non-nut milk. Cow for us, please. The audacity!
The walking tour took us around the Old Town and to the Christkindlemarkt for lunch, followed by a cheerful tour of the Nazi Rally Grounds. At the markets we double-downed on hot mulled wine and delectable "3 in Weckla": three bratwurst in a bun. Delicious! The Nuremburg bratwurst are the size of your middle finger, seasoned with herbs, cooked over flames and traditionally topped with mustard (and tomato sauce for us heathens). They were remarkably easy to put away!
Back on the walking tour we took a bus out to the Nazi Rally Grounds. In an earlier blog post you may have read that last Christmas we went to Krakow and on Boxing Day, visited Auschwitz. Pairing Christmas and war crimes has become somewhat of a tradition. It was very interesting and very cold.
 |
| Nazi Rally Grounds. Cheery. |
When we arrived back in the Old Town we set back to the Christmas markets in earnest. With gluhwein in hand we wandered up and down the many stalls. The unique thing about the Nuremburg markets is that they don't allow any plastic products - everything is handmade. It wasn't long before I spied a stand selling beautiful blown glass decorations. I reached up to admire one and - whoops! - it dropped from its hook on to the velvet below. By the grace of gluhwein it didn't smash, but the shopkeeper chastised me for not being more careful. Before we scarpered I spied an even more beautiful decoration - glass snowflakes and knew I had to return.
On Sunday we returned for to the markets for brunch - 3 in Weckla of course. Three, 3 in Weckla from memory. Each. We settled into a bar to kill time before joining a German tour of the cellars underground Nuremburg with an English audioguide. The cellars were used for a multitude of purposes including storing beer, pickling, ventilating houses and as a bomb shelter during World War 2. When we emerged from the ground it had started snowing heavily. We wandered up to the Castle on the hill to admire the snowy panoramic view.
Back to the markets for more bratwurst and mulled wine. I found the glass snowflakes again. I took off my distinctive red gloves and tied my hair back so the stall owner wouldn't recognize me after my carelessness the night before! Purchase in hand, we enjoyed the rest of the markets in the snow.
 |
| So. Much. Bratwurst. |
 |
| The locals take their snowballs very seriously. |
It was only when we made our way back to the hostel to collect our bags so we could go to the airport, that we were messaged by RyanAir that our flight was cancelled. The snow was not isolated to Germany but was causing havoc in England, so our plane couldn't leave from Manchester to collect us.
Here is a summary of the events that followed:
- Go to airport to speak to RyanAir counter staff. Not helpful. Next flight on Tuesday night. Suggest we find our own way home.
- Spend another night in Nuremburg.
- Surprise trip to Munich as they have a bigger airport. Munich Christmas Markets. More gluwhein. Beerhall for lunch.
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| Munich |
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| Hofbräuhaus, Munich |
- Flight to Luxembourg to catch connecting flight to London. Get to Luxembourg. Next flight cancelled.
- Surprise trip to Luxembourg. Luxembourg Christmas Markets. More gluwhein. Not a lot to do in Luxembourg. Back to London!
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| Luxembourg |
And two days of travel later, through all the cancelled flights, re-routing, train rides, connecting flights and taxi rides, all the glass snowflakes survived!
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