Monday evening we drove straight to Nürnberg to enjoy the Christmas market there. Unfortunately, E was still not feeling quite up to walking around in the cold, so Kevin and I took turns checking out the Weihnachtsmärkte, or Christmas market and staying with him in the van. It was beautiful, with many traditional treats to enjoy along the way.
Hauptmarkt (Main Market Square) in front of the Liebfraukirche (Church of Our Lady) in Nürnberg.
Liebfraukirche (Church of Our Lady).
This was the children's corner of the market, so to speak. They had fun historic carousel rides and children's activities. Unfortunately, ours were too tired and sick to enjoy on Monday evening.
A Christmas angel suspended over the city street.
After Nürnberg, we headed to Thomas and Heidi's house once again. It's so nice to have some family nearby that we were able to be with during the holidays!
On Tuesday their kids had one last day of school, so we toured a couple more German towns for a little day trip. E was still not up to par, so we let him stay at their house during the day since Thomas was going to be home all day.
We started off in Rothenburg, a cute little German town with a medieval wall around the city. The town has been well preserved and there is also a nice Christmas market there.
the Rathaus or Town hall.
the Rathaus or Town hall.
CJ at the hauptmarkt or town square where the Christmas market booths were set up.
The boys were happy to be able to enjoy the rides at the market.
We also climbed the Town Hall Tower, which gave us a great view of Rothenburg.
Kevin and boys at other end of the town square.
This clock was very German. At the hour the windows of the house would open and the little guys inside would take a drink. Cheers!
Piper in front of an old fashioned Christmas delivery truck. Or something like that.
We also visited the Rothenburg Medieval Crime Museum. They showed various forms of torture and shaming techniques during medieval times. The boys enjoyed trying out these headlocks.
Final view of Rothenburg with the medieval walls, tower and bridge in the background.
On our way back to Thomas and Heidi's (ok, it was actually another 100 km triangulated, but to Kevin that is 'right on the way'), we stopped in at Würzburg, a beautiful town along the Main River with a beautiful cathedral and town hall.
Another view of The Church of Our Lady (Marienkapelle) in Würzburg.
The Fortress Marienberg in the distance, across the Main River in Würzburg. We'd love to come back some time and actually get up to the castle, it looked beautiful.
Wednesday we spent with Thomas and Heidi and their kids. We went to an awesome indoor water park. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures - I didn't even take my camera along, which was probably for the better since I was in the water the whole time and it probably would not have made it! We had a really good time with them as always, and the kids had a great time playing together.
This is a picture of our oldest and their 2 older kids playing some games. I seriously don't know why I didn't take more pictures - I guess I was just enjoying the time together so much I entirely forgot I was in 'vacation' mode!! They are wonderful hosts and we are so thankful to get to spend some time during the holidays with them.
Kevin was especially thankful to Thomas for thinking of him and supplying him some of his favorite German wheat beverage while we were there :)
Final view of Rothenburg with the medieval walls, tower and bridge in the background.
On our way back to Thomas and Heidi's (ok, it was actually another 100 km triangulated, but to Kevin that is 'right on the way'), we stopped in at Würzburg, a beautiful town along the Main River with a beautiful cathedral and town hall.
View of the hauptmarkt or town square in Würzburg with the Weihnachtsmärkte, Christmas market.
More rides for the boys...
Another view of The Church of Our Lady (Marienkapelle) in Würzburg.
The Fortress Marienberg in the distance, across the Main River in Würzburg. We'd love to come back some time and actually get up to the castle, it looked beautiful.
Wednesday we spent with Thomas and Heidi and their kids. We went to an awesome indoor water park. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures - I didn't even take my camera along, which was probably for the better since I was in the water the whole time and it probably would not have made it! We had a really good time with them as always, and the kids had a great time playing together.
This is a picture of our oldest and their 2 older kids playing some games. I seriously don't know why I didn't take more pictures - I guess I was just enjoying the time together so much I entirely forgot I was in 'vacation' mode!! They are wonderful hosts and we are so thankful to get to spend some time during the holidays with them.
Kevin was especially thankful to Thomas for thinking of him and supplying him some of his favorite German wheat beverage while we were there :)
So that pretty much sums up our first few days in Germany. On Thursday, Christmas Eve Day, we headed up to Berlin.
The Griswald Christmas Vacation in Europe continues...
2 comments:
Wow, thanks for the memories! We visited Rothenberg and the guys loved the crime museum!! It was such a pretty little town.
The Christmas markets make it fun for the kids.
Looking forward to more.
We had 7 inches of snow last night!!
Vera
Hey, Sis, I enjoyed the pictures.
I am pretty sure that Mom bought me a 1,000 piece puzzle once, with that Rothenburg medieval building on it! (the one that is now a crime museum). Small world, eh?
Glad you have family to share Christmas with! You might know that it took us two tries to get over the river and through the woods to grandma's house for Christmas...
Ruth
Post a Comment