the christmas markets

well, so far no regrets on trading our fab switzerland holiday for the merry & bright of nuremberg. germany knows how to do christmas! it’s been lovely just staying home and really enjoying the spirit of this city during the holidays.

when we were moving here a lot of people mentioned the “germany christmas markets” – i was slightly intrigued, but honestly wasn’t sure what to imagine.  and i’m now quite certain that i won’t be able to adequately capture how festive and magical (there’s that word again!) they really are. it’s kind of like new york city at christmas – there’s a mood, energy, spirit that is truly infectious in that city during the holidays. the same is absolutely true here – and even beyond! it feels much less about buying and consuming, but simply rather experiencing and just living & breathing the holiday, together with friends & family.

the markets are simply stall after stall of food, drink, goodies – there is literally so much to look at, smell & taste. the food is, hands-down, the best part. at one point in mid-december i was thinking i would be able to avoid the inevitable holiday weight gain, with the absence of pecan pie tempting me. unfortunately, i’ve simply traded one holiday treat for the endless options of the christmas markets. half-meter wiener, anyone?

we followed germany custom and got our christmas tree this week. i’m typically a christmas-tree-thanksgiving-weekend kind of gal, but with the busyness of december it simply didn’t happen. that said, it was actually really fun to get it so close to christmas, knowing it was just a few days until santa was going to be paying us a visit. i also had to abandon my dream of finding a christmas tree farm to chop one down – we finally just gave into our time constraints and wen picked one up at the corner-christmas-tree-lot down the street.  it did sort of add to our whole “christmas in the city” adventure with him lugging the tree a few blocks home in the rain! (i wish i had a picture of this, but i was smartly snuggled at home with the girls).

i also seem to have embraced a whole new side of myself that is loving a more traditional christmas theme. there’s a christmas store in germany called “kathe wohlfahrt” (do we have these in the US?) which is just the most addictive, beautiful expression of holiday ornaments and decoration you could imagine. i could spend hours (literally, hours) in the stores just breathing in every detail. this stuff is SO different from anything i would have gravitated towards back home, but i love love love it. we each got to pick out our own ornament at kathe wohlfahrt, which was also a fun new tradition that i can’t wait to continue. * can you guess who picked each one? also – these pics don’t do them justice – the details are so lovely!

in addition to gluhwein (spiced red wine), half-meter wieners and gorgeous ornaments, nuremberg also has one of the best kinder markets (children’s markets) – we spent way more time at the kinder market than the adult one, and not just at the girls’ request! rides, cotton candy, tons to see and play and make. perfection.

i expected this christmas to be really hard, being the first away from my family. and while the homesickness is real and very present, i do think this is going to be one of my favorite christmases yet. there’s something to be said for the simplicity of this year – very few gifts, no rushing, no last-minute mad dashes to target for this & that. and with all of that out-of-the-way, there is more time for just being still and remembering what we’re celebrating.

merry christmas eve to all of you. sending much love from germany. xo.