Saturday - Nuremberg part 2

After the tour we were dropped off in the city center where the Christmas market is held.  Today being a Saturday, the day before the 1st Sunday of advent and the first weekend the market was open meant that we were in for some huge crowds.  As Jackie said at one point, yes, there are a lot of people, but everyone has a smile on their face and there's an air of goodwill.  We had a wonderful time shopping and chatting with the proprietors.  So many people speak English that it was never really difficult to communicate.  Seriously, we Americans have to get better at other languages.  Makes me feel bad that when these folks come to see us, we can't provide the same welcome and understanding.  

Anyway, first the food....starting with Jackie's first cup of gluhwein...can you tell she wasn't sure she liked it?  It is a mulled wine.  We were told the flavor came mostly from the fruit and the wine wasn't that strong, but both of us beg to differ.  All I could smell was the alcohol!  The Germans are very ecologically minded, so when you purchase your wine you pay 2.50 for the wine and 2.50 for the cup. If you bring the cup back you get 2.50 back.  If you choose to keep it its is yours.  No paper cups are used.  The sad thing was that Javkie thought the mug was so cute she planned to keep it, until she dropped the bag it was in and it broke in two.  She was very sad, but talked herself out of getting another cup as she's been getting rid of mugs at home.  Very sensible....we'll see if she ends up picking another one up along the way.

Other food included the Nuremberg sausages which are sold on a bun with three sausages and either catsup or mustard.  We did not get a sandwich today because there was a dinner at the hotel tonight that included some very tasty sausages, much better than the ones we had in Munich.

We had 4.5 hours to wander the market.  That early snow turned to a very cold rain, so we walked around for an hour and then sought warmth in a local crepe shop.  It allowed us time to warm up and for our coats to dry out a bit which was very nice.  We also enjoyed a savory crepe, followed by a Nutella and banana dessert crepe!  Yummy.  Then it was back to the market.  Here are a few photos of the stalls

It is magical!  There's a good chance even I could get into the Christmas spirit from this experience!

We also got a delicious hot cocoa, again in an effort to warm up and have a chance to sit down.  No luck on the sitting down, but we were in a warm place at least for a little while.

Here are a couple of pictures around the town

This is the best representation of the crowd we could get....

So ends the day.  Lovely dinner tonight that included an apple streusel that was simply the best ever and great company from some of our traveling companions.  Early start tomorrow, so signing off for now.