Frohe Weihnachten!

We drove to Germany to see the Christmas markets this weekend, and it was a truly magical experience! We visited Christmas markets in Köln (Cologne), Aachen, Trier and Bernkastel; our favorite market was Aachen by far! Thanks to Mike (Rachel's brother) for recommending that market! (It's pictured above.)

The markets are characterized by bright, beautiful stalls where they sell many fascinating things: nutcrackers, cookie cutters, candles, nativity sets and accessories, spatulas, pottery, tree ornaments, sculptures, scarves and many other fascinating and random things. We arrived at the Trier market just before it opened, so here's a photo of Jacob exploring the market without the massive crowds.

But the highlight of the markets is the amazing food!! Everywhere we went we smelled something delicious, and we tried to taste as much of it as possible! For example, the cheese-covered pretzel I'm eating in the photo below (at the Köln market) is something we'll be talking about for the rest of our lives; it was that good!

At the Bernkastel market they turned the apothecary building into an advent calendar. You can see from the below photo that they open one of the windows every day of December. It was adorable!

In Aachen we discovered the Lindt factory outlet store--wonderful! We also enjoyed another Aachen specialty: Aachener Printen. It's basically the highest-quality, most delicious gingerbread in the world. It was FANTASTIC! Here's Jacob admiring a display of Aachener Printen in a shop window (yes, his tongue is hanging out of his mouth).

Speaking of food, here's a list of everything we ate while we were there--only 2 days!

• 2 bratwursts on Brötchen with fabulous German mustard
• The legendary, already-mentioned cheese-covered pretzel
• Berliners (remember the famous JFK "Ich bin ein Berliner" comment? We had to try them!)
• Roasted glazed almonds (these are TO DIE FOR!)
• Aachener Printen
• Apfelpfannkucken/Apple pancake (this was one of my favorites--so yummy!)
• Assorted Lindt chocolate
• Local trout
• Deer goulash (Jacob joked he was eating Rudolph)
• Authentic gummy bears
• Heart-shaped gingerbread (Lebkuchen)
• Hot chocolate (exceptionally delicious!)
• Beef Soup
• Wienerschnitzel
• A massive yeast dumpling with Swiss-recipe cheese fondue
• Christmas balls (pastry)
• Soft pretzels
• Cheese bread
• Pudding pretzels
• Streusel pastries (pudding and cherry)

Did we mention we LOVED the food? :)

Happy Christmas!