Another December week has flown by, and as usual, I packed it with several Christmas outings.
On Wednesday, I had my work Christmas lunch at the Stuttgart Winterhütte, an Alpine-themed pop-up restaurant in the middle of the Stuttgart Christmas market. The inside is decorated like an alpine lodge and has a Christmas menu. After lunch in the Winterhütte, we walked around the Christmas market, where I got one of the new Stuttgart Christmas mugs.
Both kids were busy with activities on Wednesday evening, so Matt and I traveled south to visit the Reutlingen Christmas market. Last year, I saw people eating dinner in converted ski gondolas on Facebook, and I really wanted to try it out myself. Sadly, we were unable to find any ski gondolas to eat or drink in, but we did get to check out the cute Christmas market and half-timber town center. It was a good midweek date night.
There was no school on Friday, but the kids were heading to Belgium for a wrestling match on Saturday, so they both left first thing in the morning. When Matt and I got off work, we decided to go to the Heidelberg Christmas market.
The drive took almost two hours in rush-hour traffic, but upon arrival, we were treated to the most delicious steak sandwich for dinner. Then we walked around the multiple platzes where the Heidelberg Christmas market is spread out.
The highlight of the evening was definitely the two older men singing German songs accompanied by their ukuleles. We stayed a while and were treated to a fantastic rendition of Country Roads, with the entire surrounding crowd joining in. It was a great end of the night.
On Saturday, Matt had to work on the ACT at the high school. Since I had missed last week’s wrestling tournament, I was determined to go to Belgium to see this week’s. I got up at 3:30 am and left at four for the six-hour trip to Mons, Belgium. I arrived just in time to see the start of the tournament, and Ryan was one of the first wrestlers out since he was in the 106 weight class. Not only did he get his first pin and first win, he got it within the first 20 seconds of the match. I was so proud, I almost cried, and Matt said he cried when I sent him the message!
Ryan wrestled two more times that day and won one of them with another pin. Brooklyn was busy managing the team, and it was so fun to see her in action, taking scores and addressing the various medical issues that came up.
The match was over at around six, and I was so tired from my extra early morning. I just wanted to return to my hotel room, which is an hour away in Brussels. However, when I checked Facebook, I saw some Christmas mugs were still available at the Brussels Christmas market. So, after driving to Brussels and getting checked into the hotel, I made the two-mile, yes TWO MILE, walk to the Christmas market only to discover that only plastic cups remained. I did get to see the light show at the Grand Place, which made it worth it. I was so tired at that point I took a taxi back to the hotel and went straight to bed.
I woke up early Sunday morning, feeling refreshed after my semi-early bedtime and a full night’s sleep. I got ready and hopped back in the car to head home, making a few stops along the way.
The first stop was in Aachen, Germany, just across the border from Belgium. It is a beautiful city with a cathedral, which is surrounded by the Christmas market.
An Aachen restaurant called the Hexenhof sponsors part of the Christmas market. The restaurant has stands set up throughout the market and sells highly sought-after boot-shaped Christmas mugs. Since I was driving, I got two kinder punches (the alcohol-free version of Gluhwein) and took home two mugs.
I did a walk around the town center and then it was time to head back to the car.
My next stop was Trier, about two hours south of Aachen. We visited Trier, which was the Roman capital of Germany, our first summer in Germany in 2021.
I was surprised to find that we missed about half the city on our first visit, lol. I walked around the huge Christmas market, which is beautifully decorated and had another kinderpunch and obtained the Trier Christmas mug. I grabbed some lunch and headed back to the car.
My final stop was Saarbrücken, Germany, another two hours south and just across the border from France. I took a short walk around the market, took pictures, and had two more kinderpunches. I also picked up their boot-shaped and nutcracker mugs. I was exhausted at this point, so it was time to head home.
Aachen was definitely my favorite market of the day! The city is unique and has a very Dutch look and feel. I loved the mugs they had at the market, and I would love to come back and see more of the city and tour the cathedral.
I got home by about 7 PM and had enough time to do some laundry and help everybody prepare for the week ahead. There’s only one week until Christmas break, and we can’t wait!
Gilcrests Abroad 