It’s finally December so that means I could finally give the kids their advent calendars! This year we found some really great ones: Toblerone and Nivea for Brooklyn and Nutella and Formula One for Ryan. The calendars are really amazing in Germany so I don’t hold back; each of these spoiled kids gets one of sweets and one of small gifts ☺️
After our marathon of Christmas markets last weekend, we laid low most of the week with work, school, German classes, and wrestling practice. Luckily, the freezing temperatures have eased up a bit, and we’ve had a few days in the 40s and 50s!
Christmas market season is in full swing, so that meant we (I) had to pack our entire weekend! Friday was my day off, so a friend and I made good use of it with a long drive to Regensburg, about three hours east of us in Bavaria. We left early and arrived by 11. Our first stop was the small but charming city market, where we found the cutest mugs right away. This market also had lots of handcrafted gifts, a nice change from some of the bigger markets that lean more toward factory-made items.
We did plenty of shopping—spending an exceptionally long time at a glass-blowing hut, where the vendor was creating pieces in the back and selling them out front. We grabbed lunch at the city market (Langos, of course), then walked over to the Thurn and Taxis Palace, which hosts a famously beautiful Christmas market.
We must have walked in several circles around the palace before we found the entrance. Unfortunately, we learned then that Thurn und Taxis didn’t open until 3 p.m. 😅 I guess I should have checked that before we left! Since we needed to be back in Stuttgart by six, waiting until it opened wasn’t an option. We’ll just have to make another trip to Regensburg to see that market another time!
We did have a little time left in our day, so we decided to stop in Augsburg on the way home since it was on the way. Traffic piled up during the drive, though, and by the time we reached the city, we only had enough time to park, walk through the market quickly, grab a Glühwein, and head back to the car. The mug was so cute, though—definitely worth the stop.
I found Augsburg incredibly beautiful, though, and it seemed like there was a lot to do there. When we got home, I told Matt that we needed to plan a trip back to explore it in more detail.
We arrived back in town with just enough time for my friend to drop me off at the Sindelfingen Winter Hut for dinner with another group of friends. We enjoyed a great Swabian meal and then walked through the Sindelfingen Christmas market. This local market is held only one weekend each year, and we’ve never been able to attend before because we’ve always been out of town.
The weather was perfect that evening—no rain and no freezing temperatures—so the town was absolutely packed. Even streets that weren’t part of the market were full of people hanging out and spending time together.
One of the stands was selling Sindelfingen merchandise which none of us had ever seen before with the city name, skyline, and year of its founding: 1263! It’s hard to reconcile how old places are around here. I’m upset that our town doesn’t have their own merchandise with the year 1253 on it (as ours is about 10 years older!) 😉 We purchased one of the mugs and then headed back to our friends’ place for a glass of wine before going home.
Saturday was the first wrestling meet of the year, and luckily, it wasn’t too far from home at Ramstein Air Base. The kids had to meet the bus at 4:30am, so Matt dropped them off, and then we went back to bed until it was time to hit the road for our two-hour drive before the 10 a.m. start.
Traffic made us a few minutes late, but we still arrived in time for Ryan’s first match in the 120 weight class. It was definitely a quick one—he got a pin in about a minute! We are so proud of him, especially since this is his first time wrestling in this weight class.
After the first bout, we had a break of about 200 more before his next one. So, Matt and I rushed over to the PX on Ramstein Air Base—the largest in Europe—to knock out some Christmas shopping. We quickly checked off a lot of our list and still had plenty of time left, so we decided to drive to the Kaiserslautern Christmas market for lunch.
Traffic and the parking gods were on our side—we got to Kaiserslautern quickly and even found a free spot right outside the market. Although we should have had plenty of time, we knew the meet could start jumping around match numbers, so we decided to move fast.
We each grabbed a snack and a Glühwein, which came in a cute Christmas-pyramid–shaped mug. We did a little more Christmas shopping and then headed straight back for the match.
Ryan wrestled three more times that day. He lost two of the matches but got one final pin and took fourth place out of eight in his bracket. A 2–2 start to the season is amazing!
Ryan was done wrestling by 4:30, and since it was still early, Matt and I drove to the Trier Christmas market, which was about 45 minutes away. I had visited this market last year, but the mug for this year was so cute that I could not resist a second trip. Matt was such a good sport and agreed to take me back.
Although our stop there was quick, I was so happy to see the market lit up at night, which I missed last time. We also timed it perfectly to catch the 6 PM pealing of the bells at the cathedral. It was beautiful and definitely worth the stop!
Sunday morning, I was up early again because there are no rest days during the Christmas market season! This time, I was going up to the Moselle River Valley with a group of friends.
First, we visited the Christmas market in Bernkastel-Kues. Bernkastel is the cutest half-timbered town, right on the Moselle River, and I’ve loved it at each time I’ve visited. I was so happy to finally get to see the Christmas market after a friend suggested the day trip. The market itself was small, but the city was beautifully decorated. We grabbed a few glühweins and did some shopping before heading to the next destination.
Traben-Trarbach was our next stop, and its Christmas Market is unique for being held in the old wine caves under the city.
As a crowd-control measure, they charge a five-euro entry fee, but honestly, the market is so popular that it’s still very packed.
The caves were beautifully decorated, though, and several wine bars were selling not only glühwein but also local wines on tap. We even found a small wine bar where they served me an Aperol Spritz in a Christmas mug: perfection!
Five huge cave sections could be entered, and we managed to explore four before hunger caught up with us. We found a cute soup bar, and all had soup before heading back to the car for the long drive home.
I finally made it home around 8pm, totally wiped out! Total count for the weekend was seven markets, one wrestling tournament, eight new mugs, and twenty hours in the car- not bad for the first weekend of Advent! The kids and Matt had their own relaxing day around the house, catching up on rest after a busy Saturday. We ended the weekend in our usual place with Thai food and TV on the couch!
Gilcrests Abroad 