The Happenings of Us: Frankfurt Germany

Last Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving) I had a friend fly to Germany to visit. She was flying into Frankfurt and I had to go and pick her up. This was a huge deal for me. For those of you who are family and friends reading this, you know I have driven all over the US. I am the driver, always, and myself and the boys have driven long distances by ourselves at times. The summer of 2006, I drove from Texas with D and Ch to visit C who was at an army school/course in Washington, DC. So, a one hour drive to an airport is nothing right? Well, in the US I wouldn't have anything about it, but driving in Germany by myself was still slightly intimidating. I'm proud to say that I no longer have any problems with driving in Germany. :D

Anyway, I picked up my friend, G, and we drove to downtown Frankfurt. Finding a parking garage was a bit difficult, but we persevered and found one just around the corner from where we needed to be. The main goal was to go to the Frankfurt Christmas market or Weihnachtsmarkt "is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during advent, mainly the four weeks preceding Christmas Day. These markets originated in Germany and Austria but are now being held in many other countries." (Wikipedia) Also, according to our post newspaper, "The history of Christmas markets dates back to the 14th century. After farmers had sold their crop, they paid their workers. After attending worship services during Advent, those workers spent their money right away at little markets set up around the church. most common items offered were sweets and toys. There were also craftsmen selling baskets, pottery, spices, clothes and Christmas tree ornaments. And not much has changed. :) The Frankfurt market had plenty of stalls selling Christmas decorations, clothing (gloves, hats, scarves), toys, food and drink. We tried the bratwurst. Well, I had a different type of wurst (sausage), but I'm not sure what it was. And the most popular drink is gluhwein. It is a warm red wine flavored with cloves and cinnamon. Since I was driving I opted for the kids orange cider. It tasted like warm tang. But I was really after the mug it came in. Each village/town/city that has a Christmas market has its own mug. Here I am proudly sporting my Frankfurt Weihnachtsmarkt 2008 mug, as well as a closeup. I won't mention that I have a new sick obsession of collecting Christmas market mugs. :)