Germany - Autobahns and Christmas Markets

Germany - Autobahns and Christmas Markets 

by Bea

In Frankfurt we rented a big car and headed off towards Mannheim, relying on GPS and a soft spoken 'Hilda' who told us which way to go.  The motorways are quite frightening.  To those who are not familiar with them!  The right lane is for slow trucks, the middle is average speed vehicles and the left lane was for Porsches, Lamborghinis and anything else that can move at the speed of light!  They would come out of nowhere and even when we were driving at 140 (phew!) they flew past us.  Scary.  Q coped really well negotiating his way around trucks and getting us to villages and castles.

Mannheim was our first experience of a Christmas market and the famous gluwein - mulled hot wine.  Delicious!  We also sampled crepes and waffles.  I was still on the hunt for Christmas decorations to decorate our room in Venice with but it's hard to find cheapie things in Germany.
Declan and I particularly loved the carousel - a staple of Christmas Markets everywhere - but this one was lovely and big and old, and had an ancient automated organ player as well.



We drove on to Heidelberg and our hotel was comfy with a huge breakfast.  Bread in particular is really nice in Germany and of course they have the cold meats and cheese option for breakfast too.
We found a laundromat (and I am sure they shrunk my clothes!) and then set off for the Heidelberg castle, a gorgeous old ruin on the hill above town.





We went on a walking tour with Helmet, an older gentleman who knew all the facts and cracked the odd German style joke.  The complex also housed an Apothecary Museum and purportedly the world's largest wine barrel!

Back in town the Christmas market was nice - and very similar indeed to Mannheim.  The main difference was that the town's streets were part of the event and you could wander along and pop into cute little shops on the journey. The quaint character streets were crowded with people and the gluwein was flowing!  I found a lovely Father Christmas figurine at a huge rambling Christmas Shop.



The next day we set off to Stuttgart but detoured to visit Hohenzollern Castle, a 200 year-old Prussian building that looks like something from a fairytale.



Nowhere near as old as Heidelburg Castle which was about 800 years old, it was very intact and you could view rooms inside via a guided tour with a rather jaded fraulein.   We all wore hilarious felt slippers over our shoes so as not to damage the floors!
We got to Stuttgart that night and it was huge and confusing to get to the market, which was massive.  We stayed long enough to have a quick bite to eat and to look at some of the hundreds of stalls, which were all pretty similar to other markets we'd seen.  Then Q drove us on to Augsburg, probably our favourite place in Germany.
As we approached, it looked to be just like any other German suburban town, very non-descript and boring.  I was preparing myself to be disappointed when we rounded a corner and whammo!  It was like entering the Pied Piper of Hamlin story. Cute narrow streets, character buildings with very steep roofs and a Cathedral going back to the 9th Century! The Augsburger Hof hotel was terrific.  Comfy beds, compact but well designed and of course the marvelous German Breakfast.  We walked all over town, into the markets and churches on the way.







The boys visited a puppet museum called Puppkist. Declan saw a huge Father Christmas - made of lego!

On the 23rd of December we saw the final performance of the Angels.  A strange idea that was remarkably compelling. Windows on one of the town squares most impressive buildings came open at 7pm and figures of angels appeared (in costume and well lit)  and moved about in time to baroque music.  They were real people but managed to look like clock-work!  Intriguing.



The next day we left lovely Augsburg for Munich and the train down to Venice.  We left Germany having only experienced a small taste, but we'd love to go back and see more someday.

The Train from Munich to Venice 

by Q

In many ways although it was handy to have a car, driving fast and on the "wrong" side of the road was stressful and it was a relief to return it at the Munich railway station. Not really knowing how much time to allow we did turn up a bit early but a snack and looking around the station filled in the time OK. Didn't take long to find the train and our seats, comfortable enough although facing "backwards" and not really clear where round the world travellers are meant to stash their big bags.

It was a lovely sunny day as we wove our way through the Bavarian countryside and then, without warning into Austria and into the Alps. That it's been unseasonably warm was reinforced by the fact only the very highest mountains had snow. Still frozen lakes and well bundled up pedestrians outside showed it was still very cold.

A nice feature of the train was the restaurant car with a good range of food and at a reasonable price, table service included. Big windows in the dining car gave a lovely view as we passed lots of alpine villages, each looking like "Heidi" might be in residence but no livestock visible anywhere - presumably all safe in their barns for the winter.

The Bremmer Pass took us into Italy where pastoral land gave way into vineyards, all in their dormant winter state, reached right up to the railways line. The mountains in this area were extremely spectacular - rising right from the valley in sheer walls of rock.




It was dark by the time we arrived in Venice and we were immediately out on the canal on a "Vaporetto" or water bus crowded with Christmas shoppers. Our hotel was only a few steps from the stop and we were pleased to be able to get settled and begin the process of decorating the room. It was hard to believe it was Christmas!