Christmas Markets

We've had the opportunity to visit several Christmas Markets, or KindelChristmarkt, the last couple of weeks. We started out with the smaller local markets and then went to Strassbourgh, France.

Our first stop was the market right by our train station in Zurich. We visited it on Thanksgiving, which was our special family time on Thanksgiving. It was night, so we didn't stay very long, but it was fun to look at the lights, booths, carolers, and drink the mulled spiced wine that is present at every market to help you stay warm. Here's a few photos from the Belleview market:

Excited to go to our first Christmas Market! :)

Blueberry spiced wine. YUM :)

This past Sunday, we went to the Christmas Market in Egg, our Swiss town. Somehow the town felt a big magical with all the lights, people, and shopping. It was so fun to see our town transformed and to wander around and gawk at the booths. We bought a couple of things, and I think Carsten also really enjoyed looking at all the people. Carsten even got to meet Samiclaus, the Swiss Santa :).

Cheese and sausage booth

Samiclaus gave Carsten a bag of peanuts :).

We had the opportunity to take a day trip with our friends, Kai and Vanessa, to Strasbourg, France, which is rumored to be the oldest Christmas Market in Europe. We rented a car to fit all of us and then proceeded to drive through Switzerland, Germany, and into France. Carsten and Eleanor both fell asleep for part of the ~2 hr car trip, which was super nice because that meant we adults could talk :). I had the privilege of being in 3 different countries in 1 day, so that was fun. We parked our car in Strasbourg, and then made our way to the main Christmas Market where we fed the kiddos lunch and then proceeded to grab lunch for ourselves from the booths. Lunch for us consisted of a pizza baguette, ham and cheese crepe, chocolate covered apple (this was not as good as it sounded), and spiced wine. Carsten really enjoyed the crepe as well :). At the end of our time at the main market, we let Carsten ride on a carnival ride, which he was super excited about (cars that went in a circle). He LOVED the ride and I think I see rollercoasters in his future :).

First trip facing forward. :)

Oldest Christmas Market in Europe!

Eleanor and Carsten. And Vanessa didn't quite make it out of the photo :).

Andy and Kai

The crew :)

The chocolate covered apple was not as delicious as it sounded.

We headed over to the gorgeous cathedral in town, where another Christmas Market was also located (there were quite a few that we ran into in the city). Carsten was really interested in the cathedral, especially in the windows when we went inside. I had him in a carrier, so we went through looking at all the windows. He kept making the baby sign for 'more', which meant that he wanted to look at more windows. This is the first time he's been super interested in something like that, which makes it that much more fun for us :). The church is famous for it's elaborate astronomical clock, and we also got the opportunity to climb up 60 meters to get an amazing view of the city. I carried Carsten in our Ergo carrier on my back, and yes, I did get a pretty good work out and he absolutely loved it. Here's our photos from the cathedral:

LOVE.

Trying to get Carsten to look at the church :).

He saw it and was very excited :).

Stained glass windows that Carsten loved.

Astronomical Clock

Beautiful organ

At the top

View of the city

Andy and Kai

Andy stealing Kai's camera :)

Much closer to the tower than we were!

We made our way to the part of town called Petit France, which is very cutesy and the architecture is definitely influenced by Germany. We bought 2 ornaments and Christmas pyramid to remember our time there :). We found ourselves getting cold, so we got hot chocolate inside and fed the kiddos. After that, we felt pretty refreshed and went out into the lit up streets since it had gotten quite dark while we were inside. We went back to the area by the church where there was a carousel, which both Carsten and Eleanor got to ride. Carsten was SUPER excited and it was fun to see him on his first carousel ride. After that we found a nearby restaurant serving local specialties, and I think everyone enjoyed their food. I had something that was very similar to my mom's scalloped potatoes and ham dish :).

Family photo opp

Kai, Vanessa, and Eleanor :)

Cute houses

Petit France area

Petit France Area

All lit up!

Carsten's first carousel ride :). 

By this time it was getting late and the kids were getting tired, so we headed back to the car to go home. Carsten fell asleep right away, which was a relief, and Eleanor wasn't too far behind him. We then got to talk for most of the way home, except at the very end when the kids were having a little bit of trouble sleeping. All in all, it was a wonderful day, and I think Eleanor and Carsten did amazing with our day trip. I'd have to say that it was super nice to travel by car because then Carsten could sleep comfortably in his car seat. I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to go with Kai, Vanessa, and Eleanor - what a wonderful day! :)