Heidelberg Christmas Market

Now to backtrack to the week before Christmas...

Grandma arrived before the rest of the clan, so we got to spend a lot of time soaking up the Christmas spirit in and around Heidelberg. It was the coldest week we had had so far, but it was also when we received the first legitimate snowfall of the winter. And my philosophy is that as long as there is snow, the cold is not so bad. The Heidelberg Christmas Market was in its last days, and the crowds were out in full force.

strolling the Hauptstrasse


After church that Sunday the snow started falling, and before long everything was covered.

our little family in front of the outdoor ice skating rink in Karlsplatz


Grandma and Granddaughter covered in snow


wiggling fingers and toes in an effort to keep warm


The snow was the perfect addition to the Heidelberg Christmas market.

crowds huddled around the Christmas market stalls in Kornmarkt

castle and Madonna loom overhead

Gluewein stand--there's no better way to warm up

Gluewein drinker


shopping for ornaments at one of the market stalls

looking down the Hauptstrasse at the Heiliggeistkirche (Holy Ghost Church)

close-up of the pyramid atop a Gluewein stand

As night fell and we started losing feeling in our limbs, we went into the closest store to warm up. After regaining feeling, the Father, Grandma and I ventured back outside. Grandma and I walked across the street with the stroller to look at a candy stall, and we figured the Father was close behind. Well, he wasn't. He kept going down the street snapping pictures and following what he thought was us, but was in fact was two other people pushing a stroller. As you can see below, he captured lots of beautiful scenes from that evening, but his photography cost Grandma and I an hour of the evening spent frantically searching for him in the snowy, crowded streets.

A few days later all evidence of the snow and of the Christmas market disappeared just as quickly as it had come.