Recap: Colmar Weinachtsmarkt (Nov. 29, 2008)

Well, word around the office was that Colmar has a pretty good Christmas market, so we figured we should check it out. It's a three leg journey to get there (25 min. tram, 25 min. train, 50 min. bus) so we started out relatively early and semi-bundled up for a cool day outside. We hadn't bought snow pants for Reese yet, but, seeing as we are habituating ourselves in Germany, we did as they do and bought a pair of boys' tights. Wait for the picture of what Reese thought of this practice. Anyway, here's Erika on the S-bahn (kind of like a train):Our wonderful family on a cute little street in front of a faux-neige (we are in France now, oui oui) tree. I thought it was a good time to play with my omnipresent five o'clock shadow:

Here we are waiting in line for a toasted sandwich, French style. We can't quite remember what it was called, but it was kind of a cross between a Royal burger from Red Robin and an Egg McMuffin. Actually, no, it was good old buns, meat and cheese thrown in a press. Are we in Germany? In France, they like to squirt on extraneous sauce - it's quite tasty:

Erika was coming down from her second massive sugar rush from a Christmas market specialty for kids: a huge crepe smothered in a full cup of Nutella. Seriously, there was lots on there. At the end, we could squirt half of it out and pass it back to her and it was still leaking out. Ahh, the wonderful Christmas markets; here's Jodi and Mom and the kids posing in front of a couple of the booths that were set up. Apart from the various food merchants selling brezels, crepes, huge, viva puff-like marshmallow chocolate mounds, taffy, Christmas cakes, and a type of sweet wine (gluhwein), there were many proprieters selling Christmas ornaments and some wood toys. Mom G. bought a handmade wood chess board that folds up for Bradley. Jodi remembers lots of food and Christmas ornaments as the two themes of the Colmar market, and much more decorated booths than their Freiburg counterparts:

We froze. But we thoroughly enjoyed the decorations in Colmar. Mom and Jodi had success in finding cornmeal to make Christmas stuffing with, so that alone made the trip worthwhile (I can't stand stuffing). Colmar had lots of little trees on their window ledges too, which Mom loved. By the end of the trip though, Reesey had had enough of his forced lederhosen, and was trying at all costs to rip them off:

Needless to say, they were a one-use item. And so ends the Colmar Weinachtsmarkt of 2008. We will probably make the trip again in 2009. Anybody want to come?

Jeff and Jodi