Dusseldorf's Christmas Markets

Early in December, I travelled again with my friends from the AWC by bus to Dusseldorf to enjoy the festive Christmas markets. It was just an overnight trip, but a delight and well worth it. Beautifully decorated and full of unique products and food items, the markets were quite special, and we ate and shopped our way through the many stalls and shops - mulled wine, egg nog with rum, crepes with Nutella, bratwurst, sausage, dumplings with custard and berries, apple tart with custard sauce...and more! Saturday evening included a Secret Santa exchange at a lovely dinner in the center of Dusseldorf. Although there were only fourteen of us, we did feel a bit badly for the other patrons in the restaurant as I'm sure we were boisterous enough to seem like a crew of at least thirty ;)

My friend Pamela and I also explored the antique shops and several of the shops on the Koninsalle, Dusseldorf's answer to Rodeo Drive in LA....

This is Pam - my dear friend who hails from New Orleans - and she and I get along swimmingly.

We also walked around the local open market, which was just so colorful! I'm sure the locals were wondering what I was doing taking lots of photos of their fruit and veg...but see how lovely it was??? And it smelled terrific, too.

Aachen, Germany - November 2009

Left: My adorable friend, Elizabeth

Right: Charming Aachen

Left: One of the many, many bakeries

Right: Charlegmagne's Throne

In November, I attended a regional conference of FAWCO clubs. I know this sounds like just a weekend of fun with the girls, but it is more hard work in a conference room than anything else. FAWCO Club Members work to help each other with the challenges we all face, as well as working on philanthropic efforts.

My friend Elizabeth and I decided to drive (which, in hindsight, wasn't the easiest way to get there) - but it was a great road trip for Elizabeth and I and I'd do the same again.

Aachen is a charming town, chock full of bakeries and chocolate shops (ok, so my focus was on my tummy!) - and getting ready for its Christmas markets the week after our visit. Like most of the European places I've visited, Aachen was heavily damaged in WWII. And between my travels and all of the documentaries and films I've been watching about WWII I realize more than ever how incredibly devastating "the war" was to nearly every major city in Europe. My trip to Lithuania was the beginning of my education and strong interest in the history. I can't imagine how devastating it was for those who lived it.

There were two organized tour on this trip, but on the first day, for the outdoor tour, it was raining. The second tour was indoors (so it was, of course, not raining). And in several places no flash photography was allowed, and some with cameras prohibited entirely so there aren't, unfortunately, many good photos. And because I've been so busy I won't have the time to select and edit them as carefully as usual.

We *did* see the famous cathedral in Aachen, which houses the throne of Charlemagne (and can be seen only with a private tour guide as the area in which it sits is protected). We also visited the town hall and wandered around the city center. Pieces of his body (his thigh, a hand) are supposedly located in a couple of the places we visited as well (strange that they seem to be distributed, but that's the story they tell, anyway!)

A fun photo - recognize this couple?

Well, I know I'm waaaaay behind on my blogging. It has been a very busy couple of months. A trip to Aachen, Germany (a regional FAWCO conference) as well as a trip to the Christmas markets in Dusseldorf and our recent visit to Wales and England are among the things I'll blog about.

But in the mean time, enjoy this photo of Alex and I which we had taken when we visited the authentic Welsh village of Saint Fagan's. Alex is donning a South Wales Borderers uniform (they fought in the American Revolutionary War against the US!!!)

More to come...