The time for German Christmas markets! We have been anticipating this time of year and hoping that we would not be disappointed. James and I ignored our "day jobs" yesterday and spent most of the day at two different Christmas markets, one in Wiesbaden and one in Mainz.

There are Christmas decorations galore! Nutcrackers, smokers, ornaments, advent wreaths, knick knacks, jewelry, hats and scarves, table linens, etc, etc. Or as James likes to say, "Girlie stuff". We decided that we liked the Wiesbaden market better because it was more spacious to walk around. And--we are so excited about this--we found a brand-new parking garage nearby! It is "Americanized", with spacious parking and decent-sized elevators! We were practically cheering when we realized how nice it was! At both markets, we tried all kinds of German food and goodies, roasted nuts, crepes, waffles, sweets, I had a cheese sandwich on a hard roll and James had a sausage on a hard roll. I found nothing to write home about (and, yet, here I am!) but he said he'd eat the sausage again. I'd have a crepe again and a waffle is a waffle...the other things, I'll pass on in the future but we'll keep trying to find something to RAVE about...there has to be something!

Our kids were great the entire day. Admittedly, we dropped Thomas off at preschool for three hours and that was kind of nice. There are times when I wish he would still ride in a stroller, and this was one of those times! Toby's at that age where as long as I keep his stroller tray full of Cheerios and such, he could go all day!

As a side note, James and I think our kids are adorable. Of course we do, we are their parents! However, yesterday, our kids were a hit everywhere we went! The Germans loved their big, blue eyes and seemed to think it was really neat that they look so much alike. One gentleman even commented that "you make one kind of child".

We returned to the Wiesbaden Christmas market after picking up Thomas from preschool, mainly to walk around and see the lights. It really was a neat atmosphere! We'll probably continue to visit Christmas markets throughout the month and we'll definitely always remember them when we return to the States and get back to the normal hustle and bustle!

Until later,

Emily