Our Two Last Christmas Markets

The last two Christmas markets we visited were Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin and Romerberg in the Altstadt in Frankfurt.  Plus, I got to celebrate my 75th birthday on our last day in Berlin.  

The Charlottenburg Palace Christmas market was in the courtyard of the palace.  The stalls didn't open until 2 pm about the time we got there so it wasn't too crowded.  We found a few more products to buy plus enjoyed mugs of Eierpunsch (basically warm eggnog mixed with some white wine and topped with whipped cream) - a nice birthday drink on a cold day, I have to say!  There was also a small brass band playing at this market which added to the Christmas ambiance.  













That evening, we celebrated my birthday in a packed restaurant not far from Hackescher Markt called Sucre et Sel - and, yes, it was a French restaurant!  It was wonderful to be able to celebrate a milestone with my sister and close friends.q






The following day we flew to Frankfurt to visit the last of the markets on our list.  We were surprised how striking downtown Frankfurt was.  I have flown in and out of the city well over 50 times but have never been to the centre.  It is a financial centre for Germany so it is not surprising there are such modern and architecturally interesting buildings.  I was sorry not to have more than one evening here.  While there were a number of Christmas markets in the city, we wanted to see the one in Romerberg, in the centre of the Altstadt.  The square is very famous and, because the market there was so big, it was difficult to see the beautiful buldings that line it.  We thought the market was one of the best we had seen - but it was also the most crowded and it wasn't very pleasant being pushed and shoved around.  We managed to see more of the stalls, some unique to this region, before we bailed and headed back to near our hotel for dinner.  How ironic it was that the last dinner of my two month adventure was in an Italian restaurant rather than a traditional German meal.  The last words I said to the owner weren't Frohliche Weihnachten but Buon Natale!!





 

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