Oh my aching feet!!

Today Regina and I devoted our entire day to exploring Bremen and its Christmas Markets. We started in the Viertel (The Quarter). This part of Bremen has a main shopping street with up market shops along with some seedier areas that haven't yet been revitalized. We stopped to see if one of her friends was home, but she wasn't ready for visitors, so we just explored the area looking in shops and buying a few cards and trinkets.

Eventually we reached the Schnoor area of Bremen which I had seen on my prior visit so we just passed through until we reached the central part of the Old Town where the hear of the market was. Again there were so many things to see, smell, try and examine. We took our time and I looked at many ornaments or decorations thinking I might buy them, but they were either pricey, too big or the stall too crowded so I didn't buy too much. I did find a Smoker that was reasonable and looked good. The one thing that I have already bought that catches my eye everywhere are the German "Sterne" or stars. This stall shows what the look like and I just LOVE them. I bought a red one and a white one.

Despite the lure of the chestnuts, Wurst, Steaks, roasted sugared almonds, chocolates and Flammkuchen, we decided to rest our feet and have a lesiurely lunch at the Spaghetti Haus. However, just a short while after lunch, Regina was anxious for me to try another new food - Flammkuchen - which I readily agreed to. It turned out to be a bit like a pizza. The crust is super-thin, almost crepe-like, and spread with creme frais, diced bacon and cheese. It is served already cut into small squares on a cutting board and boy is it delicious!


It gets dark earlier in Germany than in Virginia, but it was raining off and on today also which made it darker even earlier. As it got darker, the markets seemed to come more alive. The crowds grew, sparkling lights appeared and the entire atmosphere was jolly and festive.By wandering around we managed to find a Gluhwein stall without a crowd and I finally had my first authentic Gluhwein. Very delicious and warming.
Our last adventure was a stroll along the riverfront that is called the Schlachte. Here there were two markets, one medieval. My photos didn't come out well, but this is where we found the biggest crowds. Lots of work groups were out for a "happy hour", but again, the atmosphere was incredible.

At last we reached the end, walked on our poor, aching feet back to the Hauptbahnhof and caught the next train back to Vegesack. It was a fantastic day despite the weather and I had a blister to prove it!