Sunday sees us fly to the US for the usual Christmas bash in Providence. I wonder if it’s as cold there as it has been here. I haven’t bothered to look.<\/p>\n\n
Last weekend, we squeezed in a weekend trip to the Weihnachtsmarkt<\/em> in Cologne. I’m not generally big on Christmas — being an atheist rather defeats the purpose — but even I enjoy the atmosphere of the Weihnachtsmarkt<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n Somehow, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas without a chance to eat a gluttonous cocktail of Krakauers<\/em>, crêpes and waffles, washed down by Glühwein<\/em>, and then have it forcibly squeezed back out of you by the seething, swelling hordes that ooze like molasses through the narrow aisles of market stands. And I even got to push our pram up against the shins of these people, just for extra kicks.<\/p>\n\n And so it was that we drove across the border to our easterly neighbour, where I was once again able to publicly rape the German language without fear of retribution.<\/p>\n\n The weather stayed mercifully dry and it wasn’t too cold. Eloïse had a lovely time, especially on the merry-go-rounds at several of the markets.<\/p>\n\n I bought a pair of shoes and a couple of wooden candle holders for the dining table. Sarah bought quite a few things, making for a very successful shopping trip.<\/p>\n\n I’ve made it sound quite bad, but I had a good time. And I do mean it when I say that Christmas really wouldn’t feel the same without a trip to the Weihnachtsmarkt<\/em>. Nowhere has quite the same atmosphere at Christmas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sunday sees us fly to the US for the usual Christmas bash in Providence. I wonder if it’s as cold there as it has been here. I haven’t bothered to look. Last weekend, we squeezed in a weekend trip to … Continue reading