Leaving Carl and Juli with Ulli, Uta, Paul, Greta and the Ingrams headed off to the nearby village of Bensheim to see the Christmas markets. Rugged up, we walked to the centre of town where the first thing we saw was a huge Ferris Wheel. The 6 of us, minus Uta (who stayed on the ground taking photos), boarded the Ferris Wheel where we had a marvellous view of Bensheim and surrounding areas. It was breezy up high but the view was well worth it. It was too dark to take photos but the view the snow-covered rooftops was like something out of a fairy-tale.
With our feet back on the ground we headed into the Christmas Market. All of the Christmas stories and carols we hear and sing at home come into real meaning when you attend a northern-hemisphere Christmas Market – the air is crisp, there are chestnuts roasting and the air is fragrant with Christmas spices and wares. On such a cold night our first stop was perhaps not surprisingly a stall selling Glühwein.
We continued on looking at all the Christmas wares. We decided to have dinner at the market and huge bratwurst with sauerkraut were purchased. The guy serving us knew Melbourne well. It is a very small world we live in. While eating dinner we watched a kindergarten class sing christmas carols to the crowd. We picked up some sugar roasted almonds on the way back to the car. A fantastic way to get into the Christmas spirit.
The next day dawned bright and we were surprised to see the snow completely gone. The white fields in front of Uta and Ulli’s house were back to green. Both Anthony and I were amazed at the power of the earth to absorb this much water. At home the ground would be sludge.
Our plan today was to leave Ulli at home to manage pick ups and drop offs for Paul, Greta and Carl, while the Ingrams, Uta and Juli spent the day wondering around Heidleberg. Uta met me in the hall and casually said – Megan we can go to Heidleberg or the Rhine today. If we go to the Rhine we can meet your parents, as their boat is stopping at Rudesheim. I immediately replied that we should go to the Rhine. We were excited, but Uta was super excited. We drove the 90 minute journey towards Rudesheim, stopping for lunch at a Schloss Johannisberg. We all had a delicious lunch and the grown ups drank Rhine Riesling overlooking the Rhine. Anthony, Uta and I had the pumpkin and orange soup, while Hamish had the biggest Weiner Schnitzel on a kids menu anywhere. Juli had more sausages than she could handle (we all had one) and Amelia had delicious salmon. Fed and watered we headed into Rudesheim. This is near where Uta’s much loved grandmother lived. Uta shared with us many favoured memories of times spent in the area. We drove into Rudesheim minutes before the expected arrival of mum and dad’s boat. We knew the name but didn’t know where the boat would dock. We parked as we saw a boat unload with passengers – not being sure whether it was their boat, I rang mum, trying to be casual to see if they were still on the boat. While we chatted their boat came along the river and we all power walked alongside the boat as it travelled from dock 13 to 1. Our fitness routine for the day complete! So apparently I wasn’t as causal as I thought on the phone and the surprise was given away. Greeting and hugs flowed as mum and dad were reunited with Uta and Juli and us. Mum and Dad gave us a tour of their boat. Anthony and I are in complete agreement that this is something we want to do in the future. It looked like a relaxing way to travel.
Mum immediately cancelled their activities (we had planned to follow them) and we headed into town through a Christmas Market looking for a cafe for coffee. Over afternoon tea of apple strudel, alcoholic coffee (Anthony and Dad) and hot chocolates (the rest of us), travel stories and updates flowed. All too soon it was time for us to head back to the car and journey back to Juggenheim.
We arrived home, with grateful thanks to Ulli for holding down the fort, when we saw a man in red streak pass the window. He had a bag and bunch of twigs bound together. He rounded the house, tapping on windows. The kids were a mixture of surprised and ‘freaked out’. Our kids didn’t really know what was going on. In Germany on the 6th of December St Nicholas visits the homes of German children leaving surprises in their shoes. We were lucky enough to have a visit from Saint Nick. He greeted the children and spoke to each of them, reporting on things that they do well as well as areas to focus on for the coming year. He told Christmas stories and then gave everyone a small present. Even Anthony and I were lucky to receive a gift.
We were joined that night for dinner by Uli’s friend Michael. We ate another delicious meal of Germany fare. We ate Leberkäse and potato salad. Delicious. Anthony drank another 1/2 litre of German beer, followed by a special whiskey. He is really partaking in all of the local fare. For a normally non-drinker he is doing very well.
Meanwhile the children had all cleaned their boots and placed them outside in hope that St Nicholas would pay them another visit over night.
We woke to another clear day – our leaving day. The kids were excited to see that St Nicholas had been. I was surprised to see my boot outside as well with amazing surprises inside.
We can’t thank Uta and Ulli enough for their hospitality during our stay. We had such a fabulous time and have magnificent memories of our time together.
