Category: christmas

From Germany – Day 4

Monday, Dec 7

We had a leisurely day in Rothenburg o. d. Tauber. After yesterday’s action-packed itinerary, this is just what we all needed. The city is a Christmas shopper’s paradise. If you can’t find it here, you must not be a serious shopper!

The city is home to Käthe Wohlfahrt’s Christmas Village and museum. Käthe’s son Harold runs things now. He’s a member of the Golden Glow and certainly appreciates Germany’s contribution in the ornament world. The museum is amazing … at least to an ornament aficionado like me!

The city’s Christmas market is small but quite nice. It’s all the wonderful shops surrounding the square that make this city such a special destination for Christmas shoppers.

Where we are staying (outside of the city’s walls):

December 6 – 9, 2009
Villa Mittermeier
Vorm Würzburger Tor 7+9
91541 Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 98 61 / 94 54 – 0
Fax: +49 (0) 98 61 / 94 54 – 94
www.villamittermeier.de
info@villamittermeier.de

From Germany – Day 3

Sunday, Dec 6

After breakfast from the buffet at our cozy castle, we boarded the motor coach for Ulm’s extensive Christmas Market. Each city or town’s market seems to have a character of its very own. I think that’s what makes visiting Germany at this time of year so very special. We are seeing a variety of Christmas goodies — everything from mass produced items from China and India to the truly handcrafted. The local Christmas markets are also fund raising opportunities for local organizations. So, think church bazaars! Ladies (& even some gentlemen) from your local church labor for months making special Christmas-Time goodies and baking holiday treats. We saw lots of that here, too. Very endearing! And, it’s such a positive to be spending one’s tourist Euros to help local organizations. Think county and state fairs, too! There are LOTS of food & beverage vendors. People seem to love to eat and drink regardless of their origin. I have not been successful in inducing Melvin to try the local Gutwein (mulled hot wine) but I do love the ceramic mugs that it comes in! Now, that’s something to collect! Each city and village seems to have its own signature mug, sold to support the local Christkindlemarkt. I’ll bet if you search eBay, you can find some!

Tonight, we are staying in Rothenburg, aka shopper’s paradise! It’s the home of Kathe Wolfhart. You might know her ornaments from the internet. Before arriving at this rebuilt city (it looks just like a fairy tale!), we traveled north with stops at he exquisite Käthe Kruse Doll Museum, as well as the famous Steiff Museum (teddy bears and other stuffed toys). I promise images later. These stops might not have featured ornaments, but they were absolutely incredible!

Where we are staying (outside of the city’s walls):

December 6 – 9, 2009
Villa Mittermeier
Vorm Würzburger Tor 7+9
91541 Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 98 61 / 94 54 – 0
Fax: +49 (0) 98 61 / 94 54 – 94
www.villamittermeier.de
info@villamittermeier.de

From Germany – Day 2

Saturday, Dec 5

Today we spent an entire day exploring Stuttgart’s Christmas Market. What more could I want! I must confess that I forgot the card reader to connect my camera to the laptop. Drats! I have a new phone with internet capabilities. As soon as I figure it out, I’ll send some email photos for posting! Remember that many of our holiday traditions had their base in Germany. As we encounter them, I’ll talk about some of them. And, of course, I’ll talk about the kinds of purchases one can make at the Christmas Markets. While I don’t think that I’ll be purchasing many holiday items, I know that I’ll be buying candy and other sweet treats as gifts for those who take such good care of me throughout the year. One of those special people is our neighbor Roger. He’s the one who will be mailing out the Christmas Celebrate365 issues while I am researching holiday traditions here in Germany. That’s one very special neighbor, if you ask me!

For those who wished, there was an excursion to the car-lovers’ paradise at the entertaining and informative Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart. I guess that there are things besides glitter!

Stuttgart Market

And remember, No orders shipped between December 3 – December 13.

From Germany – Day 1

No orders shipped between December 3 – December 13.

I am in Germany “educating” myself at the Christmas markets.

Friday, Dec 4, Stuttgart, Germany

We left home at 12:45 PM Thursday afternoon for the Dayton, OH airport to catch our flight to Atlanta and then onward to Germany. We caught our flight at around 6 PM and traveled through the night.

Are we supposed to be “refreshed” and ready to go after a long night on an airplane? Who can sleep? Too much to look forward to!

We arrived in Stuttgart Airport at about 9 AM … there is a six hour time difference. Our tour manager Christine led out to our motor coach and whisked us away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a fairy tale drive to Hohenzollern Castle.

After our tour, we drove to our own castle in the Black Forest — Schloss Weitenburg, our base for two nights. Of course, I hotel was incredible. But, you know me. I was thrilled with the wireless internet! What can I say?

As early as 1062 Weitenburg Castle was built high above the River Neckar between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps. What used to be a fortified stronghold is today a three-winged inhabited castle. Its various architectural styles reflect the spirit of the Renaissance, Baroque and neo-gothic periods. It has also had various owners ranging from plundering knights to devoted monks. In 1720 Baron Rupert von Rassler bought Weitenburg Castle and his Baron Max-Richard von Rassler still owns the castle today.

Explore for yourself!
December 4 – 6, 2009
Hotel Schloss Weitenburg
D- 72181 Starzach, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 7457/933-0 Fax: +49 (0) 7457/933-100
info@schloss-weitenburg.de
www.schloss-weitenburg.de

And, don’t forget that wireless internet!

Celebrate365 … the Christmas Issue

Where has the time gone? It’s seems like just last month I was enjoy sunshine poolside. Now it’s time for snowflakes and lots of glitter!

The Christmas issue of Celebrate365 is at the printer and I know you won’t want to miss this issue. What’s inside?

  • A California Christmas with Gerald Sowell
  • Christopher Radko ornaments celebrates 25th anniversary in 2010 … what’s in store?
  • Thomas Glenn Collection featured in “O” Magazine
  • Featuring Santa and snow person ornaments and folk art

On a personal note, I’m going to begin my celebrations just a bit early. My husband and I will be joining artist Elaine Roesle on her annual tour of Germany. We’ll be leaving on Dec 3 and return December 13. We’ll have 10 days of exploring Christmas markets, museums and German holiday culture. I’ll be blogging for throughout the trip so check in here to follow our progress.