December 23, Nürnberg, Deutschland, Christkindlesmarkt

We have arrived in Nürnberg after a 2 1/2 hour ride on the train.  We all like riding the train.  It can go over 200 km/hr, yet it is such a smooth, comfortable ride.

Nürnberg is where they laid the first train track in Germany.  This building is the train station.  The most impressive we've seen so far.

Soon after arriving we saw this rainbow.  I think it is always so encouraging to see a rainbow.  God is with us and He keeps his promises.

This is part of the old city wall.

The main reason we wanted to go to Nürnberg was to visit their Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market). http://www.christkindlesmarkt.de/en/.  They are everywhere in Germany.  This is a very large one with a long history.  This was a spectacular carousel the kids got to ride.

They have a special section for kids at this market.   

What a treat!  We got to ride a short way through the city in this carriage pulled by two draft horses.The boys even got to ride by the driver.

Yeah!  We got to see another castle.  This is actually the largest intact castle we have seen.  I think that after the war some of it was reconstructed.  We bought a postcard and the city looked like a war zone in 1945.  It's quite sobering to visit history that wasn't so long ago.

A view of the city from close to the castle.  Nürnberg is where the Nazi trials were held after the war and where the Nazi rallies began.

The day after tomorrow is Christmas!  Luke reminded us several times today.

The booths are so fun and there were lots of them.  This one sold all kinds of flavors of hard candies.  

Walking by a department store window we saw this LEGO display.