December 27-Göslar Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market)

Several different people told us that Göslar has a great Christmas Market.  It is just a little over an hour away by train so we went. (Stadt is German for city)

This sign is for the church below.  It says that the church was built or rebuilt in 1200.

A pretty arch outside of the church.  I think it might also be a part of the old city wall.

This is in a department store in Göslar.  It's kind of funny to take a picture of the bathroom doors but I wanted to show the bathroom attendant.  Something very common here is to pay 50 cents to use the bathroom.  This usually means the bathrooms are very clean, who doesn't appreciate that?

A train to ride around the Christmas Market.

This is a forest they set up just for the Christmas Market.

Some pictures from around town.

We stood for a long time watching the animals around the nativity.

Schneeballen are my favorite dessert so far.  They are fried balls of dough with chocolate or coconut or marzipan or nuts or caramel or nutella....on the outside and the inside.  

These stars are a very common Christmas decoration in Germany.  Lots of people have them hanging in a window of their house.

We have eaten lots of bratwurst here.  They are very yummy and usually around 2 Euros which is pretty inexpensive.  It's kind of Germany's fast food.  I will miss them

Definitely not a shortage of treats to choose from.  There are decorated gingerbread cookies and lots of nuts just to mention a few common things.

This booth had lots of chocolate covered fruit.

They are cooking brats.

Luke enjoying hot chocolate.

We were glad to find a place so we could step inside for a bit.  It was a very windy and pretty cold day.

Good-bye Göslar, one of our favorite Christmas Markets.

December 25-Christmas Day

The kids were pretty surprised Christmas morning to find all of the gifts under the tree.

Seth made this candle as a gift to Joshua and me.

A couple of my favorite things-hot chocolate and nutella.

Seth and Luke set up this office with their Christmas gifts.  It was pretty serious work.

Baked chicken and vegetables for lunch.

Then we had a birthday cake for Jesus' birthday.

Luke wore his new tennis shoes all day.

December 24-Christmas Eve

Brooke and Seth were invited to be a part of a short play at the Christmas Eve service at church.  They were both shepherds and had one line to say in German. 

There were missing pieces of a paper star hidden in the sanctuary.  The congregation participated by finding them and putting the pieces together.

Then the Wagner family took us to their house for dinner.  Helmet and Corinna both know English very well.  Their oldest son Robin is 22 and played with the boys.  Their son Lukas is 20 and is Toronto doing a year of mission work.  Their daughters are Leonie age 14 and Delia age 12.

They have a rowing machine in their living room and we all tried it out.

December 21-A Little Ice Skating

A little falling....actually a lot.  The kids soon realized that it wasn't as easy as it looks.

I thought I would never be able to let go of the wall and actually skate.  BUT I DID!  It was really fun.  I'm ready to do it again!

The skating rink was located below a castle ruin.  It is to the left of Joshua up on a hill.

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.