Christmas Markets - Michelstadt

This was a trip that my mother (who is 62) has been wanting to do for several years; we spent Christmas in Innsbruck in 1992 and even though it culiminated in her breaking her leg and being hospitalized in Austria for a week, she has such fond memories of the rest of the trip and the wonderful Christmasy feel of the towns and villages. So I was happy to be able to plan this trip for her. I was a little nervous about it becoming tedious, I mean, how many Christmas markets can you see before it gets tedious? I am happy to report, however, that every day brought a new experience, and I never got bored.

Day 1, I drove to Frankfurt from Belgium and picked them up at the Frankfurt airport around 3:00 p.m. Drove approximately 1 hour to Michelstadt, which had been recommended on another travel board. It was right next to Erbach, which someone on the Zine had recommended. We stayed at the Drei Hasen, a Hotel/Restaurant right in the center of the old town, across the street from the church. Location was perfect, price was excellent (90 euros for a double, 54 euro for a single). Due to the Christmas market we were unable to park in the hotel parking area; rather we had to park in the large parking lot on the outskirts of the altstadt. Not a bad walk except that we ended up with a spot waaaaaay in the back of the parking lot which doubled our walking time :) Only a problem if you bring a stupid amount of luggage as my parents did. "Drei Hasen" means "3 rabbits" and it was a lot of fun looking at all the different knicknacks, signs, etc with this motif on it scattered about the hotel and restaurant. Our rooms were spacious, bathroom was small with shower but adequate. We did not get a chance to try the restaurant, but the breakfast buffet was extensive and well done.

We dropped off our bags and wandered around the market, which was spread throughout the old town. Michelstadt definitely was a top winner in the FOOD category, as far as variety per square foot. They had every imaginable yummy German "market food" treat....pork sandwiches with grilled onions, bratwurst, spatzle, some other kind of pasta with sauerkraut, roasted chestnuts, crepes, other sausages, candied nuts, gingerbread, potato pancakes, you name it. The stalls selling things were pretty lame but there were some very nice shops, and many of them were open late into the evening as well. It got cold, rainy and windy as the evening wore on, which made it less enjoyable but as it was our first day we were determined enough to have fun that we enjoyed it quite a bit. We made a dinner out of sausage and spatzle, each sampled a baked good for dessert (gingerbread, macaroon, and a "Rothenburger schneeball" which was unanimously disliked). There was one nice stall selling hats and I got a really cute one; I never did see another one like it on the trip. I felt like Eliza Doolittle, and it was easy to pick me out of a crowd. Another thing to add to our "improperly prepared for inclement weather" souvenirs, including raincoats, jackets, hats and umbrellas from Amsterdam, Paris, and London.

The town itself was a joy to wander around in. Very small and compact, but full of little alleys, courtyards, etc and typical half-timbered houses. We found an interesting statue of santa with 6 reindeer, some with recognizable names and others not so much. There was Blitzen, alongside Willi, Kasimir, and Otto?! A web search resulted in finding this story http://www.kidsweb.de/weihnacht/weihnacht_2004/geschichte/kasimir_das_rentier.html but i'm still not sure what that means, as I do not speak German :)

Things shut down at all the markets a bit earlier than I'd like, since I really like the feel of them at night. Luckily because of the short days it gets dark at like 4:00! :)

Anyway we wound back up at the hotel around 8:00, where we relaxed, planned our itinerary for the next day, and got a good nights sleep under those lovely feather beds. We decided that instead of trying to stop at Wurzburg en route that we would just drive on to our next destination which was Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where we would stay for 4 nights.

2 thumbs up for Drei Hasen, 2 thumbs up for Michelstadt, 2 thumbs down for rainy cold weather.