December 19, 20 & 21 2009. Regensburg and Nuremberg -Germany

Wonderful Regensburg..... If I had to pick, Regensburg was probably my favorite of all the Christmas Markets.


We arrived in Regenburg and started our walking tour to see the city's highlights, including the Old Town Hall and the Porta Pretoria – gates to a Roman fort built in 179 AD. The churches, patrician mansions, towers, Roman walls, and other historic structures that you see are the real thing: Because Regensburg escaped damage from Allied bombs in World War II, its architectural heritage consists of original buildings instead of postwar replicas.



We then had free time to visit the Old Kornmarkt Christmas market or, visit the “royal” Christmas markets at the Thurn and Taxis Palace, a very traditional handicraft Christmas market, where you can watch the craftsmen make their goods. We chose the Thurn and Taxis. This Christmas Market was incredible, it was the only market that charged a fee to enter, but it was well worth the small fee of admittance. It was like stepping back in medieval times. It was a clear but cold day and as you entered the area by the Palace, the streets was lined with torches and every couple of feet there were small wood fire pits to stop and warm yourself up, so you could continue comfortably through the markets, what a great idea!


Regenburg bills itself as "Germany's best-preserved medieval city and the Palace grounds were so beautiful. The crafts and festive stalls adorned with fir branches, had the most unique crafts and gifts. I found some really unusual items here which made shopping in Regenburg such fun...


December 20 & 21, 2009 Nuremberg
The early morning we entered the Main-Danube Canal and leisurely cruise through the beautiful Altmuhl Valley. The Main-Danube Canal includes the Franconian Alps via 16 locks. As we got close to Nuremberg  we were awoken by a loud crunching noise, as we looked from our balcony we could see in the moonlight, our ship was breaking through a sheet of ice! Incredible to see and we knew we were in for some really cold weather. 

After lunch, we arrived in  Nuremberg where we enjoyed a tour of this historic city with its fabulous Gothic churches and elegant patrician houses. We saw the 900-year-old ramparts that surround the city, the Imperial Castle and the Justice Palace where the War Crimes Tribunal sat in 1946. After the tour we had some free time to visit the world’s largest Christmas Market, where over 180 red and white canvas-topped booths offer an assortment of unique children’s toys, tinsel angels, dolls, dollhouses, gingerbread and a seemingly endless list of other goodies. We were very excited about seeing Nuremberg's Christkindlmarkt and although it is the largest, the crafts were not as unique as in Regenburg or Budapest. By now it started getting dark and very cold and the snow started coming down very hard, but it was so beautiful. We took a horse and carriage ride through the Market, which could of been nice, but really wasn't. You honestly could not see much from the windows since it was an enclosed carriage, an open air carriage would have worked much better, but they were not an option in Nuremberg. So the idea of it was nice and romantic, but not worth the cost. We walked some more around the market and through the snow, which now seemed like a blizzard, but it turned out to be fun.
 
The following morning before heading to Prague, we were able to return to the Nuremberg  Christkindlmarkt. Be sure to pick up one of their favourite souvenirs "Nuremberg Plum People", little figures made from prunes. Really cute and dressed in an assortment of costumes. And be sure to sample Nuremberg roast sausages and mugs of mulled wine. After some more shopping we stopped for lunch at a wonderful Italian (yes, Italian) restaurant called Provenza. The food was fabulous....