Saturday was our 16th day in Germany, and what a full day it was… I’ll break this post into two parts; this is (Part 1 of 2).

First, we drove into Nürnberg with William & Jasmin to get some more items that William needed from the IKEA® store.   It’s always fun to drive on the autobahn, that is, until you reach the first traffic jam (stau).  🙁

Here was the reason for our traffic jam this morning (below).  This truck was involved in a wreck with two cars, which extended our trip by at least an hour.

We made pretty good time otherwise… here’s evidence (below) that Williams’ car can do 150… although keep in mind that’s in kilometers per hour 🙂

We finally made it to Nürnberg.  Click HERE for more city information.

If you’ve ever been in or near Nuernberg, this tower aka ‘fernmeldeturm’ (below) might be a familiar site to you; The Fernmeldeturm Nürnberg, the tallest structure in Bavaria, is a telecommunication tower in Nuremberg, southern Germany. Also called the Nürnberger Ei (“Egg of Nuremberg”) because of its egg-shaped tower basket in a height of 185 metres, it is 292 metres high and was built between 1977 and 1980 according to blueprints by architect Erwin Heinle.  It has a rotating restaurant and observation deck that we visited many years ago.  Wikipedia® link HERE.

We finally made it to IKEA®, where we spent the next 4 hours.  Uggh!

IKEA® was basically the same as any of the stores we’ve visited in the US, except the shopping carts were weird.  By weird, I mean that all the wheels rotated (swiveled) which makes for a unique driving experience.  In America, the rear wheels are fixed.  Maybe it’s just me, but I think when all the wheels swivel, it makes it more difficult to maneuver around.  Definitely took some getting used to… thought it was worth mentioning 🙂

I also thought this was noteworthy (below).  At the entrance to IKEA®, was this vending machine for spare parts, i.e., hooks, clamps, screws, hinges, etc.,  I’ve only seen something like this before at a campground in Valencia, CA where I saw a vending machine that dispensed LED bulbs for RV’s.  What will they think of next?!?

After enduring our 4 hour tour through IKEA®, we headed downtown to check out the world-famous Christkindlsmarkt.

We had to wait for a parking spot to open up before we could even enter the park garage.  The automated sign keeps track of parking spots throughout the garage and would only allow entry as a spot opened up.

We squeezed into the only open spot left at the park garage (below).

We had a short walk to the Christmas Market.  The Nürnberg Castle can be seen in the distance (below).

Christkindlesmarkt is a Christmas market that is held annually in Nuremberg, Germany. It takes place during Advent in the Hauptmarkt, the central square in Nuremberg’s old town, and in adjoining squares and streets. With about two million visitors a year the Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt is one of the largest Christmas markets in Germany and one of the most famous in the world. Every year the Christmas market begins on the Friday preceding the first Sunday in Advent and ends on December 24, unless that day is a Sunday.  Wikipedia link (HERE).

Glühwein, or Mulled wine is a beverage of European origins usually made with red wine along with various mulling spices and sometimes raisins. It is served hot or warm and may be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas and Halloween. Wikipedia® link (HERE).  For Glühwein recipes; click (HERE).

Glühwein is the name for mulled wines in German-speaking countries. You can get Glühwein in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and few other German-speaking areas. Glühwein is exceptionally popular during the Christmas holidays and is commonly served in outdoor Christmas markets along with a variety of other holiday foods and hand-made crafts. These Christmas markets have tents that have been set up for so people can sit down and get warm while sipping hot German Glühwein as a break from Christmas shopping. For Germans, Glühwein is an integral part of the Christmas experience. Link (HERE). 

A virtual “sea” of candy-striped vendor booths.

We ventured out among the vendor booths and fought the crowd to check out a portion of the marktplatz.  Follow along:

We had a good time at the Kristkindlsmarkt, hope you enjoyed the pictures, but we had to get back for the scheduled prize giveaway and party at the Schützenhaus from our air-rifle shooting competition that I wrote about earlier.  But I’ll put that in my next post…