German Christmas Markets 2012

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Eager for departure! On the ferry and feeling a little green First stop of the trip - Krefeld first market of the trip We had to look at Hilden market as we were staying there! By the next morning snow was falling for the ride down to Bonn The snow certainly adds atmosphere! It's unusual for us to get to Bonn in daylight! By the time we reached Koln it was snowing persistently There are so many markets in Koln The Angel at Neumarkt The extensive themed market in the Altstadt was even more atmospheric than usual and of course you can't miss the ever popular Dom market At least the sun was out on Saturday when we got to Xanten it was cold so the big bowl of pea and ham soup went down well! We decided to visit the APX again the museum building is pretty big eh? the space age interior was nice and cosy as well as informative Duisburg market is a huge affair and very commercialised a skating rink is a fixture at most big markets Duisburg is always busy Oberhausen is by comparison much more cosy. we joined the crowd to listen to the entertainment at Oberhausen First stop Sunday was Bochum I was tempted by the ceramic houses It was quite damp along in Essen the wet failed to dampen the spirits of Essen folk The wet theme continued in Rattingen Rattingen is very cosy and popular The ride back to the hotel was at least nice and dry. a little snow was still clinging to Bergische Gladbach We used the bus to get to Leverkusen The Leverkusen market was just getting going the lunchtime crowds of Leverkusen Last visit on Monday was Moenchen Gladbach must be the only hill for miles! We started our last day in Neuss Neuss market is pretty small before checking out some of the sights in Dusseldorf Dusseldorf Altstadt is always popularOf course we couldn't leave without some currywurst! Our last market, Shadowplatz