Tuesday 18th December, armed with at least one item of everything Kathmandu has for sale and then the extras we were carrying for various other members of our Christmas party, we departed under sunny skies for the airport.
Happily, when we arrived, it seemed that there were a couple of spare seats in Business and we were happy to help Qantas out by vacating our economy seats for someone else.
Our three and a half hour layover in Singapore should have been great shopping time but was somewhat spoilt by an email from Europcar cancelling our car we were due to collect in Munich in 48 hours! No reason given, “hope that you will book a car from Europcar in the future..” Not bloody likely mate. Some (expensive) phone time later, we were none the wiser and decided to tackle it when we arrived in Munich.
Continuing on from Singapore we were most impressed with Qantas Premium Economy seats and service and managed quite a bit of sleep before arriving into Frankfurt at 0520.
We boarded our ICE train at 0802 and were soon speeding through the winter countryside – patches of snow evident in many places but not ground covering yet. For us that have visited many times in the European summer, the bare branches and barren fields were a stark but beautiful contrast to the normal scenes we have come to expect.
Nuremberg was our first destination, only a couple of hours by train and we were soon checking in to the quirky and delightful Hotel Drei Reiben (Three Ravens) a short walk from the train station where they had guaranteed us the first available room. We took advantage of this, had a quick shower and headed out to check this lovely old town renowned of course for the post war Nuremberg Trials but also for its Christkindlesmarkt (Christmas markets) reputedly one of the best in Germany and the reason for our overnighter here.
There were hundreds of stalls selling everything from exquisite handmade Christmas tree ornaments and decorations (regrettably mostly made from wood and other plant materials that Australian customs would confiscate), candles, scarves and beanies etc etc etc.
There were many outlets selling the traditional hot Gluhweins ( mulled wine with spices and fruit, both red and white) as well as the ubiqitous bratwurst sausages in bread rolls which were delicious. We were somewhat surprised to hear many Australian accents around us – who would have that people other than us would have thought to have a White Christmas!?
We spent a few hours soaking up the atmosphere (and to be honest, feeling really Christmassy!) before walking back to the station to meet Zoe, Tannika, Sam and Holly who were coming in from Berlin for the big reunion.
It was cold… but with my fleece lined tights under jeans and the goose down jacket and snow boots, I was quite comfortable – until the bloody hot flushes anyway 🙁
The biggest challenge is transitioning in and out of very well heated shops were you are dressed like the Michelin man! Not sure how the locals manage that.
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