Weihnachten in Germany

This post is way overdue, but we're hoping people are still in the holiday spirit enough to enjoy it.  =)  Right after our trip to the States for Thanksgiving, we ventured over to Germany again for the Christmas markets (or Weihnachtmarkts).  If you've never been to a Christmas market in Europe, especially in Germany, you must go at some point in your life!  The atmosphere in these markets is amazing - there are wonderful little stalls in the middle of the towns that feature arts and crafts, delicious German food, and of course the Gluhwein and hot apple cider.  They were so perfect and surreal that once again, we felt like we were back at Epcot in Orlando.  =)

We visited numerous Christmas markets along the Romantic Road and Castle Road through Bavaria, Germany.  Probably the biggest one was in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a great medieval town that is so picturesque you can't believe it.  At two of the towns, we got our official Weinachtsmarkt cups.  It took us a while to figure this out, but basically you can either bring your own mug or purchase one for your Gluhwein (it's cheaper obviously if you bring your own mug).  What's neat though is that each town had designed its very own mug so you got a very nice souvenir for less than 2 Euros. 

After the Christmas markets, we made our way to southern Germany to see Neuschwanstein, the castle that the Cinderella castle at Disney World is based off of.  I  have wanted to visit this castle since I was a little girl, so I was worried that it wouldn't live up to my expectations, but it definitely did!  It was really neat because the first time I saw it, it was pitch black outside and the castle was all lit up.  You couldn't even see the mountains around it, so it just looked like a big beautiful castle out of nowhere.  We did the official tour the following day and then made our way back home to England.

Our trip was so amazing that we are definitely planning on doing something similar next year.  Let us know if you want to join!  Here are some pictures from our trip to entice you...  ;)