Munich Christmas Markets!

Aside from the main Christmas Market at Marienplatz, there are dozens of smaller ones around town...and it's loads of fun strolling around discovering them! They are usually tucked away inside a courtyard and it's like finding little gifts hidden all around the city! Here is Tristan at the start of the day ready to help find all the treasures! He has just had his "kiddie capuccino" (all the cafes serve him steamed milk with a dash of chocolate on top, and he believes that is a real capuccino...so cute!). This is also the hat he decided on a few weeks back...we never did take a photo of the one he chose.


Here is Tristan at one of the markets with a giant sized working wooden pyramid.... it spins around and underneath it they serve mulled wine.

Here is another photo of just the German wooden pyramid...at night it is all lit up.

Mommy is teaching Tristan all of the reindeer's names....

Ooohhh, Tristan just saw one of Santa's elves!

One of the markets was just behind the Glockenspiel inside the courtyard.

There were lots of yummy yums to choose from...

And after much deliberation....

Tristan decided on the "pink chocolate strawberry covered" banana!!

This "mischievous" Santa plays a crank organ/drum/horn/water shooting monkey!

This particular market had a medieval theme with knights and dragons, and Tristan got to say hi to Puff..the magic dragon.

This market had a children's theme, with scenes set up inside that sang and talked. Here Tristan was telling Santa that he had been really good and that he wanted a marble run for Christmas......

We will see little Tristan!

Salzburg Austria!

We went to Salzburg Austria over the weekend specifically to get a glimpse of their Christmas Market which began this past week. The weather was a wonderful 60 degrees! The already amazingly beautiful town was made spectacular with "old world charm" Christmas decorations.

Here we are at the Salzach river with the old town and the Hohensalzburg fortress behind us.

Tristan is posing in the museum garden...

And again on the bridge heading over to the city.

Tristan and daddy at the start of the market.

The market held such lovely handmade items like these angels...

And of course the "smokers"....

When evening fell, after dinner we took a picturesque horse drawn carriage ride with the city all lit up with Christmas lights, Tristan chose this carriage.

Here he is all snuggly with his blanket to keep out the evening chill!

Here is me and my little boy enjoying our ride!

And here is Tristan thanking our horses and saying good bye! But we will be back very soon!

For more information about Christmas Markets go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Market

Wasserburg Germany

We took a day trip to Wasserburg today...not the most exciting town, but quiant enough. Like all good trips in Europe, they start out somber at some elaborate church such as this one, The Max Emanuel Kapelle.



The streets were narrow, and no good photos could really be taken from any angle because everything was so close...so we opted for some goofy stuff instead....
Nothing says "FUN" like a good old fashioned hat trying on session.


First we have Tristan sporting the blue cone head hat.

Then he jumps right in with the cookie monster hat.

Here is the giant deer hat...a personal favorite of mine, but unfortunately way too big even for his Charlie Brown head!

Then we take you back to the cookie monster hat....Tristan was awfully fond of this hat and was really feeling this one!

Then last but not least, the dead squirrel hat!

The Munich Zoo!

We moved into our new "home away from home" in Thalkirchen, and the zoo is just a 10 minute walk away...how wonderful is that?

And it was the best darn zoo we have ever experienced, with TONS of animals to see, that you DO in fact actually SEE. These animals are lively and happy, and there's no wondering where these guys are hiding!

And these are really GREAT animals like lions, tigers, and bears, giraffes, kangaroos, rhinos, elephants, and every kind of monkey imaginable... not like most zoos where you pay a chunk of money to see mostly deer, ducks, horses and goats.

Here are just a few of the animals we saw!

Tristan and I spent the whole day here today and we still didn't see the entire place.

If you want to check out the zoo...go to:

http://www.tierpark-hellabrunn.de/?L=1