Luxembourg Christmas Market - November 30, 2019

Europeans love to celebrate Christmas, it has a different feel than the United States. In the United States, we are rushing all over the place buying stuff, going from one place to another, everything is busy, you are in traffic, you are looking for a place to park...you are stressed and tired. Damn it! It is not the way it is supposed to be. 

The experience I mentioned above is what I had to go through the last 8-10 years in Hawaii. It literally makes my mood sour. I was under so much stress trying to make this party and that party. Of course when I'm at the party I'm fine, but it is the events leading up to the party that make me cringe every year. It's too much work! I mean it! It really is. 

I've dreamt of a better way, there must be a better way to be with family and enjoy it. [rant is over] 

I voiced my opinion on the situation above because this is our first year we are not in Hawaii in my 39 years of life. We celebrated Thanksgiving at Dr. Adriana's house. 

Shell made ham. We went there, ate dinner, got a little drunk, and played games. It turned out good. We got home at 6p and went to sleep. In years past, the next day (Black Friday) I start to struggle because we have to buy so much stuff for Christmas. But this year, we went to the Christmas Market 2 hours away in Luxembourg. 

The drive was average, no traffic, however finding a parking spot was difficult. We went to the same parking garage last time we were in Luxembourg, but it was full, so we drove a mile away to another one. That took like an hour, so boo to that. We got good exercise walking down to the Christmas Market. I'll call it the Gëlle Fra Christmas Market, due to the Gëlle Fra statue ironically located at the center of the market. This area is a popular tourist spot during the busy summer season as we found out in July. It was really busy today. I didn't mind it, but Shell and Mary had anxiety which affected their mood.

First, we had to eat food because we were hungry. We bought some french fries, a tomato & mozzarella sandwich, but the coolest thing we ordered was the raclette for €8,50. What is raclette? It is melted mild smokey cheese with potatoes, pickled onion, and sweet/vinegar pickles. To say it was good was an understatement. I mean the cheese paired so well with the potatoes, but it also went well with the onions and pickles. I was impressed.

We walked around looking for the collector's mugs. You had to purchase a drink to obtain these mugs. The mugs had gluhwein, which is a Christmas sugary wine heated up almost to boiling or possibly boiling point. I don't care too much for it, but since it's the season and everyone was drinking it, I just had to.

Luxembourg has a ferris wheel that runs year round (except for inclement weather of winter). Mary wanted to go, but it was 35 F° and it was cold, even colder at the top of the ferris wheel. We braved it out and I got some good video clips from the ride. 

Daylight was minimal today as the time neared 3p. The sun goes down at 4:30p. In Germany it is hard to drive when it's dark because of the lack of street lights, and there was fog on the way to Luxembourg. We walked towards the city center to another Christmas Market. 

This one I'll call City Square Christmas Market. This one was more open and somewhat better, but it didn't have the charm of the Gëlle Fra Christmas Market. We bought an €11 ornament, which I thought was pricey, but it was drawn by an artisan. I have this vision of a Christmas tree with European ornaments. 

Walking back was cold! I couldn't feel my face anymore, it was so numb. Mary couldn't handle it and was walking back quickly. We got worried because we couldn't see her, but we have to remember she is almost 16 years old. 

Our first Christmas Market experience! I thought it went well, we did what we wanted to do and enjoyed ourselves. We did spend €140 on food, entertainment, and products.