Time for a little trip to Germany....

Hello there,

Welcome back to another sweet and scrummy post from Tea With Me and Friends.

Recently Lorna and I visited some of the German Christmas markets and although not technically afternoon tea, I thought you'd enjoy some of the photos we took while we were out there. We stayed in the Moselle/Rhine area, which if you have never visited, is ever so pretty. Here was the view from our hotel window....

The Moselle

Now it might look a bit grey and miserable in this photo, but do not be deceived, this is a seriously pretty part of the world. Both rivers are lined with villages and small towns that are quaint and pretty.....plus they really know how to celebrate!

We visited a total of three different markets while we were in Germany...Cochem on the Moselle, Koblenz at the point where the Moselle meets the Rhine and Rudersheim on the Rhine. Generally the towns are decorated for the festive season with lots of Christmas trees and Father Christmas statues everywhere.....

I have never seen so many trees in one place!

Lorna with a rather scary Father Christmas!

And the shops are filled with festive treats....obviously we paid particular attention to the numerous bakeries that we discovered....

Gingerbread houses are rather popular!

One festive window display

The markets themselves were very festive, full of pretty stalls selling all kinds of things (including more sweet treats!).....

This is a stall selling gingerbread

As the evening drew in and it got darker, more and more locals joined the tourists to indulge in the Glühwein and mulled cider on offer, keeping warm by eating Bratwurst and potato frites. It really was pretty and left us all feeling really festive.

A traditional German Christmas Market

Of course while we were there we might have indulged in some sweet treats...well the bakeries all looked so wonderful....

We can confirm that those giant pretzels were rather scrummy!

Sadly we didn't eat any of these cakes!

On one morning we took a boat cruise along the River Rhine and as we watched the castles and villages pass by we indulged in some of the best hot chocolate, served with mini cinnamon stars.....

We might have also indulged in the odd mug of Glühwein too.....

Christmas with Tea With Me and Friends

Just in case you didn't know Glühwein is a German traditional mulled wine......usually prepared from red wine, heated and spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, star aniseed, citrus and sugar. Sometimes it is drunk "mit Schuss" (aka with a shot), meaning that rum or another spirit has been added to the wine..... a very heady combination!

We had a fabulous time at the Christmas Markets and would highly recommend a visit if you like anything Christmas and have a sweet tooth!

We'd love to see some of the Christmas traditions in your part of the world....do you have a local Christmas market you'd like to share with us? Take a photo and send it to us!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel