Another Wheels Up Adventure...Nurmberg Christmas Market

Our wheels up adventures are becoming EPIC everyone loves commenting on the way too many photos I take. This day trip adventure was interesting that is for sure and the story is still getting laughs from family and friends. We decided to go check out the Nurmberg Christmas Market now we knew we needed new tires but the weather was good so we set out to experience a real German Christmas Market. Lets see our trips seem to grow in group size this time it was my bestie Kelly B & John, Nick & Autumn R and their baby, Ashlie & Peo P, our daughter Kate and of course my boys Gillymore & Hall.
After following John and Kelly B to Nurmberg we got stuck at a red light ugh after some round and round driving and some cell phone conferring Kelly B and I managed to find each other again. Now this is what happens when the lead car has the GPS and you lose them. Once we managed to get back together we made it to the Christmas Market we had an awesome parking spot close to the market square. I personally didn't think the weather was bad but Pachenko was cold and our friends Nick and Autumn R brought their son along so it was a little chilly for him. We wandered the lanes of Christmas booths it was awesome I loved it from chocolate covered fruit booths, to Christmas ornaments to hat and mitten booth and coolest of all this awesome minatures booth.

We then decided on an inside sit down restaurant to warm up the baby but that turned into a 3 hour drawn out waste of time and euro..the food took an hour for some of us 2 hours for others then we all dropped way too much euro next time we decided we are eating at a booth getting a giant weiner or brat.
The original plan was to wander the Christmas market for a couple hours then head over to Graf well after wasting all the time at the restaurant John & Kelly B headed home and the rest of us decided to go on to Graf I was in search of a strapless bra for the upcoming ball. Now as I mentioned John & Kelly B left which means we are now without a GPS ugh well after an hour or more of driving off and on the autobahn, missing exits, over shooting and back peddling we finally made it to Graf with about 2 hours until closing. So we all split up in search of good deals I snagged my bra and then it was time to hit taco bell since that is what lured Pachenko there in the first place. We noticed it started to snow it was about 6PM so we decided to call it a night and get back on the road...and boy this is where the fun begins
The snow was coming down it was decided we were going to try to get to the autobahn since that road you would assume would be the clearest well after driving through the woods like we were little red riding hood headed to grand mothers house we finally made it to the Autobahn which OH LORD is not cleared needless to say we were going 20mph on the Autobahn ugh not cool I know.
At some point we are closer to home and get off the autobahn cars are slipping and sliding as well as ours too now snow is great, driving through yellow lanterend, cobble stoned, snow covered idyllic villages is beautiful however when the roads are iffy and you need new tires it makes for a stressful ride. At one point we had no traction to get up a big hill so the van slid sideways so Pachenko turned the van into the right turn lane luckily no one else was around at that point. The boys Charlie H and Thomas G decided to hop out and ride up on the Nick and Autumns car which needed some traction too..after getting the cars realigned the boys rode up on the hood of our van while Peo P and Nick R pushed the car up the hill...it was a sight to be seen that is for sure...Once we hit some traction the boys stayed on the hood until we made it to the top then they ran down the hill to do the same for Nick and Autumn R car...
All I can say is the Germans driving by probably were laughing their butts off at the "crazy American antics" I think all in all the 2 hour trip took 4 hours all the way home Pachenko was saying no more road trips until spring but low and behold after letting him have this past weekend off we are already for our next wheels up adventure Rothenberg Christmas Market and I can't wait.

There is more to Germany then Beer..Get off the stool & go for a stroll

One of the things I hate hearing from people stationed in Germany is there is nothing to do but go to pubs and drink well that is not entirely true. Germany is full of history, culture and good food so be adventurous get off the stool and go for a stroll.  One of the first places we ventured to was Rothenburg ob der Tauber here is a little history lesson for you  the name "Rothenburg ob der Tauber" means, in German "Red fortress above the Tauber". This is so because the town is located on a plateau overlooking the Tauber river. As to the name "Rothenburg", some say it comes from the German words Rot (Red) and Burg (burg, medieval fortified town), referring to the red color of the roofs of the houses which overlook the river. The name may also refer to the process of retting ("rotten" in German) flax for linen production. Now my husband Pachenko was excited because it's old and surrounded by a wall (that you can walk on) from the wall you can look out over the town.

As you can see in this Photo the roofs are red and it is an impressive sight 

This photo shows  the walk way as you can see it is narrow in spots ...so watch your step

Once you are done walking the wall you can stroll through the cobble stone streets enjoying the little shops along the way I highly suggest a visit to the Teddy Bear shop which is exactly what it sounds like little teddy bears, medium teddy bears and huge teddy bears, teddy bear clothes, teddy bear ornaments there is something there for all your teddy bear needs...
http://www.teddyland.de/gesch_e.php
Another favorite place we stumbled across was  Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop yes I said it a store all about Christmas it was like walking into the North Pole ornaments, advents, villages, stockings, table runners and incense holders yes I was in heaven I highly suggest that you stop in and stroll through the shop it's like 3 stories so make sure you go upstairs the shop also house coo coo clocks like I said this shop is wonderful...maybe not the best place for little children lol
http://www.wohlfahrt.com/
   I know it's a little scary to go into a shop or cafe you might be scared of not being able to understand the sales people or server from my experience the touristy areas have lots of English speaking employees and we have never had a hard time purchasing items or ordering food. When in doubt when ordering food go with Schnitzel, spatzle or mashed potatoes and a cola you can't go wrong Jaeger Schnitzel is delicious too it's schnitzel covered in a amazing mushroom gravy :D it's so good we have learned to make this at home..

As most of you know I am adventurous so it makes life a little less scary for me I just charge in and blaze my own trail I love new experience, going to new places and meeting new people. I think it's important to make good friends and to be open to new things ....I think it will make families experiences in Germany more pleasant