Deck the Halls

Christmas is a time for family, even in Germany.

However, living in Frankfurt means that we are apart from most of our family back in Australia.
Last Christmas our daughter Jasmine, was with us but this year she is back in Australia.

As it happens my brother Jeff & his wife Karen are spending a year

living in Spain. So we had organised earlier in the year for them to spend Christmas with us. Karen preferred to visit us because she had never experienced the famous German “Weinachtsmarkts” (Christmas markets) – & they are a sight to behold with all of the stalls & Christmas lights (to say nothing of the food & beer stalls!)

As they would be arriving close to Christmas we had to cram in

several markets before they came to an end (most Weinachtsmarkts end around 22 December). Luckily, there were a few that stayed open for a day or two longer so we were able to fit in a few before they packed up!

Christmas eve is our big celebration of Christmas, we have a meat fondue & gift giving after the meal, along with copious amounts of

alcohol! Christmas day we spent recovering from the night before &, having successfully accomplished that, we went out to enjoy Christmas dinner at a Frankfurt restaurant.

Boxing day we had some friends over for a pork roast lunch with all of the trimmings & more alcohol! The 27th we all did very little – other than question ourselves on why we had eaten & drunk so much!

Then it was time to get Jeff & Karen to the airport. They were flying off to Manchester to spend New Year with our cousins whilst Iris & I would be heading off to Malta the next day to bring in the New Year & to get some much needed sunlight!

But that will be the subject of another post. So, in the end, we did get to spend Christmas with family & (new) friends. More memories, more experiences!