hildesheim

Slowly beginning our journey home, we first boarded a train to Milano and then a plane at Malpensa airport bound for Hannover, Germany.  We wanted to stop over and visit with our friends, the Riekmanns, one last time before heading back to the states. So, Maren picked us up (in her new Mini) at the airport in Hannover and drove us to their apartment in Hildesheim. Lilli came running down the stairs to greet Holden with a huge hug.

We spent the afternoon talking and warming up with coffee and tea and freshly baked treats while the kids played. Then we decided to brave the cold and visit the Christmas market. I was quite excited to be in Germany near Christmas because I have always been fascinated by the German Christmas markets and was eager to visit one for myself. It was very nice but also very cold but we enjoyed getting to see the city and the Christmas market and Holden and Lilli really enjoyed it, especially riding the rocketship.

Even though Holden really wanted to try some bratwurst and I wanted to try some gluhwein, we waited because Maren and Thorsten had promised us a tradtional German meal, including gluhwein, when we returned to their apartment.  Gluwein is a very popular Christmas drink of spiced wine and tea and fruit that is sold at all of the Christmas markets in Germany. And it is very good and warm. That night we returned to the Riekmann's apartment for our traditional German meal of wiener schnitzel, potato salad, cucumber salad, and gluhwein to warm us up.

Then we awoke the next day and Holden and Lilli made Christmas cookies, painted, and rode around the apartment on Lilli's tricycle, alternating drivers, for the morning while we waited for the sleet and rain to pass. Then we braved the weather again and went back out to the Christmas market for a bratwurst and gluhwein lunch and some shopping and playing in the city.

Later in the afternoon we returned to their apartment for an early birthday party for Holden, followed by a bubble bath with Lilli and then another delicious dinner of salmon and potato dumplings and green beans and of course more gluhwein (actually I think they called the nonalcoholic version kinderpunch). Right before bed, it began snowing pretty hard and we watched it awhile and then we put the kids to bed and stayed up drinking kinderpunch and talking and wishing we could see each other more often.

Then Maren drove us back to the airport the next morning, after a very nice breakfast, and we boarded a plane to London Heathrow, our last stop before home.