Snowy Footbridge
Seen from the Blachniks' bedroom
To all who visit and view, and – especially – express support and satisfaction: you are much appreciated!
Ohlebach: Fußgängerbrücke, Blick vom Schlaafzimmer
______________________________________________
Album Description – Babenhausen, Germany – 03DEC2017:
For my first layover in December I wanted to take the train from Mainz to Babenhausen to visit the Blachnik family & see the Christmas Market, December 2-3 in 2017: Cheryl made it possible, swapping her trip on the 2nd for mine on the 3rd! The plane left Charlotte with 6 open seats, and Joe got on board!
This was the first "great, big, historic Christmas Market" for Babenhausen, and I was really excited: what I wanted most to experience was the castle courtyard, normally not open to the public but for this historic weekend, would house 1 of the 2 live nativity scenes in Babenhausen, featuring a new-born donkey foal as a heartwarming companion to the Holy Family.
And I was eager to hear the Catholic Church Choir singing their concert for the first Sunday in Advent in the Old Town Square at 4 p.m., and also the Babenhausen brass ensemble at 6 p.m.
These 3 highlights along with the Advent Bazaar were what I had selected as my top 4 picks: Joe & I gave up our nap upon arrival in Mainz, heading instead straight to the train station:
Gertrud now wanted us to take her to the Christmas Market, in snowfall not feasible for 94-year-old Heinz in a wheelchair (he still wanted to go). Gertrud: "Not me. I've been 100 times," yet later in the week: "Hundreds of lights! It'll be so beautiful!" It'll be cold & wet outside! Gertrud: "Just dress appropriately."
Due to a delay at the FRA airport, we were later than expected coming into Mainz and due to trains running not so frequently that day, missed the 8:49 train we had hoped to catch and the next train at 10:01, but caught the 10:49 train arriving 11:58, and the Christmas Market would open at noon, as it's Sunday.
Joe: "Hi, Gertrud, how are you?" Here we were, to take her to the Christmas Market: "I'm excited!" She served Heinz a huge nice dinner – for him alone – then she, Joe, & I set out into icy-needle snowflakes, Gertrud in Sunday attire: dressy shoes, gloves, & coat, "no goofy cap!" Gertrud, yours looks like mine!
So she did put it on, after all. But she didn't head to the castle, adjacent to their residence. She turned her walker away from it, toward the main street. She told us she was treating us to lunch and went into a restaurant. She had made reservations!
We entered festive, jam-packed surroundings & dined 2 hours, resuming our trek after a delicious meal, to Old Town Square flanked by half-timbered houses and St. Nikolaus Church.
Next to the church is the fellowship hall with its Advent bazaar. Gertrud told Joe & me to take the stairs – too many for her to negotiate – up to shop the bazaar, & enjoyed cake downstairs visiting with friends from her 89 years living in Babenhausen.
Then Gertrud wanted to go straight home. Even so, clad for a fine lunch in the restaurant, on the way she lost feeling in her fingers from the frozen precipitation: "I'll say 10 'Our Father's' if I make it back..." [I don't know if she said all ten, but for the first time in my life, I did!] At 3:30 we were telling Heinz about our Christmas Market visit, & Joe asked about sitting down, in seconds sound asleep in Heinz's easy chair. I scrapped plans to see the castle courtyard + the choral & brass concerts. Joe got a Mainz weather update: ice on snow, thus we said good-bye before 4:30, crunching through snow to catch the 4:59 train.
It was sundown and snow fell the whole day, from Frankfurt to Mainz to Babenhausen and back: cold, but oh so picturesque!
It felt late (pitch dark), but in Mainz the Christmas Market was going full swing. We had planned on the 7:59 train to arrive in Mainz about quarter past 9 (21:12), and then I realized we had come 3 hours earlier; we hopped off the bus at the Cathedral.
Joe said, "I'm hungry," & bought a Bratwurst. At the hotel I asked his favorite part of the day. "I liked the Wurst the best."
Our best of 213 photos on this beautiful day are a 2-album set:
• Babenhausen, Germany – 03DEC2017
• Mainz, Germany – 03DEC2017
Hope you enjoy the 25% of 145 Babenhausen photos we took!
Snowy Footbridge
Seen from the Blachniks' bedroom
To all who visit and view, and – especially – express support and satisfaction: you are much appreciated!
Ohlebach: Fußgängerbrücke, Blick vom Schlaafzimmer
______________________________________________
Album Description – Babenhausen, Germany – 03DEC2017:
For my first layover in December I wanted to take the train from Mainz to Babenhausen to visit the Blachnik family & see the Christmas Market, December 2-3 in 2017: Cheryl made it possible, swapping her trip on the 2nd for mine on the 3rd! The plane left Charlotte with 6 open seats, and Joe got on board!
This was the first "great, big, historic Christmas Market" for Babenhausen, and I was really excited: what I wanted most to experience was the castle courtyard, normally not open to the public but for this historic weekend, would house 1 of the 2 live nativity scenes in Babenhausen, featuring a new-born donkey foal as a heartwarming companion to the Holy Family.
And I was eager to hear the Catholic Church Choir singing their concert for the first Sunday in Advent in the Old Town Square at 4 p.m., and also the Babenhausen brass ensemble at 6 p.m.
These 3 highlights along with the Advent Bazaar were what I had selected as my top 4 picks: Joe & I gave up our nap upon arrival in Mainz, heading instead straight to the train station:
Gertrud now wanted us to take her to the Christmas Market, in snowfall not feasible for 94-year-old Heinz in a wheelchair (he still wanted to go). Gertrud: "Not me. I've been 100 times," yet later in the week: "Hundreds of lights! It'll be so beautiful!" It'll be cold & wet outside! Gertrud: "Just dress appropriately."
Due to a delay at the FRA airport, we were later than expected coming into Mainz and due to trains running not so frequently that day, missed the 8:49 train we had hoped to catch and the next train at 10:01, but caught the 10:49 train arriving 11:58, and the Christmas Market would open at noon, as it's Sunday.
Joe: "Hi, Gertrud, how are you?" Here we were, to take her to the Christmas Market: "I'm excited!" She served Heinz a huge nice dinner – for him alone – then she, Joe, & I set out into icy-needle snowflakes, Gertrud in Sunday attire: dressy shoes, gloves, & coat, "no goofy cap!" Gertrud, yours looks like mine!
So she did put it on, after all. But she didn't head to the castle, adjacent to their residence. She turned her walker away from it, toward the main street. She told us she was treating us to lunch and went into a restaurant. She had made reservations!
We entered festive, jam-packed surroundings & dined 2 hours, resuming our trek after a delicious meal, to Old Town Square flanked by half-timbered houses and St. Nikolaus Church.
Next to the church is the fellowship hall with its Advent bazaar. Gertrud told Joe & me to take the stairs – too many for her to negotiate – up to shop the bazaar, & enjoyed cake downstairs visiting with friends from her 89 years living in Babenhausen.
Then Gertrud wanted to go straight home. Even so, clad for a fine lunch in the restaurant, on the way she lost feeling in her fingers from the frozen precipitation: "I'll say 10 'Our Father's' if I make it back..." [I don't know if she said all ten, but for the first time in my life, I did!] At 3:30 we were telling Heinz about our Christmas Market visit, & Joe asked about sitting down, in seconds sound asleep in Heinz's easy chair. I scrapped plans to see the castle courtyard + the choral & brass concerts. Joe got a Mainz weather update: ice on snow, thus we said good-bye before 4:30, crunching through snow to catch the 4:59 train.
It was sundown and snow fell the whole day, from Frankfurt to Mainz to Babenhausen and back: cold, but oh so picturesque!
It felt late (pitch dark), but in Mainz the Christmas Market was going full swing. We had planned on the 7:59 train to arrive in Mainz about quarter past 9 (21:12), and then I realized we had come 3 hours earlier; we hopped off the bus at the Cathedral.
Joe said, "I'm hungry," & bought a Bratwurst. At the hotel I asked his favorite part of the day. "I liked the Wurst the best."
Our best of 213 photos on this beautiful day are a 2-album set:
• Babenhausen, Germany – 03DEC2017
• Mainz, Germany – 03DEC2017
Hope you enjoy the 25% of 145 Babenhausen photos we took!