I’m not even sure how this happened, but believe it or not, this is our 5th holiday season living in Europe!
Since we have a pretty major trip coming up in less than 2 weeks (!!) we decided to stay relatively close to home for the Christmas market this year. Düsseldorf is only about 3 hours driving from Groningen, so we rented a car and got outta dodge for the night!
We’ve actually been to the Düsseldorf market before. We swung through for the day during our 2015 market trip, but since we were only there for a few hours it felt unfinished.
We couldn’t properly sample all the glühwein ya know?
Well, it’s a good thing we went back because the quality of the glühwein here was actually quite variable! Didn’t stop us from drinking it. Just simply making note…
Anyway, the market was festive (as usual) but we did kind of screw up a little.
Mistake #1 was eating a late lunch at a really delicious German brewery that apparently has been in existence since 1834. This in itself was not the mistake – the beer was flowing and the food was DELICIOUS. The mistake was the time in which we ate; we were so completely satisfied that we forgot to eat any curryworst! #firstworldproblems
Mistake #2 also involves a marzipan potato, or the lack thereof. See, my husband here could eat his weight in marzipan. Last year, when we were in Berlin, we found a stand that sold marzipan potatoes which were essentially a fist-sized ball of marzipan rolled in cinnamon. Someone was very much looking forward to another marzipan potato, and we FORGOT TO LOOK!
We did find a gluten-free cannoli stand though, which halfway made up for it.
Mistake #3 – no mug! One of the best parts of the markets are the mugs! Each market in the city has it’s own unique shape and design. You pay a deposit for the mugs upfront, and then you can either return them and get your money back, or keep them for a nice souvenir! This year we kept doubting if this mug was THE mug, and came home with nothing. There was one particularly cute one in the shape of a snowman. Shoulda, woulda, coulda…
A giant hashbrown you dip in apple sauce. Sounds odd, but I highly recommend it. 
Ok, ok, ok – I really have nothing to complain about. We feel whole-heartedly lucky that we are able to do this every year, had a great time, and even ended up with a wooden winter “Meatball egg”!
And on that note, I will say goodbye until 2019! As I mentioned before, we are leaving in about two weeks for our “Shane-wrote-a-thesis-and-almost-has-a-Phd-graduation-trip” to Cambodia and Vietnam! We will be traveling for about a month, and meeting up with my sis & her boyfriend (who are there for 6 months!), and some other friends along the way. So, come January we will have lots to share!
Until then, thanks for another festive season, Germany, and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to all!
Tot ziens,
The Shwits 