Christkindl Markets + Lincoln

Christmas has always been one of my absolute favorite times of the year. Unlike the grinch (aka Matthew), I could listen to Christmas music all day, watch ALL of the Christmas movies (including the garbage Netflix puts out - I’m talking about you Royal Wedding series!), and bake all of the holiday treats possible. Christmas 2019 will always be one of my favorite Christmases though for two reasons: 1) Christmas in Europe is next level - there are markets everywhere!; and 2) I got to share it and meet my sweet, beautiful nephew Dylan.

Matthew and I started going to Christmas markets (Christkindl Markets) at the beginning of December. We started our Christmas season at the market in Lake Chiemsee, which is the biggest lake in Bavaria. To get there, we had to take the train from Munich Hauptbahnhof to Chiemsee, and then take this tiny trolley-like contraption (Chiemsee-Bahn) to the lake itself, and then take a 45 minute boat ride to the island in the center of the lake. It was an absurdly long excursion (about 3 hours in total), but it ended up being our favorite market and very, very worth it. The entire island was decked out in little Christmas huts, selling everything from wood carvings to Christmas ornaments to nutcrackers to gifts. We took our time walking around the entire island, drinking Glühwein (mulled wine, my new favorite beverage), eating brat sandwiches, and buying all sorts of knick-knacks and Christmas decor. It is really difficult to explain how magical it all truly was. It felt like being a kid on Christmas again in complete awe and wonder of all the lights, love, and beauty around us.

Getting ready to take the boat to the island at Lake Chiemsee

(Click image above for more pics at Lake Chiemsee)

The next day, we decided to stay more local and check out a few of the Christmas markets within Munich itself. We went to a hippy Christmas market, which had a ton of different ethnic stands with food, huge circus tents with gifts aplenty, and kitschy children’s entertainment, but it was all charming nonetheless. We then proceeded to Marienplatz which was insanely crowded - there were thousands of people all around us admiring the massive Christmas trees and Christmas sweets vendors. Again, I drank Glühwein (because…it’s amazing), but we mostly just walked around the area and people watched. On our walk back home, we passed by a medieval market that reenacted jousting and typical medieval fare, but it was definitely aimed at children and we decided to go back home. On a different day, we went to a market attached to one of our larger U-Bahn stations with my work for our Christmas party. This one was particularly special because we were sharing it with some of my dear friends from work and it was less about looking at all of the vendors and instead socializing.

(Click image above for more pics of Munich markets)

Finally, we made our way out to Nuremburg, Germany, which is the site of one of the most famous Christmas markets. Unfortunately, our day there was extremely rainy, which took away some of the charm of the whole day. Still, you could see how this was one of the most acclaimed Christmas experiences - there were stalls from all over the world selling Christmas goods and the entire town itself seemed to be taken over with the spirit. Our favorite area was actually just outside the train station and it felt like a quaint German village - the more mainstream area was less charming. The MAJOR plus note of this excursion was finally being able to meet Marina, who was a foreign exchange student from Germany that lived with Matthew and the Kern’s for a school year about 10 years ago. Matthew’s mom kept telling us to connect with her and we figured that the Christmas market was a perfect time to do so. Meeting Marina was so much fun - she and Matthew reconnected on the good old days in Hastings and we got to exchange stories of both Germany and Nebraska. She is also a complete lady boss who is finishing her residency and still making time to come out and see us, so needless to say, I hope we all meet again soon. Thanks for showing us around Nuremburg, Marina!

(Click images above and below for more pics of Nuremburg)

Right before we left, we managed to make it to Tollwood Winter Festival, which is a semiannual festival held on the Oktoberfest grounds. It lasts for a month and seeks to increase multicultural awareness and inclusiveness by allowing vendors and food from all over the world. We went on a Wednesday night after work and it was still extremely packed, but the people watching was AMAZING and we can’t wait to go back in the summer. We followed this up with walking through Karlsplatz, watching the ice skaters and seeing everyone truly soak up the Christmas spirit. It was the perfect ending to our Christmas in Bavaria, but we were still really excited to finally get home.

(Click image above for more pics)

Christmas in Nebraska felt extra special because we hadn’t seen our friends and family in so long. It was also extremely exhausting. We were trying to be as helpful with the new baby as possible, see as many friends and family/attend events as much as we could, AND still get in some important wedding planning. It was rough, but so so nice. After our 22 hour journey back home, my mom picked us up from the airport and immediately took us to my sister’s house so that I could meet my sweet, beautiful, perfect, wonderful nephew Dylan. Because my sister and her husband are so “evolved,” they would like to maintain Dylan’s “digital privacy.” As such, I have photoshopped pictures of Baby Yoda’s head over all pictures with the baby because I’m angry and nothing else is as close to as cute as Dylan as Baby Yoda, so it seems fitting. Also his parents are complete nerds, so it also makes sense.

(Click images above for Christmas Eve and more pics of Baby Yoda aka Baby Dyl)

The first few days of the trip home included helping Alyssa get stuff organized around the house to maximize efficiency and being in complete awe of how much everything changes when a baby comes. Matt and I felt woefully unprepared watching Alyssa and Rajat manage everything that is required when a baby comes with so much grace. Sure, they haven’t slept in a few weeks, but they were gracious hosts and we were so happy to cook for them and enjoy sweet baby snuggles. I really have too many emotions about what it was like holding him for the first (and hundredth) time. He has brought so much light to our lives and I can’t wait to see the next generation flourish. I have also never been more proud of my sister who is handling being a mother like a champion. It has never been more difficult to be away from home then it is now, but they have my whole family there supporting them. Huge shoutout here to my mom as well who has already become the ultimate Nani and is basically on call for them nonstop. Much to my chagrin, Dylan’s favorite place to nap is on her, but after years of doing it myself, I can attest that she is very comfortable.

The rest of the trip honestly felt like a blur. We tried to spend as much time as possible with my Nana, Nani, and Aunt Preeta before she left on her trip, and luckily, I got to share Christmas Eve with them. We went to sample our wedding dinner, which is absolutely incredible by the way, and Matthew headed back to Hastings to spend Christmas with his family for a few days. We met back up at Lake Johnson, Matt’s favorite place in the world, and got to spend a wonderful McClure Christmas. After this, we went back to Hastings, went through ALL of Matt’s baby pictures for the scrapbook, and got his wedding suits figured out (thanks Ryan!). I must say, after looking at the baby pictures, I am convinced that we are going to have one really adorable child. And after spending time with baby Dylan, I think he’s ready for a cousin…in a few years haha! We returned to Lincoln and got to spend some more quality time with family and friends. On the following Saturday, we went to Omaha and had Christmas with the Kern’s, which somehow always ends up in competitions of physical strength and competitive ping pong matches, but it was a blast. The next day, we spent time with my dad and the Martin side of the family for Martin family Christmas, but I had to leave early because I had my wedding dress appointment. GREAT NEWS - I found my wedding dress and it was the first one I tried on haha! Huge thanks to Shannon at Blush Bridal Boutique for being an absolute goddess and helping us through the whole process.

(Click image above for more pics of the last few days in Lincoln)

Throughout the week, we got to see a handful of our wonderful friends, but coming home over the holidays is a really difficult time to see everyone, and for those we missed, we’ll hopefully see you again as soon as possible. Our time in Lincoln was a total whirlwind. We really miss seeing everyone, but we feel even more grateful that we have each other and this life we are building here together. Christmas 2019 is going to be super hard to top.

Love,

Alexandra and Matthew