A night away

Over the past two weeks we have arranged sleepovers for our kids with good friends of our. One weekend we watch the 6 kids, the next they do the same, so that we could each have a bit of time to explore without the kids. This past weekend was our turn.

We booked a hotel near the German border. We explored the Christmas markets in Aachen and Monschau. 

First was Aachen, Germany. Here we explored the cathedral of Charlemagne. It was spectacular. Such incredible mosaic work and stained glass. 

 

 

After that we drove to the little village of Monschau, Germany. This fairytale village of half timber house and mills, with its castle on the cliff overlooking it all, was magical. A musician sat on a rooftop playing Christmas music on a trumpet. Incredible. 

 

The next morning we crossed over to the Netherlands to see the market in Maastricht. This one was more family oriented with rides and carnival games. 

 

It was really fun to see how the Christmas market differ from one to the other.