It's 6am when the alarm goes off. It takes awhile for Mom to get ready plus she has to fix my breakfast. I'm not leaving any of this food behind. We always shower and pre-pack the night before so it's easier in the morning. We must catch the 9:01am train to Hannover, Germany. It's an express train. We don't have to change trains anywhere and it's 4 hrs to our destination. If we miss it, the next is 3 different trains and 6 hrs so it's important we make it.

With breakfast and final packing out of the way, we bundle up, drop the keys in the slot and make our way to the station. I've set aside a half hour to make the 10 minute walk and we arrive about 7:20am. We head to platform 14 for the half hour wait for our train. It's rush hour and the trains and station are very crowded. Our train arrives 10 minutes early which gives us time to board and settle in. This is the only trip on our itinerary that we have reservations for. Car 12, seats 85 & 86. With our reservation ticket in hand, we're no match for the two guys sitting in our 1st class seats and they move on with no objections. The car is divided into small private rooms, each containing 6 seats. We are seated opposite each other at the window and only one other person has his name on the door. He isn't here yet and, with any luck, he won't show so we'll have the whole place to ourselves.

Off we go enjoying our 1st class cabin all to ourselves. With all the luggage Mom insists on bringing, it's difficult to maneuver around the trains and find space for our two giant 50lb bags (and climbing each day) which don't always fit in compartments designed for normal travelers. We have room now until......we come to a stop with lots of people getting on. This guy comes to our compartment, checks his ticket and sits down. Oh well.

He introduces himself as a Dutchman from Vancouver traveling to a speed skating event in Berlin. He travels a lot and speakers perfect English. For the next 3 hours we exchange stories about our travels, his truck, Germany, his truck, Holland and, of course, his truck. It seems he bought this truck in Texas and it's been a problem since then. He's spent 10s of thousands of dollars on it and it might be worth $7k if he could sell it. I guess we're not the only ones with mistakes we have made. We make light of it and move on. His name is Leo. We exchange email addresses and when we arrive in Hannover, he helps us with our luggage. No, not like the Romanians. He leaves us with this thought:

"Forget about the past, it's history. Forget about tomorrow, it's a mystery. Think of the present as it's a gift". Something like that.

Here's a little info on the markets in general....

"The Christmas Fairs and Christmas Markets of Germany are unique, traditional and romantic. Christmas gifts are not mass-produced in China but are craftwork of real quality. Here you can buy all kinds of Christmas merchandise and gifts, especially traditional things such as crib figurines, toys, wood carvings, marionettes, candles and lambskin shoes to place underneath your traditional Christmas tree. Many are difficult to resist - as will be the glass of delicious mulled wine you are offered and the baked apples that are very welcome on crisp winter days. The ambience of a typical German Christmas Market is further enhanced by the aromas of hot chestnuts, grilled sausages and other tasty snacks. Youngsters especially will be attracted to the gingerbread biscuits known as Lebkuchen, marzipan figures and other sweets."

Our hotel is right across from the Bahnhof and we're there in a few minutes. It's a real nice room where we dump off our stuff and head to the market right at the train station. There's about 50 huts right there. We get a ham sandwich, bratwurst and some gluwein. The best and only €10. Next we head the the larger market in the town plaza. All kinds of Christmas items for sale, too many to describe. I'll post pictures soon. It is so cold! It's below freezing but no snow. Even with all our gear on it's cold. After being out for 4 hours, it's time to head back. We settle in to our hotel room and make plans for tomorrow. Dresden. Train at 8:36am.

Nighty night