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Mostly Saxon Christmas Markets
  • Wolpertinger Wanderings
nov. – dec. 2024

Mostly Saxon Christmas Markets

Finally, the Christmas Market trip, but in a different part of Germany. Saxony, the home of German Christmas traditions, and Thuringia. Læs mere
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  • Wolpertinger WanderingsRejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    Down the Other Side

    8. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 39 °F

    After walking up the janky, uneven stairs covered in wet leaves (not at all dangerous to the ankles), we had a quick chocolate bar, lots of water, and went back down the other side. It was much more peaceful than the bridge, and even the walk up.

    At first, the trail was a nice, leaf covered, mostly smooth slight downhill grade. We came across The Stone Table, a nice traditional German hiking hut complete with a lot of beer and a good menu. We didn't stop though, since we had BIG PLANS for later.

    Then, it got serious. Steps, lots of them. Or rather, odd sized and shaped stones piled up into steps. Narrow rock ridges. But we made it. We took another ferry back across the Elbe, and went on to our next objective.    Læs mere

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    Festung Königstein

    8. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ 🌫 39 °F

    It wouldn't be a trip to Germany without seeing another huge fortress. Part two of our very long Sunday, was a trip further UP (yes, up, I have a weird geography block that I think if you travel south/southish along a river, it should be downstream. I struggled with this on the Rhine a few years back, and haven't gotten any better) the Elbe to Königstein.

    This is a big place: close to 6,000 feet long at its greatest reach, with some of the walls reaching 138 feet high. We're talking a serious fortress here. At the center is a well, 500 feet and change, the deepest in Saxony and second deepest in Europe. Remember the Tiefer Brunnen in the Kaiserburg in Nuremberg, that impressive video? That's about 150 feet.

    The fortress comes into written history in 1233, in a deed sealed by King Wenceslaus I (no, not the one in the song, that was the Wenceslaus back in the 900s) of Bohemia. It was expanded over the centuries, serving first as a fortification along the Bohemians' territory in the north along the Elbe River trade route. After the Treaty of Eger in 1459 settled the border of Bohemia and the Electorate of Saxony, it came under the control of the Margraviate of Meissen (yes, them again, like the Hapsburgs, we can't get away from these Wettin guys).

    The castle was significantly strengthened in the 1590s, and again by Augustus the Strong in the early 1700s.

    Despite its impressive size, vast storage facilities, deep well (and if you don't know why that's important in a fortress, I can't help you),and commanding position, Festung Königstein didn't see much military action. Instead, it served as a place of refuge for the Wettin family and a place to stash their treasures, and later the treasures of the Saxon state and the city of Dresden. It served as a prison from time to time as well. From the German-French War (to us Americans the Franco-Prussian War) it was used as a prisoner of war camp. In both World I and II it served as an Oflag-- an officers' camp. In World War I: Russian and French. World War II: British, French and Poles. It was used by the Red Army as a military hospital, and by the DDR as a youth re-education facility.

    Though never captured, the fortress suffered one defeat. In April 1942, after two years in captivity, General Henri Giraud successfully escaped from Oflag IV-B. Where was Colonel Klink when they needed him?

    In hindsight, it was a mistake to visit during the Christmas market. Too much market and not enough history. Unlike the market at the Wartburg, it interfered with enjoying the historical aspect, touring around, et cetera. Also, it wasn't a Medieval market, but rather billed as “romantic”. I don't know, I guess whoever came up with that must have read a lot of bodice ripping romance novels. Cold, stony fortresses with minimal toilet facilities don't scream romance to me, no matter how many Herrnhutter stars you hang up around the place. We had a good time, though, and the light misty rain that came on after sunset made it especially atmospheric.    Læs mere

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    Grünhainchen

    10. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 34 °F

    You'll notice there's a day missing. I was sick. Like wiped out, unable to get out of bed sick. So sick we missed our concert at the Frauenkirche, so no Bach live in Germany for me. No idea what it was, but it was a complete and epic crash, that I was almost fully recovered from the next day.

    Good thing too, because we picked up a car in Dresden and headed south for the hills. Literally, because we were going to the Erzgebirge, the Ore Mountains. We set off a bit after eight, into a mixture of fog and snow. As we got out of Dresden, the roads got narrower, the center lane disappeared, and we started to see some snow flakes mixed in with the rain.

    Originally, we were only going to take a day trip down to the town of Seiffen, then go one town over to Olbernau, the place my grandmother was born in 1903. The trip expanded. The more I read about the region, and passed on the Steve, the more we wanted to see. For one thing, the Erzgebirge is considered by many to be the source of many modern German Christmas traditions, and is really popular with Germans who want to experience "authentic" and "traditional" Christmas markets. So the visit down here was a no-brainer for us.

    First stop, Grünhainchen, a village known as the home of Wendt und Kühn, the company who produced and popularized the Elfpunkt Engel: little wooden angels with eleven dots on their wings. The company was founded in 1915, by a local woman named Grete Wendt after returning from her studies at the Royal Saxon School of Applied Arts in Dresden, and her friend Margarethe Kühn. It became famous for a playful, childlike take on the local Erzgebirge traditional woodcarving traditions. W and K survived World War II by making models for officer training, was back in limited business after the war, and managed to avoid nationalization by the DDR until 1972, when the Wendt family was for all intents and purpose forced out. The family regained control of the company after Reunification, and today it's run by a third generation of the Wendt family.

    We couldn't tour the factory, but did watch all the videos showing how the figures are made. We did get to watch them being painted in the shop though. Once we fought our way through the hordes of Germans from the multiple bus tours that had disgorged them just ahead of our arrival, that is.
    The figures are adorable, and they do all sorts of things: the eleven-dot angels, more elaborate angels, Easter things, and various seasonal child figures. They're also still all made by hand, painted individually so therefore expensive. The same basic angel figure, say one playing a trumpet, can vary in price by ten or more Euros based on the paint job.

    Interesting place, but it would have been better to visit in the off season, which apparently is September through early November.    Læs mere

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    Annaberg Buchholz

    10. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F

    Our first base for this part of the trip, the town of Annaberg-Buchholz. Annaberg-Buckholz is one of many towns whose fortunes were made by mining, like many towns and villages in the Erzgebirge, and in fact, like Saxony as a whole. The earliest recorded inhabitants weren't miners, but rather (I blame studying German for this bad habit I've developed of saying but rather) farmers from Franconia, who appeared in the records in 1397.

    It was the next century that saw the discovery of silver, and from that, the town grew. The town came under the patronage of Duke George of Saxony, and his wife, Princess Barbara. They founded a Franciscan monastery, the impressive Saint Anne's church, and donated a relic of Saint Anne, increasing the pilgrimage trade.

    The resourceful women of the town took up braid and lace making after it was introduced by Barbara Uthmann in 1591. They used the craft to supplement the income brought in by their husbands, who were mainly miners. The industry expanded with the arrival of Protestants fleeing from the anti-protestant policies of the Duke of Alba, who was the Spanish governor of the Hapsburg controlled Low Countries. Yes, the Hapsburgs...

    Though mining had expanded beyond silver to include tin and cobalt, the mines mostly closed by World War I. What's left of them are tourist attractions now, and part of a larger UNESCO recognized area. There are two visitor mines and the Fronhauer Hammer, which is an historically preserved hammer mill.

    Annaberg-Buckholz was also the home of the mathematician Adam Ries (1492-1559). He was an advocate of the use of Indian/Arabic numerals, and wrote several books on calculating, including one for children explaining the use of a device similar to an abacus, and a book to help people calculate prices, so that “the poor common man may not be cheated”. He also wrote a book on algebra. His books were written and published in German, and for the most part, their intended audience were craftsmen, businessmen and their apprentices.

    The streets are exceedingly narrow, hilly, and TWO WAYS. We found this out the hard way on the drive to our apartment. We were driving down what we were sure was a one way street, Mandelgasse, a street as wide as the one-way only parking on one side streets in Old City Philadelphia, when another car came barreling up the road. Since he didn't honk, or scream, just kind of drove up on the sidewalk to pass, we realized that's just how it was there.

    After checking in, we walked around, went to the Christmas market for a quick lunch, then visited the Annenkirche. There aren't a lot of pictures of the church, as we were unclear whether we were allowed to take photos inside.    Læs mere

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    Annaberg Buchholz Christmas Market

    10. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ 🌫 30 °F

    Now I see what all the fuss is about in regards to these Christmas markets down here. Here in A-B, the market is small. There's just one. It is however, absolutely lovely. A lot of local woodwork available, and while the food choices are mainly the same, the prices are much lower. With the snow and slight fog, it was very atmospheric. The pace is less frantic, the people running the stands much more patient with idiot Americans trying to speak German. Either that, or they don't speak much English.

    Once the other tourists got back on their busses, and quite a few pulled up alongside the square, it was even nicer.    Læs mere

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    Annaberg-Buchholz Christmas 2

    10. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ 🌫 30 °F

    On the edge of the Christmas market was a series of cute carvings of various trades. This is an annual thing at the market, and something people look forward to seeing. We liked them, took a picture (sometimes off centered and wonky) of all them. Obviously a thing for the kiddies, we were the only adults really interested in them, at least that night.Læs mere

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    Schwarzenberg

    11. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ 🌫 28 °F

    Another day, another mining town. A castle was built in the Twelfth Century to protect a trade route from Pleissnerland to Bohemia, and a village grew up around it. At one point in its history, control of the town passed to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (so that moves it high up my list for places to visit), but we saw no signs of the big guy. The castle was converted to a hunting lodge for the Elector of Saxony when it came into his possession in the 1500s. Today, it houses a museum of local crafts and history.

    It became a administrative center for the mines in the area, and in the course of its history had some heavy industry. An impressive church stands next to the castle, the Sankt Georgen Kirche.

    We jumped on a bus, being wary of the icy, mountainous roads and the fact we had a rental car in a foreign country, and were treated to mostly pretty and snow covered scenery. On the walk from the bust stop, they had wooden figures of mountain trades on the way to the Altstadt, which is mostly what's in this post. Woodworking was one of the trades that replaced mining, along with lace making, and woodworking on an artisanal scale is still very much a thing here.    Læs mere

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    Sankt Georgen

    11. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 30 °F

    The church that stands here now was built over a smaller one in the 1600s. That seems to be the way of things. This one, however, didn't undergo a re-Gothicization (I just made that word up) during the Nineteenth Century like a lot of other churches in Germany did. Since the 1500s, it's been a Lutheran church, and is a little bit bare, but still a worthwhile visit.Læs mere

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    Schwarzenberg: the Perla Castrum

    11. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F

    The former castle turned hunting lodge is now a museum. We really liked it, so a lot of pictures incoming. It featured a great deal of local wood art, by a woodcarver named Harry Schmidt and his students, some of which were incredibly detailed and intricate. This exhibit included carvings place in walnuts, and on the heads of matchsticks.

    There was also local metal work, examples of bobbin lace work, mechanical toys and devices including an orchestra in a box and a full sized trumpet player, a history exhibit, and a special exhibit of toys. It was well done with some English text, but I got to read a lot of German, and didn't do as badly as I could have. The metal plate below shows a picture of Melanchthon, one of the Saxon rulers-- I completely forgot, and in the middle, Luther. There was also a wooden reproduction of the Furstenzug-- the wall of princes in Dresden, but the video didn't come out.    Læs mere

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    Schwarzenberg Perla Castrum 2

    11. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F

    More from this great little museum. I think I'm really just amused by/interested in really strange things sometimes, which was also used as a prison at various points, hence the picture of the cell door, where they locked up artisans who took place in the Nail Revolt. Yes, the revolted against the introduction of nails produced by machines, as it put them out of work. And the 1930s washing machine-- I'm always interested in labor saving devices, and how recently they came into human history.

    The box after the automaton with the trumpet: that's the orchestra in a box. Someone put money in it when we were in the next room, so I tried to record a bit of it. As with all my videos: results are less than optimal.    Læs mere

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    Perla Castrum III

    11. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F

    The toy exhibit, which contained toys from the 1920s through the DDR era. Toys are another thing in which I'm interested, from a socio-cultural history point of view. Having studied a lot of Medieval-Early Modern history, the development of the idea of modern childhood intrigues me. I especially liked the DDR dolls with the sexy mini skirt- knee high boots girls and the grouchy looking soldier or cop.Læs mere

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    Schwarzenberg: Christmas markets

    11. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 30 °F

    About time, right? What is this trip supposed to be about?

    A few highlights: we tried Speckfettbrot-- yes, it's exactly what it sounds like bacon-fat-bread. I know the spread as griebenschmalz which I guess is the Bavarian name. It was good. Since I've yet to get my raw pork Mettbrotchen sandwich, this had to do. My football aka soccer team had a booth here. Merchandise was too expensive. I'm not paying twenty euros for a winter hat, thank you very much, even a purple hat with the crossed hammers that says Glück Auf on it.

    The Christmas pyramid here is made of metal, not wood. It's very pretty, and at night, it makes loud clanging noises as it turns. Warning: bad video incoming. On facebook, one of my neighbors asked me if I were bringing one like it back. Trepidation, I guess. I wish. I'd leave it up all year long and change out the figures seasonally.    Læs mere

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    2

    The Fichtelbergbahn

    12. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 27 °F

    Yes, we rented a car, but went by bus again. Today, we headed off to a town called Cranzahl to catch a steam train called the Fichtelbergbahn, one of three popular narrow gauge routes in Saxony. I have a thing for trains, all sorts. It was part one of our planned day. Steam train to Oberweisenthal, then the cable car/gondola up to the top of the mountain, then hike down.

    We got to the train station at the edge of the little town. We bought our tickets-- one way-- and then went to wander around and look for the bathroom. Then: the tour bus arrives. Filled to capacity. Well we know what that means, better get right to the bathroom before all the other ladies form a line. Then make sure to be on the platform because there were suddenly a lot of people.

    All went well. The tour bus people (and another bus had arrived while I was busy) were herded off. They ended up on their own cars. We watched the steam train come by and hook up. Then, we boarded and were off.

    It was a nice ride through a gently rising, snowy landscape. Sunny. A few little towns and rolling farmlands. There were some pretty dramatic curves, but we weren't far enough back to get a good shot of the engine through the window. There was one Wolpertinger sighting (see photo) a painting on the side of a shed by the tracks. A good omen. We could have stood on the open platforms between the cars (last photo), but I'm not that committed to bringing you great pictures.

    We arrived in Oberwiesenthal in good time. They took off the steam engine, moved it off and filled it with coal. While this was going on, another engine moved some cars around. Then, we set off to part two of our big day in the mountains.    Læs mere

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    1

    Going Up the Fichtelberg

    12. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 34 °F

    So our great plan, immediately derailed. The Schwebebahn, aka the Fichtelberg cable car, had been reserved until two for a wedding. Well, there went our plans for a leisurely ascent in Germany's oldest cable car (built 1924). A few facts about the cable car: as I mentioned, it's Germany's oldest, built in 1924, with a hiatus from 1948-1956. It goes from the station in Oberwiesenthal at an elevation of 905 meters (2969 feet and change) to the peak of Fichtelberg at 1175 meters (3855 feet).

    The Fichtelberg is the highest peak in Saxony, the second highest in the Ore Mountains. Not a match for the peak we rode up to in the Alps, but high enough for our purposes on this trip. A change of plans was necessary, I didn't ride that old timey train all the way here not to get to the top of that mountain. So we decided we'd walk it. We had planned to hike down from the top, so knew there were open winter routes.

    It's a nice little ski resort, not yet in season. There were a lot of families with little kids and sleds (big wooden sleds on runners, not the plastic things we use here in the US), a couple snow boarders who were obviously just learning, and some cross country skiers, as the cross country slopes were the only ones open. We didn't let any of this dissuade us, nor the cold temperature or late hour of starting, and set off up the mountain.

    We had never hiked in snow before, and thankfully it wasn't a lot of snow and people had been there ahead of us. Still, it made it a bit more work than a regular trail. The elevation gain wasn't bad, nothing too steep, but it caught up with me after a while. We had one break to eat chocolate and peanuts, drink some water. Then another when I had to take off my boot and sock and bandage up a blister.

    There were a few huts enroute, and I was excited about that until we found the first one (long before the chocolate and blister breaks). I was expecting a Bavarian-style hut with a beer garden and et cetera. No. This was literally a hut, a little shelter. Maybe had some drinking water, we didn't look. Just as well. A delay like that would have hurt my morale later.

    By the time we got to the top, the novelty of this whole hiking in a winter wonderland had worn off. Big time. I was done: hungry, my blister-foot hurt, my formerly broken ankle was achy, and I was really salty at those wedding people for renting out the entire cable car for four hours when I wanted to use it.    Læs mere

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    3

    At the Top and Back Down

    12. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 34 °F

    We made it to the top. Thankfully, it was getting close to two. IF I had read the sign wrong, and the cable car wouldn't start up again, I saw there was a bus (seriously-- I could have ridden up on a BUS???) leaving to go down to the town at 15:15. We were set. Had some potato soup and bread, walked around, took some photos. Walked some more and looked over into Czech Republic, but we weren't how far the border was so didn't go looking for the photo op of a border crossing.

    We saw the wedding people come out of the station and take pictures. Finally, they loaded up into the gondola, and were off, except for the two guys hauling cases of liquor to their car. No offer to us folks waiting to share a couple bottles. We bought our tickets, then got in line to make our way back to bottom of the mountain with a handful of other bedraggled looking people.

    Beautiful scenery. Don't regret the hike at all, and up was probably better than down, to be honest. I wouldn't mind coming back in summer or fall for more hiking. Definitely regret the Columbia snow-hiking boots. They're a disaster.

    T    Læs mere

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    Schwarzwassertal

    13. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 28 °F

    Or: We Didn't Learn Our Lesson Yesterday

    On the road again, this time from Annaberg Buchholz east (like the good German I am-- Drang nach Osten) through the Ore Mountains to the tiny village of Oberlochmühle in the neighborhood of Seiffen. But first: have to stop to hike a bit through the Schwarzwassertal (the Black Water Valley), a famous hiking route in the Erzgebirge.

    What's it famous for, you might ask? The black-appearing water for one. Die Teufelsmauer-- the Devil's Wall, yeah that guy has walls, rocks, even sandwiches, all over Germany. A variety of delicious and non-hallucinogenic mushrooms, if you come at the right time of year, that being September and we missed it.

    So we were here for die Teufelsmauer, having eaten his sandwich in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden last trip. Also, just the general ambience. So off we went. We knew how far the wall should be because the signage is amazing on German trails. Usually. But I didn't check the phone when we started, and I didn't set it to kilometers.

    We walked along, knowing we should have reached it. Didn't see it. Nothing approaching it. So we walked at least two more kilometers before time was getting on, and we were getting hungry. We also had to get to the next place, a little pension that had very limited desk hours, by 2:30. So we turned around and headed back. We took pictures of everything that even had the appearance of something that could be called the Devil's Wall. We figured out what it was later-- the last two photos, which we took on our way back to the car.    Læs mere

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    1

    Olbernhau

    13. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 28 °F

    The main objective of this part of the trip was Seiffen, the village famous for its wooden Christmas decorations, and before that toys. Big weekend in Seiffen, their große Bergparade the big Miners' Parade with living toys (sounds scary...). I tried to reserve a room early, as in the second week of January with no luck. I cast a wider net, and ended up with the last room in pension in the little village of Oberlochmühle, about fifteen minutes away.

    As a side note during planning, I saw that the village my grandmother came from, Olbernhau, was right next door to where we would be. This became a BIG THING. I had to return to meine Heimat, just like I did with Eisenach, the home of my grandfather.

    Now I know next to nothing about my family history, either side. And most of what I was told was less than accurate. But according to the official paperwork I was able to find: she was from this little town along the Czech border. He came from a place in another state which isn't close, about three hours by car on today's roads, and six hours by train and bus. How they met, no one alive knows, and I was too young to think much about it, then when I was old enough, it wasn't something my aunts talked about so who knows? They came to the US in 1923 after he had been a detained merchant seaman and then a POW in World War I- a really interesting story for another time.

    So we got to the town, which was kind of run down. Another former mining town, it has a great museum and giant blacksmith's hammer we hoped to get to on Sunday. It was also famous for etched glass, but that industry fell out of favor with the rise of the DDR. It never reinvented itself like Seiffen, but has attracted some mid-sized industry so it's limping along. It reminded me of the rust belt towns we have in the US.

    Besides the Saigerhutte complex, etched glass, and my grandmutter Steinbrecher (nee Arnold-- and we found some Arnolds still here but didn't attempt contact), Olbernhau is famous for the Olbernhauer Reiterlein: a cute guy on a rocking horse. While similar sorts of wooden cavalry toys had been widely produced in the Erzgebirge and well known throughout Germany since the 1800s, this particular little guy was produced as a badge for the Winter Relief in 1935. They sold for twenty pfennings, and the proceeds went to benefit the poor. It served a dual purpose, in also giving work to the woodworking and toy shops in the mountain regions that had been devastated by the depression in Germany. The Olbernhauer Reiterlein, a nutcracker dressed in a Hussar's uniform, on a white rocking horse, was extremely popular selling 13.6 million units and becoming a symbol for the Winter Relief.

    So we walked around. Saw the car dealership that might belong to some long-lost relatives. Saw the outside of the church where my grandmother was christened in 1900 (or 1903), visited the cemetery and found a war memorial with a remembrance of a man bearing the same name as my family. Then we went to the tiny little Christmas market in the courtyard, had some potato pancakes (called something totally different down here) and hot chocolate (had to get that cup), then back to the pension. It was cold. Frigidly cold, and frankly, we're plumb worn out.    Læs mere

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    Seiffen

    14. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☀️ 28 °F

    Seiffen was originally my main objective for the Erzgebirge. I've read a lot about it: the mining town that made a come back as the toy village. In fact, it's known all over as Das Spielzeugdorf: the Toy Village. And their toy industry: wooden toys and Christmas decorations, saved them at one point. Then the wars, the DDR, and et cetera.

    But don't worry, after the Wall fell, they had another great comeback. With even better marketing. Even Americans know about this place. I mean, besides crazy people like me and the ones who go on trip advisor and have the guy from Dresden tell them all the places they should visit in Saxony (he was really helpful to me so shout out to eagle2002). In fact, Seiffen was the first place in our trip that we heard other people speaking English, and saw other Americans. But Seiffen has moved on from the wooden toys of old to become the main site for the manufacture of authentic German Christmas... they make the Schwiboggen (the wooden lit arches) and the pyramids, the little wooden figures, nutcrackers, angels, you name it. Of course they're not the only place that does this, you can find woodworking masters all over the hills here. In some little villages, you just pull off and go into the workshop. But Seiffen has it together: several larger manufacturies, lots of quaint stores, and very, very good marketing.

    So it was the weekend of the Große Bergparade: the big Miners' Parade. Since it's Seiffen, they also feature living toys. Okay, I'm thinking Chuckie here, which says more about me than Seiffen. But it was nothing like that. Nice toys. The hotels had been sold out since January, as I mentioned before. We drove in from the far side, and grabbed a spot in the first lot we saw. Five Euros. For the entire day. When I asked the guy directing us in "Wie viel kostet?" He said funf Euro, and I said, "per hour????" I was so shocked, I fell back to English. "Nie, den ganzen Tag." The other end of town-- they were charging at least 20 a day.

    So our day started out great. It was frigid, by far the coldest day. We had a lot of time to kill, but figured we'd be busy, and then get down to the open air museum on the far side of town (never made it before it closed). We went shopping. I had promised the older kids we'd buy them Schwiboggen-- cheap ones, because well, a really nice one is starting at 250 Euro.

    As we walked down the street of cute buildings, plowing through the hordes of other visitors, the thought that came to mind was, we're in German Gatlinburg. This isn't an insult, as I've been to Gatlinburg a few times and I like it. But it is rather touristy and playing off the hillbilly stereotype-- and again, don't get me wrong I love hillbillies. It's what drew me down to the Erzgebirge in the first place. Seiffen had that same feeling, and with the addition of all the food and drink stands for the Christmas festivities, well it was like Gatlinburg on the Fourth of July (been there, done that), but in German. With snow and one digit real feel temperatures.

    Well mission accomplished, we got the arches and a nice little tiny pyramid for ourselves. Ate some raclette. Drank some hot chocolate. But by a bit after noon, the crowds were getting really bad. Disney in the high season bad, with some portions of the main street being shoulder to shoulder people.

    Still, we had until four to kill time until the parade, and the open air museum was sadly closed... You see my planning was definitely falling off by now. Vacation fatigue, definitely.    Læs mere

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  • Wolpertinger WanderingsRejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    The Miners' Church

    14. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 32 °F

    Besides the open air museum, which by this point we had given up on, the one thing I really wanted to see was this little octagonal church. We waited outside, as you could only go in on a tour. The pastor, who didn't look old enough to have gone to university then seminary, let the group of us in and we all took seats in the nave. He played the organ, then came down and gave a talk about the construction and history of the church. I think I understood about twenty percent of it, but only because I was already aware of the context.

    Then, he went back up to the mezzanine and played some more. After that, we were ushered out the back door, to make way for the next group. It's a pretty church: not ornate like so many others we've seen. Small, as befits the size of the village. But it's become something of a symbol of the town and the region as a whole, a graceful survivor of better days, with an eye on the future and plans to get there.    Læs mere

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  • Wolpertinger WanderingsRejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    Große Bergparade

    14. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 28 °F

    Finally, the parade. There were a lot of different bands and marching associations. Seiffen's group was the first, followed by others from the area, including my ancestral home village of Olbernhau, and Freiberg where we saw the parade the previous week.

    Then there were those living toys. No Chuckie, I'm happy to report. Just Santa and a some kids dressed up, some pulling wooden trains and the like. The miners calling out "Gluck Auf!" as they marched by were met with a few puzzled stares and not many responses (you might hear me saying "Gluck Auf" back, but hopefully not singing the first verse of the Steigerlied).

    You can see that I really like banners, especially the weird looking ones with the bell and the tassels.

    I'll have to link the video on you tube as it's too long for the restrictions here. Thanks to the Mister, aka Herr Haifisch, for his steady hands with the camera while videoing.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IPlvRoqfQ4

    I'll also move the others I posted on my other you tube eventually... You tube was difficult with letting me access the Wolpertinger account in Germany.    Læs mere

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  • Wolpertinger WanderingsRejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    Seiffen at Night

    14. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 28 °F

    We had to stick around because we had dinner reservations. We were cold and grumpy. Some of the stores were still open, as were the food and drink stands (lines still extremely long). We wandered around. We went into some stores. Took some pictures. The village was pretty at night.

    We had our dinner. Again, I chose what they said was a typical DDR dish: pork neck with pork ragout on top. I was expecting more of a minced pork, but it was good. For some reason Herr went with mushroom goulash. No liquor, as he was driving, and I had hot cherry juice. We were beat. The portions seemed big, and our planned dessert didn't happen.

    We hiked up to the view point, which was not my best idea. It was snowy and icy in places, but we made it. Took a few more pictures, then headed back to the car and our pension.

    When we got there, we decided to pack up the gifts. Disaster. They wouldn't fit. Our plan had been to pack them in the big suitcase, and shove a lot of stuff into the large backpack, checking both. Not a chance. There was no way this stuff was all going to fit, because the Schwiboggen were in rectangular boxes, and though fairly flat, they took up a lot of room. The pyramid-- well that was just bulky in its box. Then we had our collection of cups from the various markets.

    Sigh. Well the next day's plan was now off. I had to find a store that was open on Sunday-- remember in Germany stores are closed on Sundays with a few exceptions around train stations. Thankfully, since it was Advent, in the bigger cities and towns a few were open. We decided to look for a Woolworth (yes they have them there), or a TK Maxx or something like that-- Found one. In Chemnitz. So that was the plan after breakfast for our last day in the Erzgebirge. No mine tour for me.    Læs mere

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  • Wolpertinger WanderingsRejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    Chemnitz

    15. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 36 °F

    Well, we never planned to come here, but events brought us to this place. Chemnitz is/was a very heavily industrial city. It was forty-one percent destroyed during the war, and some of it wasn't rebuilt until after Reunification. It was the most stereotypically "East German" place we've been, mainly due to the apartment blocks, though we also saw some of those in Erfurt and outside of Dresden.

    There are a few interesting looking museums, but we were tired and got a late start. Not to mention, we had a mission. We had to buy that suitcase.

    Even after we got it, and put it in the trunk, we had already given up on culture. We decided to find the giant head of Karl Marx-- the city was named Karl Marx Stadt from 1953 until just after Reunification when seventy-six percent of the citizens voted to change it back. We also hit the Christmas market, which was in the Marktplatz and then spread out from there until it ran into the Medieval market, though they called it something else.

    We made a visit to the Jakobskirche, which had a nice display of nativity scenes.

    Besides the interesting museums we also missed getting a picture of the Red Tower, one of the few remaining old defensive towers even though we walked passed it several times in our search for the Woolworths. Which we also kept walking past...    Læs mere

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  • Wolpertinger WanderingsRejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    Jakobkirch

    15. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 37 °F

    Another city, another church. This one was originally built between 1350 and 1412. Not much of anything from the pre-war period remains, as it was pretty much gutted by bombing in March 1945. They even have a model and photos to show the damage.

    Still, I always like to visit churches, find what's interesting, nice to look at in them. They had a section of the old wall visible, as well as an area of reconstructed painting. It reminded me of the colors in the Frauenkirche in Dresden. The highlight of this visit was the display of nativity scenes, which is in a separate post.

    Lutherans will appreciate the words over the door, "A Fortress is our God".    Læs mere

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  • Wolpertinger WanderingsRejsendeMostly Saxon Christmas Markets

    The Nativity Exhibition

    15. december 2024, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 39 °F

    Some of the many nativity sets, including the very large and impressive Oberwiesenthal Nativity. Also, tacked on at the end a model of the church after the March '45 bombings.

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