Christmas Bavaria
We all love holidays, some more, some less. And I love the anticipation of the holiday.
When I was in Budapest and Vienna in December 2008, I realized that it was very good to create a pre-holiday mood there. So, if possible, you should use it.
In 2010, Accord had a very good and inexpensive tour in the Czech Republic, Germany, but I didn't get to go. Last year, such a tour was no longer offered, only short ones, which did not attract. Was chosen by the Bremen Town Musicians' Roads, I liked everything very much.
But the dream continued to be a dream - the oldest Christmas market in Nuremberg. None of the tour operators attracted me with their program for this time, given that I had already formed these plans in the summer.
The main point was immediately considered - Nuremberg. Asking friends living there to name the hotels that are closer to their home, I heard in response that they have enough space, and they will accept us with pleasure.
She broke down for decency, realizing that it was not very convenient for both them and us, nevertheless she agreed.
We had some doubts about the form of the invitation, at first I took only a handwritten one, then it turned out that we still needed an official one. It cost them 25 euros, it was with full financial support, this very “tick” was on the 2nd page, I was looking for it for a long time. Submitted by daughter by proxy in Kyiv at the visa center. The invitation was for a month, we asked only 10 days for the dates of the tickets, we also gave our financial support, we received only 10 days. I can’t say if we would have received it for a month if we had asked, we didn’t need it. Whether it was possible not to submit your financial security, I don’t know either. There were 2 insurances - they made one for us, for a month 45 euros for each, the second was made in Kyiv. They took only German, there she was always with us in a bag, so friends said. Yes, we have already received a visa in almost 3 months.
It was issued for 1 day, no one called either us or work. The only thing that I noticed already at home (!! ! ! ) is that there is no embassy stamp on it. But they let us in and let us out, which means it’s normal.
Airplane tickets were taken in July. We thought to fly with Vizeir, but it turned out that we had to somehow deal with the arrival there and back, some flight still flew so that we had to spend the night there. We flew with Lufthansa - Kyiv-Munich-Nuremberg there, back - Nuremberg-Dusseldorf-Kyiv. For 2 tickets paid 3600 UAH.
Summer is in the yard, and I am torturing myself and my husband with the December trip. The amount of information collected on different sites is growing. The closer the date of the trip, the more often I torment everyone with the question why I started this. Everyone has long been accustomed to this, almost do not react. Because they know that after boarding a train, plane, bus, I will calm down. My husband knows very well that I rarely follow the route that is planned, I will definitely pull it to the side, because I saw something there. Everyone is calm.
We arrive in Kyiv 3 days before the plane, we have to work. We managed to walk, and work, and chat with friends. On the eve of departure there was wonderful sunny weather, we walked around the city. Of course, it is beautiful, but it has some kind of chaotic modern buildings in historical places. Probably architects think differently than me
So the day of departure arrived. The flight is morning, 6.40, the terminal is new. It seemed that apart from our flight there was no one there. Emptiness in the terminal, one small duty-free shop, but it's free, which is also good. Checked in for the flight the day before. For the first time we flew in transit, it turned out that all we had to do was to hand over the suitcase, which was safely taken away already in Nuremberg. According to the old Soviet or already Ukrainian tradition, there was an idea to pack a suitcase in a film, but it’s good that this service was not noticed in the terminal, because they didn’t see packed suitcases anywhere.
We flew fast, well, comfortably, takeoff and landing are very soft. Fed - sandwich, muffin and tea, coffee, juices. All information is in German, English, but here the language sign is not needed, everything is clear anyway.
We have a long docking, 3.5 hours. Indeed, everything is very simple, you follow the arrows of transit passengers, you go, you go until you run into customs or border guards, I always confuse this, that is, I mean checking documents. At Munich Airport, you don’t have to enter that zone right away, there are enough places for a walk and shops here. Having examined everything, we go to control. They smiled, they only asked me if I would fly to another country, to my answer that only Germany, my “thank you” I myself don’t remember in what language, German or English, I hear “thank you” in Russian, I get a passport along with a smile . That's all.
They said something to my husband, but the people in the windows exchanged among themselves, like that we were together and by invitation, and did not ask for any documents.
That's all, Germany accepted us easily and kindly. Now we have plenty of time to look around at the airport. I’m not very good at sitting still, I went back and forth several times, since the territory is large. A lot of shops, but I don’t need anything, a lot of cafes, of course, let’s start with their sausages. But the most pleasant surprise is free vending machines with coffee, tea, cappuccino, etc. We love cappuccino; It's good that they only sat for 3 hours, otherwise they would burst. There are a lot of these machines, I don’t know what kind of action or they put them on permanently. Even at the airport there is a special box for 4 beds, 1 hour 15 euros, at least 2 hours, a deposit of 100 euros, there is a bed, close and sleep, very comfortable with children.
We move closer to the check-in counter for our flight. At the airport, they only announce about delayed flights or about late passengers, read the rest of the information on the scoreboard. We understand that there is a slight delay in our flight, although there is time for the girl to check in, our flight number is on the scoreboard, people come up and ask her, leave and wait. On the 2nd floor, all boarding is through the "sleeve", but near our gate, the sleeve is empty.
Why don't we travel from Munich by train - the transit ticket was cheaper, we are waiting. There is no plane, but the landing is announced. Yes, the most interesting. Check-in at the airport is all electronic, there are machines. Therefore, now everyone just passes, applying to the machine either a printout with a barcode, like ours, or a boarding pass with a code. 10 minutes is all. They put us in a bus and take us for a long time. It’s just that we have a small airplane and it won’t reach the sleeve.
An airplane of the AN-24 type of ours, those who were with a large hand luggage, put the luggage on a trolley and load it separately. At the entrance, everyone is given a chocolate bar, they manage to deliver drinks and we have already sat down.
No one is looking at things, and no one was sitting at the screening, 5 minutes of waiting for luggage and you left.
Friends smile, we are pleased that everything is so easy and simple, we didn’t get lost, we didn’t get lost. We sit in the car and go. Parking at the airport is paid, there are automatic machines, uncles "green", like we have in Kharkov, do not run. Yes, when we flew home, the parking meter did not work near us, everyone went and looked for a working one, did not try to sneak away.
It's not far, the airport is within the city, there are several metro stops from friends, so we just watch the city a little. We visit the place where the fascists in the time of Hitler organized the Reichsparty congresses in the form of magnificent propaganda festivities.
For the congresses, the construction of a congress hall (Kongresshalle) was begun, modeled on the ancient Roman coliseum, but it was never completed, there was not enough upper floor and a glass roof, the building was supposed to become the largest hall in the world, with a capacity of 60 thousand people.
Why here, but just along the way, we ourselves will not go there, and history remains history. Huge space, bring excursions with us. But we didn’t come for this, we are waiting for beautiful views of the city, fair fun.
We have the opportunity to see how people live here. Low houses, very often of bright colors, green yards, despite the fallen snow, perfect cleanliness of the entrances, the housemaster changes the light bulbs in the entrance, he cleans the snow in the yard on a small machine. By the way, any resident can come to the Town Hall and say that he wants to clear the snow in winter, they will give him a car, they will pay 8 euros per hour, he is responsible for his territory.
Of course, the roads are cleaned immediately when it snows - both in the city and outside the city, you yourself saw it. I am silent about their roads It is written, drawn, but sometimes they do not follow all the rules. Certainly not like ours. Even on Sundays, car washes in the city at gas stations do not work, because you can’t make noise, it’s a day off.
But we flew in to see the city, drop our suitcases, have lunch and go. We went to all the cathedrals, we saw all the fountains, monuments. It is written about them everywhere, everyone who comes there will definitely take a picture of it all. I have a photo of the Shelter of the Holy Spirit in the morning (popularly called Glasses), in the evening, in the snow, without snow, etc. A wonderful fountain - everyone spins the ring and makes a wish, the ring shines, but the locals twist it from the back. We climbed in the evening to twist, the fair closes at 20.00 on weekdays, they enclose it with a ribbon, but we are not a hindrance, although we are ashamed.
When we were spinning, he did not come out, but when we tried to force the men to do it, he threatened us and told us to leave. Of course they obeyed. We went up to the fortress in the evening, in the morning, when the first unorganized tourists just appear. With us, only one person entered the museum in the fortress, they let him in, the door was closed.
There are several fair places in the city, schemes are located everywhere. The largest near the main cathedral of the city - Frauenkirche, near which there is a stage, arrange performances. In all cathedrals, organs, concerts, the time of the event is written next to it. There are a lot of tents, but I didn’t see anything completely unusual. I collect angel figurines, so that was the main thing I paid attention to. Unusual, I had never seen anything like this before, there were figures made of walnut and prunes, interesting. Last year in Hamburg there were a lot of birdhouses, in Bavaria they don't like birds so much.
Of course, sausages, sausages, gingerbread, roasted chestnuts, and most importantly - gluwine. I just drank a little before, so I coughed from the hot. You just need to gain experience , now it is good to drink in the cold. We even succumbed to purchases that are not inherent in us - the cups for gluwine are painfully beautiful and varied, we brought 5 pieces from different cities, they flew perfectly in a suitcase, they are made in Germany, not in China.
Cities look different day and night, but there are always a lot of people. There are a lot of locals in the evening, they also drink gluwine and eat sausages. Fairs are open on weekdays until 20.00, everything is immediately locked up (tents), and on weekends until 22. After 20.00 there are several points where they sell gluwine, but people are already dispersing to restaurants, which, by the way, are filled during the day.
Did I like Nuremberg? Yes. But I didn't see anything special in the Christmas atmosphere that I haven't seen yet. Maybe that has its own charm.
Yes, the city did not strike me with illumination, but it seemed so homely, cozy, comfortable.
One moment when I was offended for Ukraine. In Nuremberg, one of the fair grounds was dedicated to Nuremberg's sister cities. So Kharkov (and we are sister cities) was represented by a tray with wooden nesting dolls and cheburashkas. When asked about nesting dolls, the boy said that they were made in Kharkov. It is a pity that nothing real was shown from Ukraine.
Every evening we walked in the city, returning from trips, through the streets, parks, castle, just along the fortress wall, but the Russian speech was heard only on Sunday, mostly by local residents. Maybe ours will be brought there later in an organized manner.
Looking through the photos already at home, because there simply wasn’t time for this, I thought that maybe I was just finding fault, because everything is so great. And most likely I just leave myself something unusual in reserve for the future.
I know that you should definitely visit there in the summer and continue to get acquainted with what did not come into view.
Yes, when Alina wrote an ad that she was open until 15 all week, clients asked why. Upon learning that guests had arrived, they kept asking how we were, whether we liked it. She told them about my “agels”, so now about 8 local angels from German families have moved to Ukraine, they feel good here We have already flown away, and people kept asking her about the guests.
There will be a continuation, because we left the city many times.
