Frankfurters turned Homeowners!: Mosquitos, Christmas Markets and Roman Baths

Normally when December arrives, I look forward to a little snow, not a lot, but just enough to get in the holiday spirit! Today when I woke up it was raining....again. I was told that the weather here is closer to that of Seattle and I am beginning to believe it more and more! One of the last things I think about in December are mosquitos. But of course we have them! Our wall heaters actually get the rooms quite warm, but because we can't regulate it very well we still open windows to cool it off a little bit, but we are realizing that is letting in the little buggers! I am not sure when they are done for the year, but I can't wait!

The Christmas Markets have started throughout Germany and we have a huge one here in Frankfurt! It is fun to walk around and see all the food, drinks and doodads that you can buy! Whole bars are set up to serve the gluhwein I talked about before and there are probably 20 in a 2 mile area! I finally tried some yesterday with some friends in the area. It is definitely interesting. Think sweet red wine mulled with spices and served very very hot. Some serve it with rum in it but I was lucky enough not to get that version! During the day there are hundreds of people at night there are 10 times as many people! You are lucky to get through the stalls and make it up to one of the bars! They do close around 9 so you have to get there early!!

The Roemer is the old city center. There are very old 'bavarian' looking buildings that were all destroyed during the war but rebuilt exactly as they were before. This is the big open square in the pictures I have attached. It also houses the town hall and Paulskirche (St. Paul's Church). This was orginally a Protestant church but it's main historical significance is that it housed the first democratically elected parliament. It was destroyed during the war but was one of the first buildings to be rebuilt in the area because of its significance. The inside is really beautiful and when you look around you see all the brickwork. Or so you think. When you look closer, you can see that all of the brick lines are actually painted on! I guess that allowed them to rebuild it faster and cheaper! Outside of Paulskirche there is the Archaeological Garden. They are the ruins of ancient Roman baths and old buildings. It is interesting because they are in the middle of the city and they have even managed to build a restaurant below ground looking out on them! The other odd thing is that when you look it up online, they say you have to pay to go down to see it. But as you will see you can just take pictures for free!!!

The Town Christmas Tree with the Town Hall in the background