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Reston Christkindlemarkt

This year the annual Reston Christkindlemarkt was held on December 5th (it is held the first Thursday in December each year), and as usual our children were very excited.  Thankfully, as the children have aged they look forward to this event more and more (they are now 10 and 7).  As always the event was held at 11150 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Virginia.

This is the second year that admission was charged ($5 – cash).  The booths and stalls change every year, which I have come to like.  The businesses that have booths accept credit cards but the the booths set up by the Bundeswehr are cash donations (donated to a local charity).

This year we arrived even earlier than usual, at 4 PM, and the line was already building but wasn’t that long.  Once they started admitting people it only took a few minutes to reach the gate.  You are permitted to bring bags, but they do search the bags before you reach the ticket table.

 

 

We didn’t bring any bags this year so our first stop was to purchase the admission ticket ($5 cash).  Then we moved on to the next table where we purchased tickets to buy Bratwurst ($5 cash each) and you can also buy tickets for the pea soup ($4 cash each), which I have had before and it was very good.  When you are ready you take your food tickets to the tent with the large Bratwurst sign and exchange your ticket for your food item.

As we entered, we passed the butcher’s tent and I glanced at the table just in case we wanted to make a purchase.  This is one of the consistently long lines every year.  We did a quick loop  to  see  what was in each stall before we got down to business this year.  It was then that we heard someone speaking into a PA system.  We quickly noticed that there was an official opening of the market speech this year.  We thought it was a nice touch!

After the speech ended, we decided toget a hot punch (the kids version of Glühwein).  I opted for a beer since I had never bought one here before.  To my surprise both of these were cash donations as well.  Fionnuala didn’t care for the hot punch but soon was enjoying a waffle as we chatted with old neighbors and greeted the friends that we kept meeting.  We picked up some wonderful cookies, pretzels, and pretzel rolls from the Swiss Bakery, got a Christmas ornament (a recent family tradition), and stopped off to get some throws in at the Can Knock Down stall.  Then we decided it was time to buy our Bratwursts (where we saw my parents!).  As last year, we took our sausages and sauerkraut home to eat.  We also spotted a new tent this year which housed cakes and everyone could get in line to have a free piece of cake!   Once again we had a wonderful time and a special beginning to our Christmas season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Herndon Winter Market

The first Herndon Winter Market was billed as a “traditional German market” and even had some people from the German Embassy advertising it.  How could we miss it?  Held on Saturday, December 14 on the Herndon Town Green from 12 PM to 8 PM it drew quite a crowd.  Unfortunately, it also rained all morning and into the early afternoon.

There were vendors selling bratwurst (Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern) and poutine as well as pretzels (Nordic Knot) and Coffee (Weird Brothers).  I was excited to support all these local businesses, but when we got there we opted for the warm and dry dining room of Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern (across the street).  By the time we finished our lunch though, the rain was gone and the festivities were getting into full swing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing we came to was the stage which had traditional German dancing which we stopped to watch.  Then we started browsing.  We looked in every stall!  We purchased some great candles from Wax & Oils, a Christmas ornament and a bag of coffee from Weird Brothers.  I think the event was well done and can’t wait to see how it improves and to be able to enjoy it in the sunshine next year!  What a nice event to add to our holiday schedule for the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Herndon Holiday Model Train Show

We left the market and walked one block down the street to check out the Herndon Holiday Model Train Show that was being held on the same day.  While it was not an enormous display, it was another fun thing to add to the day.  The trains took up the floor space of the main entry of the Herndon Municipal Center.  In addition to the two nice train displays, the volunteers running the trains were very informative and happy to answer any questions you could throw at them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite a rainy beginning, this turned into a wonder December day out!

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