Christmas

We had a very relaxing and quiet Christmas at the Rains house this year! We were able to spend a few days relaxing after our trip to Budapest and prepare for the day. Addy got us up bright and early at 7am and was soooo excited that her "make-up mirror" had arrived from Santa! Mommy got some breakfast ready while she started browsing through the gifts to pick out which ones were hers. Luke likes to sleep in until well past 8 on most days, but we decided it was okay to wake him up early. It took us a little less than an hour to get through the gifts and the kids enjoyed the rest of the day in their matching PJ's playing with their new toys. We had our friends Stephen and Hillary come over for dinner and dessert which was nice. The adults capped off the evening by watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation-- a Classic!

All ready for the kiddos!

Stockings:

Before opening presents:

Luke was a little overwhelmed by all the gifts. His favorite was this toy Buzz Lightyear. Once he opened it, he didn't really want to open anything else!

Table set for dinner:

Waiting to eat dinner and watching a Christmas Story:

Blowing out the candle in Jesus' birthday cake:

Budapest Christmas Markets

This post was intended to be after my post on Budapest, but oh well! Read the post below for details on our trip! Here are some pictures of the Budapest Christmas Markets. There were a few that we visited and they were all fantastic! We loved all the Hungarian gifts and delicious smells of the food.

Our only group shot with all of us and the Johnsons in front of the main Christmas Market:

In front of the Basilica Christmas Market:

Yummy looking treats!

Budapest

We just got back from a fabulous 5 day trip to Budapest with lots of great memories and stories to share. We loved touring the city and can't say enough great things about it! We were so thankful for our wonderful friends, the Johnsons, for opening up there home to us and showing us a fantastic time! There house was on top of a hill on the Buda side of the city that had a fantastic view. Addy enjoyed playing with her buddy William and we enjoyed catching up with Cindy and Luke during our "adult time". One of the many highlights was visiting the Szechenyi Bath and Spa at night without the kids (thank you Luke and Cindy!). It was so relaxing and even snowed on us a little while we were in the water! Here are some of the other highlights and pictures:

Budapest is spectacular at night. Here is a picture of the Parliament Building. We were able to capture this on our Danube River boat tour:

Amazing, isn't it? It's the second largest Parliament Building in the World (London, of course, being first):

On the first day, we visited the Castle district which was also incredible. The Castle District was on the Buda side and had breathtaking views of the Parliament Building across the Danube River on the Pest side. Our pictures definitely don't do it justice, but this was the Matthias Church:

Matthias Church at night. Picture of Addy with her buddy William:

Accidentally downloaded the wrong picture of none of us looking at the camera:

Statue of Ronald Reagan near the US Embassy (Parliament Building in the background):

We took a hop on hop off bus tour of the city, and one of our stops was the Citadel (highest point in Budapest). Great view of the Chain Bridge, Danube, and all the beautiful buildings!

In front of Parliament:

This was probably my favorite spot. The Vajdahunyad Castle which was nicknamed, "Sleeping Beauty's Castle". The only thing significant inside the castle was an Agriculture Museum, but the Castle itself was amazing! Under the entrance there are 4 different architecture styles of buildings that make up the entire castle. It was a perfect way to spend a pleasant winter afternoon just walking around!

This was the entrance to the Museum:

This was the "Gothic" style:

This outdoor ice skating rink was next to the Castle, we enjoyed people watching but didn't skate:

Enjoyed a visit to the zoo that the kids loved. I love this picture of the camels very up close and personal!

Heroes Square:

German Christmas Markets

If anyone is considering visiting Germany, Christmas time is FABULOUS!! Cannot say enough wonderful things about the Christmas season here. The markets are so fun to visit and most towns and cities have them. German markets are known for being the best in the World. We've been to 4 in our area and they are all unique in their own way. The decor is always beautiful, the food is delicious, the shopping for unique German made goodies is great, and the warm beverages only add to the awesomeness. I love that every market we have been too has a very nice Nativity Scene. No such thing as people trying to take Christ away from Christmas here! What a concept! We have more to visit over the next few weeks, including the one in Budapest (which I am getting so excited for). Here are a few shots of the Wiesbaden and Mainz Christmas markets:

In front of the Wiesbaden Casino across from the Christmas Market:

Jeff and Addy:

Addy and Luke love the markets for the rides and all the treats they get. Who could blame them?

Wiesbaden Nativity Scene right under the Christmas Tree is the focal point of the market:

Kiddos love this ride:

Mainz had an awesome market. I made the mistake of going on a Saturday night while Jeff was out of town with my friend and her kids. IT was packed and we could barely push our strollers.

Addy and her friend, Delaney:

Christmas Tree and a Santa Visit

We're in full Christmas swing here in Germany. I must say that our house isn't exactly cut out for beautiful Christmas decor. I definitely miss my Colonial Brick house with all the windows to hang wreaths! Other things I miss: a fireplace to hang stockings and our Christmas Tree farm in Williamsburg that allowed us to pick and cut a fresh tree. Oh well, I guess we have the lovely European Christmas Markets to make up for it! So our tree isn't exactly what we would normally buy, but there doesn't seem to be any real variety here. All that being said, I'm still pretty happy with it. There also seemed to be a Plethora of good looking Santas to take pictures with in the states. Turns out that is an American tradition. Soooo, we had to make do with the USO free Santa pictures over the weekend. Let's just say he was a very dopey looking Santa. Maybe that explains Luke's reaction? Ha! I think he would have done this anyway:

Priceless.

Addy's favorite ornament, her Clara Nutcracker that she honestly touches all day long:

The finished product:

St. Nikolaus Day

We're really enjoying Addy's school for several reasons. One of them being the fantastic German Holidays and festivities that we get to participate in! Tuesday was St. Nikolaus Day in Germany. The tradition starts the night before when children put their shoes out on the porch. St. Nikolaus comes in the middle of the night to fill the shoes with nuts, fruits, candy, and small toys. Just another way to spoil your kids during Christmas! Addy's school also held a celebration. Parents were invited to come in the afternoon to listen to the kids sing their songs. I just love hearing Addy belt out her songs in German! Some of them were our popular songs (like Jingle Bells, O Christmas Tree), but somehow it's cuter to hear it in German. After the singing, St. Nikolaus himself showed up at the school and read a story to the kids (I really couldn't tell you what it was). He also handed out a stocking full of goodies for each child and called them up one by one. Afterward, the kids and parents enjoyed cookies, coffee, and tea. '

A little peak at Addy's Classroom:

Thanksgiving in Prague

Thanksgiving was definitely a little different this year. We had a typical delicious Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night without the kids. Friends of ours hosted a nice dinner party with just adults, and it was a great time. We took advantage of the 4 day break to travel to Prague and left on Thanksgiving morning (an easy 5 hour drive). I can go on and on about Prague. Coolest. City. Ever. I'll try to do the Cliff notes version. It's beautiful, it's clean, it's friendly, it's charming, it has an incredible amount of history, it's CHEAP, it's quaint, and INCREDIBLE. Can't wait to go back. It was actually a very relaxing trip. Our hotel (apartment that was huge and awesome) was in a fantastic location. We were within a 10 minute walk of anything you would ever want to do in Prague. That made things so easy. No need for any public transportation. We also happened to be there on the first day of their Christmas Market! I was in heaven. This was our first of many markets this season and it was just perfect. Here are some highlights from the trip:

View from Charles Bridge which is a Pedestrian Only bridge (literally a 1 minute walk from our apartment). It has many vendors and fantastic views of the city:

Charles Bridge at night. This truly doesn't capture it's beauty, it looks like you're in the middle of Disneyland or in a Fairy Tale when you see it in person:

One of the many statues on Charles Bridge. Addy actually nicknamed it the Jesus Bridge because of the many Religious statues:

View of Old Town Square, short distance from the Charles Bridge. Beautiful Cathedral, Astronomical Clock, restaurants, shops, etc. Also close to the "Paris" street which is modeled after the Champs L'Elysee (only much smaller, less crowded, cleaner).

View of Prague Castle from the Charles Bridge:

Astronomical Clock:

Prague Castle at night (it was dark by 4pm in Prague so much of the city was "at night"). Again, really hard to capture it's true beauty. The castle sat up on a hill and you can view the entire city from the top-- it was beautiful.

Close up of a Cathedral within the Prague Castle:

The Little man having a great time at the Castle Door. He even knocked a few times!

And the shopping. I loved the Christmas market, it was really cute and a fun experience. Many different Czech foods to try, goodies to buy, and yummy hot drinks. Marionette Puppets are the specialty toy in Prague:

Christmas Market in Old Town Square:

More Old Town Square:

We ate at this delicious Chocolate cafe that had the best hot chocolate, and delicious food too!

Banana cinnamon hot chocolate with whipped cream, what could be better?