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After spending last Christmas in Germany and visiting the Munich Christmas market, we decided we had to go to the Christmas markets in the Alsace region this year.  The Strasbourg market is one of the biggest and most popular, and the small neighboring city of Colmar is known to be really pretty and have a nice Christmas market as well.  Ryan’s parents arrived a couple days before we left, so we had some wonderful travel companions as well!

We took the train which was the best way to travel with kids, especially since it was about a 6 hour trip (longer by car).  We took a train into Lyon and then the high speed train to Strasbourg which saved a little time….plus we could use the bathroom without having to stop, eat and entertain the kids more easily, and be a little more comfortable.

Another (somewhat) helpful aspect of the trip was staying in an apartment we found through Airbnb.  Having separate bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen was so convenient (although the old, steep, windy 2 flights of stairs were a little tough going up and down with kids, luggage and a stroller).

We spent 2 1/2 days in Strasbourg visiting the different Christmas markets and exploring the city a little bit.  The neat thing about the Alsace region is there is a strong German influence and the architecture and food are all German, you almost feel like you have left the country when you are there!  We really felt the Christmas spirit in Strasbourg, partly because the shops have a competition as to who can decorate the best, so many shops had really elaborate decorations outside.  Some of them were even themed according to the type of shop it was (such as a cheese shop having cheese decor).  We heard the cathedral was really something to see, and it was beautiful from the outside (but unfortunately we never saw the inside because there was a long line to enter).  Another great part of staying in an apartment very close to the Christmas markets was that we could go back and rest and then head back to the markets easily.  During our first trip out to the market, we saw Santa walking around and he took a photo with Makenna, then took us into a nearby restaurant that has a display set up with a sleigh and we took a photo of her there and then he told us about a nearby patisserie that had a pretty Christmas display so he walked us over there…it was like a personal tour from Santa!  One time that we went to the main market there was a group of people playing Christmas music on trumpets in front of the cathedral.  It was really a special moment to remember!   While we spent most of our time outside during the day, we had to go out one night to see all of the lights.  One area had a huge Christmas tree that was really pretty, and of course the cathedral looked beautiful lit up at night.  There was one area called the Carré d’Or that had the most beautiful decorations and lights, and many of the lights were strung overhead across the narrow streets or above shop windows so we would just walk around looking above in awe.  Another fun part of the Christmas markets is drinking hot wine and eating dinner outside from one of the food booths.  We had a delicious dinner of large soft pretzels topped with a hot dog, and dessert was a sugary soft pretzel that was like a donut!

Next we took a short train ride to Colmar to spend a day at the Christmas markets there.  Our visit was off to a rocky start because we forgot one of our bags on the train (which we unfortunately never recovered) that had all of my makeup and toiletries and Reese’s special formula for his milk allergy.  I started to worry because we have to purchase his formula at the pharmacy and they have to order it, so we often can’t get it the same day.  Thankfully the pharmacy was able to get the formula later in the afternoon, and I was able to do a little shopping for the items I lost.  We arrived in the morning and couldn’t check into our Airbnb apartment until 2pm, so we had to carry our luggage with us for a little while.  We weren’t sure how that was going to work out, but it wound up not being too bad!  Our first stop was the children’s Christmas market which was cute and they even had some farm animals.  Then we were lucky to find a cute restaurant that had a ski lodge theme and was fairly big for a French restaurant….most restaurants here are small or very narrow and you could never get in with luggage and a stroller!  We sat in a back booth that had quite a bit of room and we were able to set all of our luggage next to our table.  It was really cold outside and we had a couple of hours until we could check into the apartment, so we wound up having a very long lunch and Makenna even took a nap.  For lunch we had a delicious soup that was so satisfying after being out in the cold, and a bottle of Muscat that was so so good.  The Alsace region is know for having great white wine (too bad we didn’t buy any to take home with us!).  After we were able to put our luggage in the apartment (another apartment that was up 3 flights of stairs but this time not as narrow), we went to visit some of the other market areas and I fell in love with the area called “little Venice” due to a small canal that ran through the center.  The architecture was so nice too, it was very German and very different than what we’re used to seeing in France.

It was a busy, whirlwind trip but we really enjoyed it and we definitely felt the Christmas spirit…no wonder Strasbourg is called la Capitale de Noël!