Attractions in Wiesbaden No. 4 - the Sternschnuppenmarkt

As I have reported in my previous posts, the Christmas Market has been open here in Wiesbaden for a week and a half now. We usually visit the city centre daily with my daughter, but for some reason I was able to check the Christmas Market only yesterday.

Yes, the Christmas spirit was there, but somehow the market felt a lot smaller than last year. Maybe it was just less crowded, as it was Thursday afternoon, or maybe it was a mistake to visit the market in Frankfurt first. I couldn't help but compare our local, cosy market to that of a bigger city.

But I'll show you a couple of photos, so that you can see for yourselves.

For some reason the spirit isn't there before it gets dark...

The Christmas Market takes place around the Marktkirche

The Christmas tree is certainly more beautiful here in Wiesbaden

The carousel in Wiesbaden is smaller than in Frankfurt, but at least here you are able to get close enough to take a picture...

These 'light flowers' you can find all over the city centre

The lights create the atmosphere when the sun is setting

The highlight: Sternschnuppen Rad at Mauritiusplatz

Drizzly And Grizzled

What a grey day it has been.

All this low pressure and playing inside pulls down the spirits of even the sprightliest little girl.

It is difficult to remember that yesterday was such a brisk autumn day.

Finding the Christmas Spirit

I must warn you: this is embarrassing. But I'll tell you anyway.

The Christmas Markets have been open for many days, but I haven't visited them until today.

And it gets worse: I didn't visit the local market here in Wiesbaden, but the one in Frankfurt.

I promise, I'll visit the Wiesbaden market as soon as possible and tell you all about it. But in the mean time, here are some photos from Frankfurt.

Attractions in Wiesbaden No. 3 - Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche

The Christmas Market started today here in Wiesbaden. It was announced that to celebrate the opening, there would be fireworks at 6 pm. I assumed it would be very crowded downtown, so we drove to the Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche, where there is a great view over the city, to watch the fireworks.

We were there a bit early, so I took some photos of the church in the night-time lighting. A couple of minutes before six we took seats by the view. But nothing happened. Not a single firework. At 6.15, I gave up and we drove back home. Just when I had undressed my daughter - yes, you guessed it - the sounds of the fireworks started. We have a great view from our balcony, but it is not directly to the city, so all we saw was some lights reflecting from the clouds.

But I don't want all that trouble be for nothing, so I'll take this opportunity to introduce you the Russisch-Orthodoxe Kirche or Griechische Kapelle as it is also known. It is one of those attractions, which you can find in Wiesbaden postcards. The church is located up on Neroberg, so it can be seen from far. It has golden onion-shaped domes, which shine beautifully when sun (or at night-time the artificial light) hits them.

in February

today

I won't get into the history in detail, because all my knowledge is based on Wikipedia, which you can study yourself. Let's just say that there was a 19-year-old Russian princess, death in childbirth and a grieving Duke.

Like with the Cuckoo Clock, it is also worth looking around the main attraction. There is a beautiful cemetery, which is the largest Russian Orthodox cemetery outside Russia. And the view over the city is quite amazing.

the view in October

The First Picture

This is the first picture taken after we had moved to Wiesbaden and the first picture of our baby girl (she is about 30 minutes old).

Note to everyone planning to take pictures of a newborn baby:

check that the camera is working properly before you pack it into the hospital bag!