Hexenagger - Weihnachtsmarkt

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This past weekend we had the opportunity to visit the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) in Hexxenagger, a village about 80 miles SE of where we live and just north of Munich. This has to be the best Christmas Market we have ever been to, even in the rain. The various craftsmen working on their wares and just the ambiance of having the market on the castle grounds just made everything perfect. With the smells of the various foods the vendors were preparing wafting through the grounds and the sounds of music and children laughing made for a great day.

We are not going to go into much detail in this blog as I think the pictures speak for themselves. Besides, in about 9 hours, Kate and I are flying home to San Diego to spend Christmas with our family.

Frohe Weihnachten und glückliches neues Jahr zu Ihnen alle!
(Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!)

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Photos

Schloss Hexenagger
This place was hard to find but by far worth the effort. The best Christmas Market in Germany!

Advent Calendar
The interior windows of the castle are part of a huge Advent Calendar and each evening there is a celebration and festivities as the day's window is revealed.

The Chapel Entrance
The castle's chapel is also the sight of the last calendar day of the Advent calendar. How appropriate.

Hand Carved Navitity Set
There is a beautiful nativity set in the castle's chapel. Quite intricate.

Hexenagger Craftsman
A metalsmith at work. For those who have been to Germany for the Christmas Markts notice his grun wine cup close by.

Puppets
Beautifully carved with great expressions.

Hexenagger Craft Booth
Very much different then the ones you would normally find at a Christmas Markt. Not sure if the stick brooms are for decoration or for witches.

Natural Artwork
Came across this artwork of stickes and stones. It is actually quite good.

A Modern Control in a Mideval Setting
This shop sells schmuck. Yes, that's right, schmuck. By the way, schmuck is German for jewelry. In order to control the number of people that come in to see his wares he has installed a signal light. Red - stay out, Green (although it looks more blue) - come in.

Needlepoint
I'm sorry I didn't get a better picture of what she was doing. The needlepoint she was working on was tiny as you maybe able to tell by her concentration on getting the needle in the right spot.

Caning by hand
This is the first time I've seen canning by hand and it is veery complicated. I have to admit buying it down at the local hardware and garden store is a lot easier.

Angels
There was quite a collection of angels at the Christmas Markt.

More Angels
Wine glass angels

Schloss Hexenagger
This is the entrance to the castle's garden with the castle framed by the opening.

The Crowds
We timed it perfectly as we were leaving there were six buses offloading people going to Hexenagger's Weinsnachtmarkt. As we were leaving town, eight more buses were coming into the village packed with people. By the way, the schloss (castle) is located at the top of a very steep and very big hill!