Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

This year's Christmas was special because we decided to head to Netherlands, Belgium and Germany to experience winter, Christmas markets and lots of train rides. First stop - Haarlem because we are not big city people so smaller towns like Haarlem is perfect. 

There was not much tourists in Haarlem. We felt really at ease being part of the local scene. Great town...

Second stop -The Hague, since it was on the way to Belgium and Madurodam should be fun. Did not have great expectations of The Hague but what a pleasant surprise. The beach with its whimsical sculptures humorous, Legoland got the kids super obsessed, nice walks in the park, first tram rides, simple local playgrounds, charming streets cemented happy days in The Hague. 

Was never keen on Belgium after being robbed at knifepoint in Brussels during my backpacking days. But this trip, we arrived in Antwerp and I was blown miles away! Pretty Pretty Pretty!!!! Jaw drop. 

The architecture, scale of the city, vibrancy and diversity of Antwerp was delightful. The vibe electric yet chilled, everything was just nice without being overwhelming. I was in love...

And food was awesome! To die for Belgium mussels, Belgium waffles, Belgium fries and not to forget Belgium chocolate!!! Megan was so impressed by Chocolate Nation Museum - how a narrative can be presented so differently. Morgan only cared about the chocolate tasting. Fun Fun Fun...

Antwerp had much more to offer and we would come back again another year but now was time for Ghent - a city Kenneth has been raving about for years and finally I see he had good reasons. 

Ridiculously cold when we arrived. Temperature just plunged to new sub zero level again. Everything was misty and foggy and freezing. How romantic. 

We were not anticipating winter markets here but as the evening approached, the squares came alive with ...wow, our first taste of Christmas.. It was amazing. 

No matter how freezing cold we were, we were hitting the streets for churros, sausages, potatoes, hot chocolate, mulled wine and plenty of carnival rides. Happy children, happier adults (after dropping frozen kids back into bed and heading out for round two).

Got lucky catching Klefki - a uniquely French Pokemon, since we were so close to the French borders... 

Cologne's Christmas markets are famous and our whole four day itinerary was nothing except busking in the Christmas mood. We were not disappointed. I wish I was in the ice skating photos but after crashing face down onto a three year old gal in the rink, traumatising her ice skating experience for life, I decided it was safer for me to hang along the edges holding onto M&M's water bottles. 

Ahhhh... My favourite Heinzels Wintermarchen... maybe it was the house of elves, the piping hot street snacks, the beautiful crafts sold, the outdoor ice rink or the sudden snow... Thumbs up to Cologne's reputation of best winter markets. 

It was an excellent trip. Could not have asked for a better one, even with crazy disruptions on every single ICE train (hello Germans, what happened?), non functioning room heating in -2 deg, three of us catching winter flu and fever... 

Sometimes we needed a change of environment to realise how independent our kids have grown to be. Megan was the reliable big sister,  taking care of Morgi in more way than one. "No you can't do this, no you cannot do that" so often that Morgi came complaining that "Jie Jie disrespects me". 

Morgan had no problem adapting anywhere he went, his main concerns being checking toilets and demanding every stranger who stepped out of toilet cubicles to answer "did you flush?". 

This will be a holiday to remember for a long time. Time to plan the holidays for 2023!!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone...