The Christmas Markets in Germany

There is something special about travelling overland, through tree lined avenues, combining land based excusions exploring local cultural landmarks and attractions. Countries which involved France Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

Holidaying in the Germany's Mosel Valley was one of the most idyllic settings i have ever experienced. The beautiful Mosel Valley, home of renowned winelands, was where I spent a lovely four days. The rustic wine bars and wine tasting cellars nestled in enchanting medieval towns alongside craggy castles. We visited three towns including Brodenbach, Cologne and Rudesheim traveling between two rivers the Mosel and the Rhine!

Brodenbach has some of the most beautiful landscape views, from valley to mountain side and the roads offer a challenge to road users. The village is set on the right of the Mosel it hosts churches and a ruined castle.

If you’re a fan of negotiating challenging bends, with great views, long fast straights and with little to no traffic, then these road networks may excite you.

The 125 mile long 'Mosel Wine Road' stretches from Koblenz to the ancient city of Trier. The area's almost complete lack of industrialization and development means that the scenery remains magnificent and the villages are peaceful and charming. The great Mosel River snakes in huge curves through the valley. It is an important trade route and heavily laden barges continue to ply up and down as they have done for centuries. But it is the Mosel's wines, excellent dry white Rieslings, which attract most of the visitors.

Vineyards cover nearly every sunny slope of the steep-sided valley. Rough stone terraces, some large enough only to support a few dozen vines, rise precipitously above the river and vineyards cling to the hillsides at crazy angles. The trip meandered through the lower reaches of the vineyards and the thousands upon thousands of identical rows of low green leafy vines can become quite mesmerizing. Our Hotel The Arken Hotel nestled in a nook of the meandering Mosel. And a glass of wine over a relaxing meal was most welcome after our fun filled excursions..

Staying in these private rooms is a great way to meet the local people.

As with the nearby Rhine Valley, (the mosel is a tributary of the Rhine), grapes have been grown for wine along the Mosel since Roman times. The mechanization that has made the lives of vintners in other areas so much easier has proved difficult or impossible to apply to many of the Mosel's steeply-angled vineyards. Thus wine production here is still a tough, back breaking job and in that way little has changed over the last 2000 years. From pruning and weeding to the harvest itself, much of the work is still done by hand. Despite free accommodation, hearty meals and decent wages there is often a shortage of reliable workers at harvest time.

All the hard work, however, is well rewarded in that it produces wines of exceptional quality. In fact, the very things that make cultivation so strenuous are important factors in the wines' quality—the steep slopes maximize the sunshine that reaches the vines and the stony ground absorbs heat during the day and slowly releases it during the night. This results in fantastic wines famous worldwide.

Small wine-producing villages are strung along both sides of the river, often only a few miles apart. Each has an assortment of caf�s and 'Wein Stube' (cozy bars selling locally produced wines) and many retain a wonderfully medieval atmosphere with gabled half-timbered houses lining quaintly crooked cobbled lanes.

From the small settlement of Brodenbach, we travelled, to the city centre of Cologne it was touched by the magic of the festivities of christmas. I visited the magic of Cologne the seven Christmas markets was just one fun filled day during Advent, alongside many other visitors from around the world delight at the goods on sale at the "Buden".

Christmas music filled the city centre, with local artefacts and crafts, toys, Christmas decorations and the scent of the freshly made coffee creating a wonderful atmosphere. It is not just children's eyes that light up when pewter pourers, wreath binders and glassblowers demonstrate their art, and the aroma of mulled wine, hot chestnuts and gingerbread fills the air.

The variety of entertainment included a visit to a Picasso exhibition, the young Doctor Ludwig did a thesis on Picasso and had since gathered the third largest collection of the artist. In this exhibition presented at the Ludwig Museum until January 15th 2012 Doctor Kerstin Stremmel wants to show that the face of Picasso is as well known as his oeuvre . He was portrayed by the most famous photographers and some of these pictures have become iconic. MeMyselfand photo portraits of Picasso brings together prints from 250 photographers such as Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton,Henri Cartier Bresson, Lee Miller and Man Rayand a visit to Cologne Cathedral.

The Cologne Cathedral another attraction, majestic structure is one of the finest I have visited - known as one of the world's great cathedrals: it is the spiritual and geographical heart of the city. The largest Gothic cathedral in Germany. From the top of the south tower, overlooks the panoramic views of the city and surrounding area.

Its construction began in 1248, housing the relics of the three Magi brought to Cologne in 1164 by the Archbishop Reinald von Dassel, chancellor to Frederick Barbarossa. After the completion of the chancel, south tower, and north-side aisles (around 1500), work was halted and not resumed until 1823. In 1880, the great enterprise was completed, and unlike many time-consuming constructions that change styles in midstream, the final result was in the Gothic style, true to the original plans.

The overall view of the cathedral, from the south transept, you actually can get an idea of its actual size and splendor. The west side (front) is dominated by two towering spires, perfectly proportioned and joined by the narrow facade of the nave. The first two stories of the towers are square, gradually merging into the octagonal form of the top three stories and tapering off at the top with huge finials. There is no great rose window, so characteristic of Gothic architecture, between these spires.

The west doors (main entrance), you are immediately caught up in the cathedral's grandeur. Although this portion of the church is somewhat bare, the clerestory and vaulting give a feeling of the size of the edifice. The towering windows on the south aisles include the Bavarian windows, donated by King Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1848. Like most windows in the nave, they are colored with pigments that have been burned on rather than stained. In the north aisles are the stained-glass Renaissance windows.

The Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. Until 1932 the generally accepted length of the Rhine was 1,230 kilometres (764 miles). It meanders through several countries, I viewed it from several points the most impressive was behind Cologne Cathedralby the banks of the Rhine.

Rudesheim, hosts a beautiful christmas market. This towns history has left a rich heritage here in the wine-growing Rheingau region whose origins date back to pre-Roman times. The inescapable romanticism of the Rhine, the historic palaces and ancient castles, excellent riesling and pinot noir wines, together with Rüdesheim's famous hospitality and conviviality give the town a very distinctive atmosphere.