We are staying the Novotel Metz City Center tonight--which is an ideal location for visiting the Christmas Market. The only drawback is the traffic--getting this far into downtown on a busy shopping day during Advent was a nightmare--the last 2 kilometers took about an hour to crawl through and once we arrived we learned that the "on site parking" is part of a garage for the nearby shopping center with no spaces reserved for the hotel--we literally circled the parking garage over half an hour before finally parking by the space reserved for airing up tires and talking to the parking attendant'S office, who did (thankfully) agree that we could leave the car there until the shopping center closed and then move it to a legitimate space. Next time I am taking the train!
Metz, however, is absolutely worth the hassle though. I am completely charmed by the city and am already planing subsequent trips.
Just outside our hotel is a small section of the market with a small carousel and several stalls topped with onion spires:
Among the offerings were sausage, macaroons and freshly molded chocolates (I thought the nativities were funny--would you WANT to eat a chocolate baby Jesus?)
Winding our way further into the heart of the city, it was pretty amazing when the large Ferris wheel came into sight!
The cathedral is HUGE and the wheel is taller! It was too dark to get a good photo of the interior by night, but the side sections are as tall as most European churches and the centrail aisle is stunningly high---almost agoraphobia inducingly high. I thought that lovely Gothic cathedral and the lit up Ferris wheel made a neat combination:
I'm not sure what this building was right across the way, but it was pretty all lit up and flying flags:
We spent a a lovely couple of hours wandering down and around through the stalls, feasting our eyes and having a several delightful treats as well:
A giant pan of noodles with cheese and ham:
How could you not love a carousel with a nautalis???
Actually, the entire, two story, ride was gorgeous and I spent a good 10 or so minutes just watching it and checking out the details:
One very notable difference between the German and French markets: everything we bought came in plastic glasses and on paper plates. NOT nearly so nice, but the wine was tasty in spite of the pathetic and environmentally bad cup.
These candied fruits were so pretty--I wanted to get some to try, but the smallest amount you could buy was 12€, which seemed like a lot for something I did not know I would like:
Oysters on the half shell were on offer--this is not somehting we've seen at any market in Germany:
There were lots of places selling escargot, and all doing great bussiness--again not something we've seen before:
We eventually wandered over to the lovely old train station, where I bought a bag of freshly made churros--which brings back memories of buying churros at the Wednesday market in Spain on my way to school back in 10th grade:
On the way back to the hotel, I grabbed a photo of some of the lights and one more of the cathedral and Ferris wheel, as well as one of those super uncomfortable benches that are so ubiquitous here that they are even in the French pavilion at Disney Epcot. I always think of Disneyworld when I see those benches!
Tomorrow I will take some photos of this amazing city by daylight.
--Hadley
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