Getting in the mood for Christmas

Now that Saint Nicholas has disappeared out of town (December 6th) the town center is shaping up for Christmas. Btw, Nicholas (or Nicolaus) is a saint who comes to bring presents for those children who were good during the past year; a tradition in parts of Holland, Belgium and Germany.

Tomorrow we'll have the annual Christmas Market in town, as well as an opening of all shops on Sunday. As they don't predict bad weather, it will get pretty crowded, I think. Lots of stalls where you can buy hot drinks and food and of course also Christmas decorations.

Of course, for the real Christmas markets you'll have to go to Germany. When I used to live there, I always went to Cologne or Düsseldorf to  see the Christmas markets, and later on I also visited the one in Aachen.

There is no snow, unfortunately. It's been extremely mild in our parts, with temperatures around 12-13 degrees Celsius. A real Christmas market should have some snow....