Welcome to Christmas market Vienna, 2008! Europe is famous for many things, none more fabulous than the Christmas markets which are celebrated each year in the public squares of European city's. I've heard of the amazing Christmas markets in Germany but this Vienna market is spectacular in its own right. Here we are at the Rauthaus which is the Town Hall for this fantastic city.

One kiosk after another is brimming with beautiful hand crafted decorations and gift items.

There are so many unique things here that are difficult to find in your average store.
Santa may want to interview some of these craftsmen for a possible career at the North Pole.

This is a scene which I simply cannot experience in my homeland.

The atmosphere is quite festive at these markets as people enjoy the amazing lights and decorations, savor the food and soak in the Christmas spirit.

One cannot take too many pictures of the Rauthaus as it takes on a new glow and dimension each time the shutter is snapped.

As I mentioned earlier the food at these events is fantastic. My entree this evening was a sausage in a soft roll which had me groaning with delight followed by this waffle. It was the perfect consistency of a soft yet crispy texture topped off with cinnamon, banana and chocolate. More groaning.

It would be no problem to spend hours here browsing and eating but its not the only thing to see during Christmas in Vienna. There are also several other smaller Christmas markets spread out around the city. Add to that the fantastic Christmas decorations throughout the commercial areas of the city and you could easily spend a whole weekend walking around. So lets have a look at the some other parts of Vienna.

This is my friend and tour guide Barbara. She is a Slovak who is attending art school in Vienna. After our time at the market we went to the Van Gogh exhibit at one of the local museums. Barbara added a great wealth of information about Van Gogh making the experience something special. Thanks Sweet Tooth!

Many of you know Judy who was visiting from Minnesota. The lights up and down these streets are enchanting to say the least.

Goodness gracious great balls of fire!

This is Kiboi. He is from Kenya. Kiboi has been in Bratislava for 5 years as he pursues a college degree. He recently had some housing issues and needed a place to stay for a few days. It was my pleasure to host and get to know him. His story is similar to many Africans who are studying in European city's. He was selected by his village to go to Europe where he can get a very inexpensive college degree which he can then take back and utilize to help his village become a better, healthier place to live. The pressure on guys like Kiboi to be successful on behalf of his tribe is often quite heavy. God bless you Kiboi as work and study and strive for success.

Here we are back in my current hometown, Bratislava. The Christmas market here is more of a local community event than it is a tourist event. Many tourists also come here for a visit but my main impression of this gathering is one of locals coming together for fellowship, food and light-hearted conversation.

The famous Carlton hotel situated in the famous main square of Bratislava.

This is the Philharmonic building in the city which has appeared in my blog before. On this particular occasion I was attending a Lucnisa (Loo-ch-nee-sah)concert which my friends Barbara and her sister Natalie sing with. Lucnisa was established 60 years ago as an amateur choir and has a very popular reputation here in SK. The reality is they are closer to a professional choir as many of the members have trained voices. These were the musicians who played a Bach selection before the choir came out. After I snapped this photo I got some nastly looks from others around me which indicated to me there is no picture taking at these events. Thus, you will have to take me at my word regarding the choir.

These are the new American teachers who serve at the C.S. Lewis school where I have been involved for the past 2 years. Meet Kim, Kate and Katy. They had never been to Vienna Christmas market so I volunteered to be their official tour guide one evening two weeks ago(ok, I really just wanted another sausage and waffle). This is one of the great things about Europe. We jumped on a train after the work day was over one Monday afternoon, rode the rails for one hour, jumped on a city tram and were at the Rauthaus by 6pm. After a fun night in Vienna we got back on the train and were back in Bratislava at 10:30.

The Christmas fun continues as I now take you, my wonderful blog readers, off to the spectacular city of Prague.

Besides the Christmas market and the general sight seeing Judy and I wanted to see Janka and Monika who have been long time participants of the Bojnice baseball camp. These girls are now in college here in Prague and were delighted to have friends come for a visit. They especially wanted to show us where they live and study. This particular photo was taken at the University for Economics where Janka is studying.

This the Stary Mesto Namestie (Old Town Square). The concept and layout of the Christmas Market is much the same as Vienna and Bratislava. Essentially you fill up your most famous city square with kiosk's packed with great food and handcrafted gifts and decorations. The historic old buildings provide the rest of the enchanting atmosphere.

Hark the Herald Angels sing...

The tree was lit in a special ceremony complete with a countdown and huge cheers from a crowd of thousands. We were happy to be among the throngs.

I wish all of you, my family and friends on both sides of the ocean, a very Merry Christmas. May God richly bless you in the New Year. Joy to the world, the Lord has come!