Iceland 2026 – post 4

by ginnyinshanghai

One of my top things to do in Iceland is soaking in the geothermal heated water.  While there are a few establishments near Reykjavik, my top favorite is Sky Lagoon. 

At a 15-minute ride from the city center, it’s fairly easy to reach.  We made two separate visits on this trip.  It doesn’t really matter (to me) the temps or wind as you can find a place to embrace or shield from the elements during your experience. The photo below you can see the steam rising from the geothermal water – love it! This was part of a protected cove after leaving the changing & showering area.

Speaking of the ‘showering’ area. The message below freaks out most Americans. What? I have to shower BEFORE I put on my swimsuit? In front of these women? If available, you can pre-pay for special individualized shower & dressing rooms. We did that on our first visit. It was nice, not really worth the extra money, in my opinion. Once was enough.

First step (ha, ha) is to remove your shoes before stepping into the changing area. Find an available locker, strip, bring your swimsuit to the showers (semi-private, unlike older, other lagoons) and start soaping up. A tip someone shared previously………..after showering, put on your swim suit and turn the water on again. The warm water will help ease the transition before you can get fully into the heated water. Got it! And yes, it does make a difference.

I turn the corner and see this cave-like stairway.

Ahhhhh, that water temp feels great! I submerge to my ears, soaking up the heat and see Eric patiently (not!) waiting.

L.O.V.E. these thermal bathing spots.

I was in search of some frozen precipitation. While we didn’t see any snow coming down yet, some could be seen. Found this accumulation along the barrier of the infinity wall (more on that later).

That was not going to be a good spot for our photo. I found one other area, another nook in the main thermal lagoon, that had a small accumulation in the grassy hillside.

Not exactly what I was wanting, but it will do. My dream experience is to be in the pool while it is snowing. Maybe another time.

Something that separates Sky Lagoon from others is Skjol, The Ritual.

Eric has a love/hate relationship with it, only liking certain aspects of the process. In short, the process is laid out below. The first step ‘Laug’ is no problem. Step 2 is a harder one to consider.

I found this display right inside the doorway. Once you’ve done the experience, it makes more sense. The top right corner (where you see a ‘circle’) is the cold plunge pool before going inside to the sauna.

The ‘Kuldi’ cold plunge? Not happening. Stepping out of the heated lagoon, there is a 20′ walk into the building that houses the other steps. You’re supposed to take a dip in the small, circular cold-water plunge before entering. I saw a few doing it, and I got my foot in the water – that was it. The next step is the Ylur, sauna. That I can do – but not for very long.

They have this floor-to-ceiling window that overlooks the bay. It is a really, really cool view. I kept the young boy in the photo for perspective.

Now this step is the one that Eric really doesn’t like – Suld, cold mist.

While not my favorite, I do try to stay in it long enough to feel the temp difference.

The fifth step in the ritual – Mukt, body scrub. After exiting the cold mist, a worker hands you a small bowl with their special salt scrub. The scrub has Icelandic herbs, volcanic salt, almond oil & sesame oils. It feels heavenly after putting it on. The minerals in geothermal water are said to de-toxify, relax muscles and refresh the skin.

It does help to have a partner with you to put the scrub on your back – just saying.

In the background you can see the next step – Gufa, steam room. Eric was leading the way.

Very steamy inside, ha!

I can’t stay in here too long.

And then it’s time to wash off the salt scrub and cool down a bit.

The last step – Saft, juice – was not part of our original experience in 2024 but when they expanded The Ritual space, it was added. I like it.

Remember the young man in one of my earlier photos? His mother wanted some shots of their experience, and her phone was locked up. I had no problem getting the photos and emailing them to her personal email. They were from the Isle of Wright.

Now, comes another hard part…………..walking outside this space to get to the heated pool.

Yep, that’s ice on the walkway. Yikes!

We needed some refreshment. Did I mention there is a bar carved into the lagoon?

Eric got their beer……………

…………..while I felt like something sweeter, the crowberry martini.

Part of their marketing for the Sky Lagoon is where the sea meets the sky. The lagoon has an infinity edge that overlooks the Karsnes Harbor. The grates are handy for setting down your glasses or phone. A few baskets are placed around for individuals to drop off their empty vessels.

And they do have lifeguards. Several are walking the perimeter, and a few are actually in the water. Not your ‘typical’ gear for a lifeguard, ha!

Yes, this is a man-made lagoon opening in 2021, but the water is geothermally heated 100-104 degrees F. It is more tranquil, and less crowded with a focus on the Icelandic bathing culture and wellness. Our second visit was great weather for a winter day in Iceland, plenty of sun, no clouds and minimal wind. Couldn’t resist this shot.

There are a few bubbling spots where the heated water is added in.

Can’t forget their waterfall at the other end of the lagoon. Both Eric and I got close – him closer than me. 🙂

It was finally time to end the experience and get on with our day. My last few photos are us heading towards our respective locker rooms.

Towels are part of the experience with blow dryers and other amenities inside the locker rooms. After getting back into ‘real clothes’ a few options existed for food or shopping.

One day we planned for this to be our ‘lunch’ and ordered at their cafe. Eric’s selection is the top slate with traditional pickled herring and Iceland’s signature gravlox. My selection, bottom slate, was 4 flavorful cheeses, paired with bilberry jam. The sourdough grain bread is made in house daily – yum.

Alas, our time at Sky Lagoon was over for this Iceland visit. Until our next time in Reykjavik.

Ginny

As part of their ‘wellness’ Sky Lagoon soothes your body and your mind.

Iceland 2026 – post 3

by ginnyinshanghai

We travel for food and culture, usually in that order. This trip was no different. The five hour time difference messed with our eating schedule. After a nap upon arrival, we walked to a nearby food hall for lunch(?) or dinner (?) or whatever our schedule is on.

While not everyone enjoys food halls, I like them since each of us can pick a different type of food. Shockingly, I felt like sushi and ended up with a poke bowl.

Eric wanted fish. HIs entre was Ling, similar to cod. Then he added the fries for us to share. 🙂

Most cities we visit we start with a food tour early on. This trip was no different. In 2025 it was rated #1 Food Tour in the World – pretty high recommendation! We scheduled this for our first full day in the city.

First stop on the tour was at Fjallkonan, translates to ‘The Women of The Mountain’. They combine Icelandic tradition with international influence. Essentially three buildings along the street are owned by them and are different food/drink stops: gastropub, lunch/dinner restaurant and a cocktail bar. We were in the middle spot for the tour.

We were served two tastes from their menu: slow-cooked lamb & flatbread with a carrot puree, red onions & horseradish and arctic char blini on a chickpea flatbread, roe, horseradish and popping lentils. I liked the lamb tasting the best. Iceland was the reason I started eating lamb. Only problem……………I only like Icelandic lamb, and we can’t find it in the states, yes we have tried.

Something a bit different on this tour was that drinks were not included – I’m fine with that. We had to add a bit of time at the end of each stop to pay for any drinks ordered.

The second stop was Messinn – a place we had visited several times in the past. Our guide, Dave, is talking about one of the dishes we will be getting which is their specialty: fish pan, with arctic char, butter roasted potatoes and cherry tomatoes. Did you now they grow tomatoes in Iceland? With all of the geothermal heat, it has been channeled into heating greenhouses. During our travels in the past we also saw greenhouses growing banana plants! I couldn’t find any history about Messinn but every tour guide has always commented, this was a place their families stopped in years ago and it remains a consistent spot for family gatherings.

We had another pan that was smashed fish with mashed potatoes – but alas, no photo. I got the photo of the arctic char fish pan with crispy potatoes and cherry tomatoes. Oh yeah, and a coffee to warm me up.

Our third stop was another repeat for us – Baejarins Bezto Pylsur hot dog stand and yes, it’s outside. We had no problem with this being a repeat. If a food tour didn’t stop here…………..I would question their integrity – just saying. Pretty much any time of day there is a line, day or night, cold temps or snow. It doesn’t matter; this was the original spot for Icelandic hotdogs. Their business began in 1937 with lamb being the primary meat but also includes a small portion of beef and/or pork in the mix. Please note, this is one of the few places that serves coke products! The largest beer distributor has the largest soft drink distribution – which is Pepsi. Bummer. The few places that sold coke product, I ordered a second round.

I didn’t get a photo of our hot dogs, but found this one on the internet. Icelanders like their sauces and their hotdog has a number of them. If you get one ‘all the way’ it will have fried onion pieces (yum – who knew), fresh cut onions, sweet mustard, Icelandic ketchup (sweetened with apple cider – yuck) and remoulade.

Three stops down, two more to go. Next up was Islenski Barinn. Since 2009 this family-run gastropub is where Icelandic home-cooking meets a modern twist.

The main event was the lamb soup and local beer, GULL. BTW – they are the ones that have the largest drink distributorship in Iceland.

There was another ‘event’ during our time at this stop. Fermented shark was a subsistence food that has now become a tourist attraction.  It stinks, it has a weird texture and the taste lingers on long after it’s gone.  Nope, I’m not doing it. They cut it in small square chunks and keep it in an air-tight container. Tradition dictates after eating said shark, it should be followed with a shot of Brennivin.

Brennivin is considered to be the country’s signature distilled beverage. It is distilled from fermented grain mash and then combined with Iceland’s very soft high-pH water and flavored only with caraway. The steeping of herbs in alcohol is a long-held folk tradition in Nordic countries. It is typically drunk chilled.

Okay – back to the food.

This was also the stop where I got a group photo.  The guide was in the middle of the table, left side, wearing a baseball cap. Our group was composed of individuals from California, Massachusetts and two couples from United Kingdom – all Iceland rookies.

Our final stop, which will be dessert and coffee – Kaffi Loki.

In the past we’ve eaten here for breakfast and it was touted as a traditional Icelandic breakfast. 

But this was our sweet treat for the food tour:  rye-bread ice cream with chocolate chips, rhubarb syrup and whipped cream.   It must be growing on me.  I’ve had it a few times and made a token effort to try it.  This time, most of mine was gone. Coffee or hot tea was included.

One evening, we wanted something different and Eric suggested pizza.  Really?  Really!  He had been looking at some You-Tube videos for bloggers in Iceland and after checking their website, this stop was one of their favorites.  FYI – this was the same place we had a breakfast snack the day we arrived.  They obviously can create a variety of items – great!

Started with a little wine as we settled in.

Seems like we were a tad bit hungry that evening.  We ordered their garlic bread – O.M.G!  it was excellent.  Just the right amount of garlic & salt and not swimming in butter.  This would be a definite repeat if we’re back in town.

Perfect timing for the pizza to arrive.  When the utensils were brought to the table, we also got pizza cutters – interesting.  Now we see why.  The pizza doesn’t come to the table cut.

A few evenings we stopped in for a night-cap.  The Einstok Bar was one we visited. Eric was looking for a cocktail and this one struck his fancy.  I had a sip. I will agree it was pretty good.

Me, I wanted a beer.

Finally time to end this post and curate my photos and geothermal experience for the next post!

Ginny

Iceland 2026 – post 2

by ginnyinshanghai

Let’s talk about Reykjavik. The church, Hallgrimskirkja, near the centre of Reykjavík, is one of the city’s best-known landmarks and is visible from throughout the city. It is a Protestant Lutheran parish church at 244 ft tall, the largest church in Iceland and second tallest building in the country. The church was originally intended to be shorter, but the leaders of the church wanted a spire to outshine the Catholic Church of Iceland – always a competition somewhere.

Known for its distinctively curved spire and side wings, it has been described as having become an important symbol for Iceland’s national identity since its completion in 1986.

It is best described as a piece of Expressionist architecture because of its tower-like exterior and its rejection of traditional styles. I really like the old churches in Europe, being 1000+ years old, but have space to enjoy a more modern style. I want to visit the church each time we come. 🙂 Eric humors me with a visit during each of our trips.

The statue in front of the church is the Norse explorer Leif Erikson. The artwork was commissioned by the U.S. government as a gift to the Icelandic people for the 1,000th anniversary of the Alpingi in 1930. The statue predates the church’s construction begun in 1945.

Getting to the hilltop required walking on their famous ‘rainbow street’. The colorful pavement first appeared in 2015, when locals painted the street in rainbow colors for the Reykjavík Pride Festival. The rainbow became so popular that it was later made permanent in 2019— symbolizing diversity, equality and love. 

Not too far away is this purple sidewalk art – which when I was googling it, found it in a multitude of colors, but just happens to be the purples and blues at the moment.

Murals on buildings is considered street art and had a multi-faceted relationship in the city, it did not emerge overnight. Some artists did all the right things, applying for permits and waited for paperwork. When it didn’t come, they reached out to building owners for their permission. As long as nothing obscene was created, most of it stayed. In 2009 an initiative started for artist to submit proposals. A major turning point came in 2015 with the launch of Wall Poetry, a collaboration between Iceland Airwaves music festival and Berlin-based art initiative Urban Nation. Here is a small collection from our walks. You can download a street art map and wander the city for other hidden gems.

Cats are celebrated here and a number walk freely around town. Couldn’t resist a quick photo of this one drinking along the street.

Art also takes the form of sculptures. I always walk down to the harbor to find Sun Voyager. The artist intended it to convey the promise of undiscovered territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom. It was the result of a city-funded competition to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the city of Reykjavik. There has been some dispute about the eventual location of Sun Voyager as some have complained that the ship does not face west, towards the setting Sun in accordance with the concept behind it,

Yes, the sky was that blue (along with the water) for my photo above. It was a gorgeous day.

Another body of water is called ‘The Pond’. It is an old sea lagoon that closed off over 1,200 years ago, gradually becoming a freshwater pond due to groundwater flows. Feeding the birds on the lake shores is a popular pastime.

Now, these people were crazy! These tourists were to the left of where the birds had open water. No thank you.

A unique statue nearby is The Monument to the Unknown Beaucrat. It depicts a man in a business suit carrying a briefcase with the upper body replaced by a slab of Icelandic volcanic basalt. Created in 1994 it is a satirical tribute to the faceless who work tirelessly behind the scenes to maintain the city’s operations.

Nearby was a square with an archway – a nice bright spot for a photo to close this post. Hang tight – more to come. A few posts about eating – yes, Iceland does have a food scene – and one of my top favorite places to visit, a geothermal bath & spa.

Ginny

Iceland 2026 – post 1

by ginnyinshanghai

We headed North!  Where you might ask……………..Iceland!  Crazy right, why go to where it’s cold?  Most people go south for the warmth, but we’re not most people.  When you live in the heat, short trips to northern destinations have a lot more appeal.  Let’s take a look at the temps.

Central Florida:

Reykjavik Iceland: oh yeah, that is going to be chilly.

Yes, yes, got to the airport waaaaaay too early, but I’d rather hang out at the airport versus home.  The Priority Pass lounge in Terminal C is definitely a step up from the other ones at MCO – much bigger and while there is comp food and drink, one can also order some food for nominal pricing.  Not much of a surprise what I ordered – fried cheese with mariana sauce (a definite throw-back). OMG – it was so good, hot, gooey and very tasty.

Let me see, what did Eric order………….fried chicken fingers and fries.  What!?!!!!!  He said he ordered it for me.  Really, does anyone believe that?

We have a routine.  I leave the lounge early, walk the gates to stretch and get in some steps before boarding.  Eric stays in the lounge for the comp drink & food.  I got a call from Eric…………….do I have his backpack – nope.

Panic mode sets in, for both of us.

Coming out of the lounge, he asks the workers at the check-in desk if a backpack was found. Maybe? Turns out that Eric was ‘that guy’ who left something unattended. They asked for a description and Y.E.S it was his backpack. Oh, thank god. Even though it was his backpack, it was not going to be the best way to start a vacation.

Okay, heart has stopped racing, let’s get back to the trip.

A nice surprise was sitting in our seats. LOVE the Icelandic bottled water. While in the actual country, bottled water is frowned up due to their high quality of water. But since we’re still in the states, bottled water it is.

We didn’t exactly leave as scheduled. Took us awhile to get through the traffic on the runways. One positive from that, a few interesting evening shots. First up the runway…….

………….and then downtown Orlando.

The flight was less than 7 hours then we arrived at Iceland’s International Airport – Kevflavik. Located about 30 miles from Reykjavik, it is the largest airport in Iceland and the primary hub for international flights from Europe, North America and Greenland. The airport was originally built by the U.S. military during the occupation in WWII. In 1949 a passenger terminal was built by Lockheed and in 1951 the U.S. military returned the airport to Iceland. Whew, enough of that history.

One thing that I’ve gotten used to is deplaning outside and walking to a bus before getting to the terminal. Really?!? It is cold here! It was a shock the first time and wasn’t really dressed for that. Now, we know.

Remember I mentioned it’s approx 30 miles from Reykjavik? There’s no train system, but there are buses and taxis (unless you rent a car). We have rented a car in the past, but not this trip. While everything in Iceland is expensive, taking a taxi for the 2 of us is not worth it. Once you have 3 or 4 people in your group, a taxi makes sense at that point. For now, we take the bus. They depart frequently and correlate their schedules to flight arrivals.

All the buses go to the Bus Station near downtown Reykjavik. At that point, one needs to transfer to a smaller transport for hotel drop-offs or catch a taxi – our choice.

We generally stay at an AirBNB in the downtown area and Eric found us a 1 bedroom for the two of us. One trick we do……………..pay for the previous day so we can immediately get into our lodgings. Don’t think I mentioned this earlier but North American flights arrive between 5am – 8am local time. I’m too old to wait until a hotel check-in. I need some food and sleep.

We found a breakfast stop 1 1/2 blocks away from our place.

Vanilla donut and coffee for me, oatmeal porridge for Eric.

Back to the place for a nap with black-out curtains for a good sleep during daylight hours. Night. Night.

Ginny

Amsterdam 2025 – final post

by ginnyinshanghai

We took the train back to Amsterdam before flying home.

We’re staying at a different hotel then earlier in this trip: Ambassade Hotel.

It was one of the nicer hotels for this trip.

Loved seeing these bicycles on the bridges over their canals.

During our return, we stopped back in a few places we both enjoyed. Eric looked for cheese………

……………and I wandered the flower market.

We walked to the ‘Red Light District’ – just to say we were there. Yes, down some of the alleyways there were ladies in the windows at street level – scantily clothed – even at 11 am in the morning.

Being so close to the sea, Eric found a popular (yet affordable) restaurant that we stopped in twice before leaving Amsterdam.

Of course, we had to get a version of their ‘seafood tower’. Let me see, I believe this is a fairly complete list of the items below: two different shrimp species, cockles, clams, razor clams, oysters, snow crab legs, stone crab, sea snails, mussels and crab salad (which we enjoyed the least).

What drove us (read – Eric) back for our second visit was their oyster happy hour. Between the hours of 3pm – 5pm, these tasty bivalves were available for a great price. So naturally, we needed 2 dozen between us to share.

I couldn’t pass up a chance to try their grilled octopus, with slices of fried potatoes – delicious!

I needed more for my evening meal. The mussels from the previous seafood tower were so good, that’s what I requested, also adding the frites. 🙂

One last shot of the restaurant we so enjoyed………..The Seafood Bar.

We thought we were full, until I saw the ice cream shop across the street. We needed some ice cream to ‘fill in the cracks’. Even with the chilly temps, ice cream hit the spot.

We had such a good trip, we were trying to find a way to end our time in Amsterdam. Found it!

After a short walk to our boat departure, we were ready for our last adventure. Random art installations followed a set pathway due to the number of vessels.

So glad Eric didn’t book the ‘boat tour’ below. The photo is a little dark, and yes, that’s a kayak. We saw several that had strung Christmas lights along the top of the hull.

Interesting thought……..

This one was interesting. The lights were on a cycle, looking perfect initially, then slowly crumbling down upon itself.

These birds commanded a lot of attention. Some of the installations were easily seen along the canals while the one above was in the port area.

Our cruise was a notch above the rest, complete with food, drink and a bit of history.

While this last post is way overdue – like most of my final trip posts – it is finally finished. We really loved Amsterdam and visiting the Christmas markets. Hopefully more Christmas markets will in our future.

Ginny

Cologne 2025 – post 3

by ginnyinshanghai

This was our last full day in the city.  The Cathedral Christmas market is (surprise) right next to the Cathedral.  We didn’t find it initially.  It was one of our favorites both for the food and purchases. 

One morning we needed breakfast and the hotel’s options didn’t do it for me.  We went looking for a German sausage.  We found the best one ever!  At least in our opinion.  We went back the last morning in Cologne for another sausage.

And yes, we both ended up with a Kolsch beer, for breakfast. Hey! It was the best choice for our chosen breakfast.

Next was a hunt for the Maritime Christmas market, down near the Rhine River.  Easy to find once we realized the Ferris wheel was part of the market.

Naturally, there needed to be a pirate ship serving drinks at this market since you were on the water.

It may have been our least favorite however we had some hot drinks and talked with a really interesting German couple that leads wine tours.  We have their business card and hope to get in touch with them at a later time. 

The last market to find was the Angel Christmas market, characterized by lots of white lights. It was a hike, but we were determined. 

We got a little dessert while waiting for the sun to set.

Then these odd puppets wound their way through the market.

The sun finally went down and we were able to get a few good photos.

We went back to the cathedral for a night-time photo and another visit to the Cathedral Christmas market.

The Christmas market was buzzing with people this being a Friday night and a lot of weekenders were in town. Yikes!

Eric was looking for wine and I found a ‘vegetarian’ tarte flambe’ – totally enjoyed every last bite.

The crowds were getting too much for me.  Eric was loving it and I was done.  After getting back to the room I grabbed this photo of the smaller market outside our window – O.M.G.  Look at the people – no thank you.

We’re back to Amsterdam for a few days before flying out.  Let’s see what Eric has planned.

Ginny

Cologne 2025 – post 2

by ginnyinshanghai

That church we saw when we stepped off the train………it was time for a visit. 

A bit of information about the Cathedral:

~Construction began in1248, then halted in 1560. Work was ultimately completed in 1860 after funding in the 1940s, literally off and on for 632 years. The completion of Germany’s largest cathedral was celebrated as a national event in 1880.

~The Cathedral is Germany’s most visited attraction for tourists and pilgrims and one of the oldest and most important pilgrimage sites in Northern Europe.

~It is the tallest twin-spired church in the world, and the third tallest church in Europe. Being built from different types of rock which weather to varying degrees, rarely is the cathedral seen without scaffolding.

When American troops entered the city on March 6, 1945, one of the only buildings standing was the Cologne Cathedral. The twin spires were an easy navigational touchstone for the Allied bombers. It endured 14 bomb hits and was heavily damaged, but key parts remained standing.

Immediately after the war, building materials were procured for repairs needed to bolster the Cathedral. Repairs were competed in 1956.

Walking up, the entranceway was imposing.

A number of prophets also line the entrance; here was Moses with the 10 commandments. Hmmm, my photo looks a bit weird and makes Moses have a shortened statue. Yep, the angle wasn’t the best. Next time…………..

One visit there was a service going on and we had a chance to hear one of their two organs.

As noted above WWII saw a lot of destruction……………………some of the windows were saved and are traditional.

A more recent addition is this modern stained-glass window – interesting.  Not really sure how I feel about that.

I did like the colors as they hit one of the cathedral’s walls.

This church was built to hold relics from the ‘Three Wise Men’.  Sharing ‘relics’ was big business in medieval times.  Parts and pieces of important religious figures were shared amongst a number of parties. Back in the day…………………it was a big business to have ‘relics’ for the masses to make pilgrimages to honor said relics. Pieces and parts of individuals were divided up for multiple religious sites for the people.

Whenever we’re in churches, I try to look for things that most miss, like these burial sites that most visitors walk right over.  Loved the intricacy of the designs.

Exiting the cathedral this greeted us. Okay, I’m sorry, this might seem sacrilegious…………….but I took this photo right in front of the cathedral.  Oh my goodness – not a good likeness.  ☹

Actually, I was going to start this post with our evening brewery tour then I remembered the church.  I have to talk about the church. I’ve always loved walking into the European churches since most are older than the U.S. has been a country.

Originally, we had a food tour scheduled for Cologne, but Eric got an email that it was canceled.  He found this brewery tour at the last minute.

It was a large group and ultimately had 2 tour guides, so we were split up.  Our guide was interesting, that’s all I’ll say.  Not the best guide, but we needed to lower our expectations.  It was advertised that we would be stopping at five breweries, but only beers at the first three were covered.  The last two stops we needed to pay.  Eric forgot to read that tidbit of info and we were pretty low on cash with barely enough to cover.

The first three stops were Brauerei Zur Malzmuhle, Sunner & Whale and Peters Brauhaus.

Sorry, this photo was the only one from the second brewery. Yes, that is a depection of a while, hence the name.

No photo for the next stop as it was at a mini convenience store – everyone covered their own expense.  I didn’t deem it photo-worthy. The last spot was Fruh Brewery, also a restaurant and after most of the group left, we stayed to order food. Let’s talk about the beer.

This is how your kolsch beer arrives. The tray is called a ‘kranz’. The slender .2L glasses are called ‘stange’.

Kolsch was defined as an ‘easy-drinking pale ale’. Most breweries have one single beer on tap and you know that place focused on their beer and care about their product.

One important piece of the Kolsch-drinking culture was the coaster called a ‘deckel’. The coaster was marked with tallies to keep track of how many glasses of Kolsch you drink. Glasses will continue to arrive until you put the deckel over the top of your glass. Take the deckel to the cashier and payment was based upon the number of tally marks. You always have a fresh and cold beer in front of you. Okay – I like that.

I’m closing with a (unplanned) fabulous photo of the church. I sent this to some friends back home and they wanted to know what I did to enhance the shot. Nothing. I just got lucky with the angle of the sun.

One more full day in Cologne and a chance to find the remaining Christmas markets in the city.

Ginny

Cologne 2025 – post 1

by ginnyinshanghai

A new city!  Someone at work recommended Cologne for Christmas markets and that rose to the top of our list.  We’re on another train and this one handed us German gummi bears – how cool is that. A little snack for the train ride. 🙂

Walk out of the station, and you are literally hit in the face with this.  Okay, I’ll agree it’s not the best photo I’ve taken, but I’m staying true to the story and this was my first photo. Wow, just wow.

We could easily walk to our hotel from the church – it’s on the other side of the building.  Standard city hotel – but what a view.  This is a little side Christmas market. Not even sure it has a name. On the other side of a building, is the Cathedral Christmas market. Maybe they outgrew their original space and gradually moved down to this open spot?

We needed food – we both were famished.  This was one block away and fairly typical German food. Nothing fancy, just nourishing and something to fill us up.

First Christmas market we ran into was the Winter Marchen – lots of gnomes around.  Yep, there’s gnomes up in the ‘windows’ in all of the arches.

It covered several long blocks with one block primarily devoted to food kiosks and the other a mix of food and products for purchase.  We stopped inside a beer hall that looked fun. No, we did not bring that mug home – too big and too heavy, but great for drinking beer.

And part of that building contained this.  Not sure exactly what the ice sport was called, but playing and drinking seemed to be part of the rules. 

We joked about this activity during most of our stay – ice skating.  Nope, not going to happen.  One thing I don’t need to take back would be broken bones.

Since we ate late afternoon, no need for another big meal, but always time for a bag of fried dough and powdered sugar.  The chef gave me one of the balls dipped in chocolate.  It was delicious, but the chocolate was hot, hot, hot and burned my mouth.  Much better sticking with the powdered sugar.

That ‘small’ market seen outside our window when we first arrived………..we stopped in to check it out later that evening and it was all about food and drink . Yep, we added another drinking vessel to our collection. Our first Christmas market mug.

I got to say, I was beat.  Eric walked me back to the room and then he headed out to talk with some locals.  I never heard him return.  Traveling is hard on the body, ha! Stay tuned, more to come from Cologne.

Ginny

Strasbourg Xmas 2025-part 2

by ginnyinshanghai

We’re here for the Christmas markets, but also for the food. I had a request when we got to Strasbourg………………a repeat visit for a tapas restaurant we visited earlier. Eric made the reservation.

One advantage to a larger group, more items can be ordered and shared. We had plenty, but only needed four for the two of us. First two: foie gras and quiche with goat cheese.

Local sausages and pickled vegetables.

Pork roll in a delicious broth.

Naturally we ordered dessert – which was also a repeat and just as good as my memory: toasted kougelhopf cake, marinated pears with a local fruit puree and a scoop of ice cream. Yum, yum delicious. Not a drop was left on the plate. 🙂

It was a good meal at a repeat location – thanks hon.

Let’s get back to the Christmas decorations. Later in the evening, this wall also had some projections they added.

Now this was a large advent calendar, counting down the days until Christmas. All the numbers were represented, even if you can’t see them in my photo.

Decorations didn’t have to be over the top, sometimes simple and classic is best. Here’s Eric waiting patiently (not!) for my photo.

This was one of my favorite photos. In May, we had dinner at the restaurant in the background.

Several displays had giant bears in their windows.

This was seen on a side of a church, subtle but nice.

Those glasses I mentioned in the previous post?

Before coming, I read that collecting the Christmas market mugs was a ‘thing’. In Strasbourg, it was all about these (plastic) glasses. After getting your chosen hot beverage, a euro was charged for the cup. You bring back the glass, you get back a euro. Let’s just say that we are coming home with a collection. I convinced Eric these plastic glasses were much better (and lighter) than mugs for packing. We were on a hunt to not repeat a glass – we succeeded.

During our wandering, we came across some oysters – Eric needed some. And, maybe just maybe, I had a few of them – very salty.

Another ‘snack’ was a raclette sandwich – O.M.G. Their line was so long, Eric stood in line to pay for the sandwich, while I waited in the other line for pick up. Here was one of the many ‘burners’ melting the cheese before it was scraped onto a bun. You could add a protein and we got the ham.

Oh, and some gherkin pickles was the finishing touch. There was plenty for us to share with the one sandwich. We only needed one.

I needed one more photo of the cathedral while the sun was setting. I didn’t enhance this photo but the beauty of the church was stunning.

These last few photos were show some whimsical shots of Christmas I saw while walking around.

Merry Christmas a bit early.

Ginny & Eric

Strasbourg Xmas 2025

by ginnyinshanghai

Although we visited Strasbourg this past May, we heard great things about their Christmas Markets and quickly put it on the list for the trip. Getting to Strasbourg from Amsterdam required changing trains in Paris. Love the train system, when it works (and runs on time).

We arrived at dusk and the taxi driver could only take us so far, then walking with the luggage was the reality. Hotel Suisse was the eventual destination. Not a bad walk, even dragging our suitcases and backpacks.

Why could the taxi driver not drop us off at the door? We are steps away from the cathedral where only pedestrian traffic was allowed. This was our view from our 3rd floor window. The cathedral is literally right around the corner.

Our hotel? It was a small boutique accommodation that had some quirkiness as they modified the building throughout the years. Yes, it had an elevator which was a godsend being on the third floor.

Before any exploring was happening, food was on the agenda, and we went with local specialties at a nearby brewery.

sausages, potatoes & kraut
tarte flambe’

Fairly quickly we got in the holiday spirit with all of their colorful decorations hanging between buildings or above storefronts.

You just can’t imagine how many there are. Everywhere you looked there was another display.

Also found several of the actual Christmas markets while we explored. Notice the cup Eric is holding in the bottom right photo? More on that in the next post.

One walkway was decorated with chandeliers with screened boxes for protection. Didn’t expect to see that, ha! An entire alleyway was lined with different chandeliers.

Several locations kept with a theme from the shop below.

One thing we noticed was a police presence at all of the markets. Eric reminded me Europe had some issues a number of years back. They walked in pairs but this individual was stationed near one of their largest trees.

We stayed in Strasbourg 2 nights and 1 day so only doing one more Strasbourg post. Even during daytime the decorations were pretty. That’s in my next post.

Ginny