Another two markets in one day

This is now getting very difficult.  We are back on the trial of the best Christmas Market and the competition is stiff.  We will go to any length to visit as many markets as possible.
Yesterday, which started with frozen fog, our destination was France.

Not snow - frozen fog

We crossed the Rhein not far from Freiburg, to reach the border town of Colmar, in Alsace, which is a quaint Middle Ages town with lots of very, very old buildings and highly decorated houses.

Bears climbing the building

The beauty of this market is that it is spread in pockets all over the inner city (Centre Ville),

Christmas Market in a city plaza

so not only did we have the pleasure of seeing the market displays but also the Old Town.

Street in Old Town

Street in Old Town

And there were activities for the children.

And lots of handmade wooden toys.

Pinocchio puppets,anyone?

We walked, ate and drank (did I mention Gluehwein?) for about 3 hours until we couldn't feel our toes anymore (from the cold, that is).
On our way back to Freiburg, we stopped in Breisach am Kaiserstuhl where the family of my mother's father originally came from.  The town surrounds a Catholic Church which sits atop the mountain where I used to enjoy outdoor plays in the summer.

A very foggy day at Muenster St. Stephan

Classic Gothic church

Our next destination was on the other side of Freiburg in the Hoellental (Hell Valley - called such because of the steep, winding road to the mountains).  The market there is located very romantically under the four very tall arches of the railroad which spans a wide gorge.

Weihnachtsmarkt under the arches 

This now is our favorite market: it's romantically placed in the forest with a little creek flowing by, 

Lovely creek with colored lights from the forest walk

stalls were unique in their wares, and there was more variety in food then in the other ones we have visited so far.  The goulash soup was particularly nice with (you guessed it) Gluehwein.

Great goulash with either beer or Gluewhein

At several open areas in the market, people stayed warm around logs burning from the inside out.

Burning log - inside out

When we were too cold and full of great food and wine, we headed home.