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When we decided that we will be having blog-entries to sweeten the time until gift-giving (there's a hint, what you can expect from me somewhere in the text), I instantly knew what I'll be writing about: Christmas in Graz, Austria!
For me, visiting the main town has been an important part of the Advent Season ever since I was a child, and even today I'm at the local Christmas-Market (or "Christkindlmarkt" as we call it) at least once a year and it's always getting me into the Christmas Spirit.

Last week it was again, however this time somewhat wistfully, as there hasn't been any snow yet this season, but read and see for yourself!

Searching for "Christmas"

It was midday when I arrived in Graz by train and even though the sun was shining brightly, it was impossible not to realize that christmas was very near: Instant-snow "graced" the shopping windows, "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid could be heard from far away and every second person at the train station carried either huge shopping bags or nicely wrapped gifts with them.

That's not exactly what I like about Christmas and what I was looking for, so I didn't stay there for longer than needed and made my way to the main square instead.

The townhall at the main square.

 

I did like it much better there, but wasn't sold on it yet. As every year the city invested a lot in festive decoration and the Christmas-Market provided numerous tasty specialties, but the weather just wasn't right. It was a bit too warm and way too bright (sounds weird – I know ^^) ...and how should I present you "my" Christmas, if I'm not all that impressed?

This nice object that's hanging right above the rather famous "Sporgasse" says "Happy Holidays" in German.

 

One of the stalls at the "Christkindlmarket". The cotton wool that's supposed to be snow, looks a bit odd with this strong backlight, doesn't it?

 

I figured that I had to change my plans and thus decided to come back in the evening, after college. It was just 1 PM, so I continued taking photos to pass my time, hoping that I'll be having the same subjects in their full glory in front of my lense in just a few hours, to show you a good "before and after"-comparison.

The "Herrengasse" (in English it could be "Gentlemen's alley" xD). The view upwards is promising. :)

 

The unique ice manger in the statehouse yard. It's produced anew by a local artist every single year.

 

The view from the "Skywalk". A few minutes ago we were down there. :)

 

The Clock Tower on the "Schlossberg" (= castle hill in English). It's the town's landmark.

 

And then the time had finally come: After the lecture, which also had a certain unexpected charm, because of the lecturer's clothes...

(the students weren't prepared :D)

 

...Graz showed what makes it so special to me.

They say "A picture says more than 1000 words", but even 1000 photos couldn't nearly describe the beautiful mood that was present in every single corner of the city. So you better get yourself some gingerbread to sniff on it and open a street-music-folklore-playlist on YouTube before you look at the following pictures.

We have seen this before. ;-)

 

I started my tour on the main square, which was now covered in a beautiful gold tone, thanks to the huge Christmas tree. It really accentuated the market.

As part of the "Erzherzog-Johann-Brunnendenkmals" (a fountain, dedicated to the Habsburg Archduke Johann), the humanized depiction of the river "Drave", is also amazed by the large tree.

 

The stall on the left sold delicious waffles...

 

...and in the end I gave in to the temptation. What you see here is a "special-apple-cinnamon-vanilla-plum-mix" from a colleague who worked on the market, to my surprise.

 

Full and satisfied I walked along the "Herrengasse", whose lighting hasn't promised TOO much by day.

Thanks to long time exposure I don't have to censor anyone. That would have been a rather lengthy task.

 

Even the red carpet was rolled out. D:

 

Of course the ice manger wasn't to be missed either. I wasn't sure, whether I liked the more natural and thus beautiful daytime-look a little better, but some musicians next to it played jazzy Christmas songs (<3) and so I didn't give it a second thought and just enjoyed my time.

The pink-turquoise-contrast is also very famous in customlevels, just to bring in TR here, too. ^^

 

Last but certainly not least, I also went to "Skywalk" again, which offered a beautiful over the main square and the "Herrengasse"

 

On my way home, I went through my pictures again, having the blog-entry in mind (and my gift that has got something to do with the Qin-dynasty *hinthint*) and this really got into the Christmas Spirit.

Mission accomplished :-)

- Soul

 

Almost 1200 km northward from Soul the problem is similar. In Northern Germany there neither is snow 9 days before Christmas, nor I get into Christmas mood. In my hometown Bordesholm there is no big Christmas market, but in the town near Kiel you can find some beautiful corners, that I want to show you now.

I started my tour in the heart of Bordesholm. Here is a traffic circle. Every year in Christmas time they place a Christmas tree in the middle of it.

 

The town hall. Bordesholm seems to have a problem with the length of their chains of light... ^^

 

A view into the shopping street.

 

A very Christmassy flower shop. :)

 

Especially in the settlements you can find many Christmas lights.

 

The conventual church in old Bordesholm is lighted every evening. This is seen from kilometres away, even more because everything in Northern Germany is flat. ;)

 

In the evening and by night it's almost creepy.

 

On the left in the dark, next to the Christmas tree, is the old lime tree of Bordesholm. The small-leaved lime is a natural monument and the age is estimated about 650 to 700 years. Unfortunately it clearly had its day and is just supported by beams. Actually a sad sight.

 

The church again.

 

Soul and I hope that you enjoyed our Christmas impressions, although without snow. :) How does Christmas look like where you live? We are totally looking forward to some photos!

advent@trforge.net
Subject: TRForge Christmas - Christmas impressions

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- cybie

 

Yeaaaahhh! What would TRForge be without a contest? The best things come in threes.

What is Lara doing here?

A) She is opening the trunk of her SUV that she can drive on the island.
B) She is opening a treasure chest in one of the secret tombs that the player can find.
C) She is opening a coffin in one of the secret tombs that the player can explore.
D) She is opening the hatch of a secret chamber that the player can access on the island.
E) She is just realizing that she let the light on at home.

Do you know the answer? Send it to
advent@trforge.net
Subject: TRForge Christmas - 3rd advent

Please note that the participation is valid, only when you have sent all of the 4 advent questions. Deadline is December the 31th, 2013 at 11:59 PM (GMT+1).

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