Nowhere does a Christmas market quite like Germany ...

Best laid plans and all that ... Tim and I had scheduled an early season ski trip for last weekend, but alas, no snow fell. Taking the next best option, we went to Constance in Germany on Friday to visit its Christmas market - and take advantage of the cheap Euro. It is a pretty town, with a large old town and a range of shops. It is tucked beside Lake Constance, where the Rhein flows into the lake. The lake is so big, the place has the feeling of the seaside. There is a rather garish statue above the lake of a muse wearing not much at all, crafted in stone and spinning around. The Christmas market was huge and packed with stands selling all kinds of wonderful treats. Divine smells filled the air. We enjoyed a Moroccan stew for dinner: it was made with vegetables and ginger. Then we sampled Honigmet, a delicious alcoholic honey drink - very warming on a winter's night.