Ulm Christmas Market

Upon entering into the Christmas Market we were greeted by a display from the Steiff Museum. The kids and I were fascinated by the scene. The cute little animals, moving and doing their thing.

I then learned that Margarete Steiff lived just outside of Ulm and learned to make stuffed bears as a child. Later her nephew came up with the idea of making the bears with articulated arms and legs, he was an engineer and helped with design. The bear went on to a toy fair, where it reminded an American business man of the sketch of President Roosevelt with his Teddy's Bear. The Steiff bread 55 became known as the Teddy Bear. I guess another design in the U.S. was also called Teddy's bear, but the Steiff bear's design was the one that prospered.

I had to get a picture of the hedgehog in the back. I don't know if it is all German schools or just my kids schools, but they are obsessed with hedgehogs. My boys have come home with countless worksheets with pictures of hedgehogs. And Cassidy even studied them for a little while. They are called Igel in German.

The Ulm Minster is a Luthran church. It was the tallest building in the world from 1890-1901 at 528 feet.

While wondering around, we came across a glass blowing presentation. I guess it was a glass twirling presentation. They were making those glass flowers you see toward the bottom of the picture. The kids really enjoyed watching them. Cassidy liked when one of the men had finished making a flower, he touched the flower with a piece of paper. The paper went up in flames.




Cassidy and Thomas in front of the traditional German Christmas Pyramid.

We strolled through the forest and watched the model train travel around the track. Then we wondered back over to the plaza in front of the church. They had few animals around the nativity scene, only the donkey gave us some attention.

























The Nativity Scene. A little disappointed that it was not a live nativity, but understood, because it was freezing.

Ulmer Münster by night.