Mini Break – 3 Countries Markets

I am late with Christmas preparations this year as we took a mini break in the first week of December just as the snow descended on us! That we managed to get away at all was a miracle because of the snow, but we managed to get to St Pancras to hop on Eurostar to Liege, Belgium where we based ourselves. Needless to say the adverse weather conditions meant train cancellations which caused havoc with timetables and we had a four hour delay in St Pancras. We left home at 7.00 am for a short walk to the station in virgin snow and didn’t get to our final destination till 2115 that night! Hats off to our Tour Manager who was absolutely brilliant despite the odds stacked against us – but that in itself is another story. Being married to a Civil Engineer all these years has obviously rubbed off on me and I couldn’t help admiring the beauty of the roof structure of Guillemille Station. The main arch spans 200 metres and is 35 metres high and was constructed at a cost of 312 million Euros. It was opened in September 2009. This modern structure certainly sets it apart from other stations I’ve seen. The next day we travelled by train to Aachen to their Christmas market. I was fascinated by the way they made their crepes. Of course we had to sample one – complete with apfel filling. Look at the workmanship on these wooden toys. The price tag on these elaborate wooden structures were pretty steep and a bit difficult to bring back in hand luggage even if you could afford them! I took about 250 photos, so this is just a flavour of our trip. We visited the market in Liege as well as one in the Netherlands.