I love Christmas Markets. Not so much for the shopping, but more for the ambience. But the older I get, my tolerance for cold weather is waning. I planned an overly ambitious trip, hitting some of the “best” Christmas markets in Estonia and Finland. For someone who does not like cold weather, why would I even consider going to Finland in December?

The original plan was Luxembourg, Brussels, Warsaw, Riga, Tallinn and Helsinki. I made it was far as Brussels before having to head to home for a family matter. I should have known when the trip starting to fall apart before I left that it was sign of what was to come.

I spent Thanksgiving in Boston with my cousins and then had planned to fly to Luxembourg via London. My original flight cancelled so I ended up having a day in London. I popped in the they City and had a wonder around and ended up just staying at hotel near the airport. Which turned into a blessing as there was Tube strike the next day!

Why Luxembourg you ask? It’s one of the richest countries in the world, per GDP. It’s landlocked by Germany, France and Belgium. And it’s a country I have not been to and they have Christmas markets. So it seemed like a good idea. I managed to hit the major markets in one afternoon.

I chose to have breakfast at the hotel, because let’s be honest it was cold. I was seated next to a lady that I had seen walking into town the day before. I remembered because she had been kind enough to signal that it was ok to walk across the street. I was deep in thought wondering why I thought traveling to cold places was a good idea. We started chatting, her name was Mandy and she was from Singapore. The breakfast was ok, but they had cookies. Like really good cookies. Typical American I took like 4. I then tried to work out how I can take them with me, as the napkins were cloth. The shock and horror on Mandy’s face was absolutely priceless. I just asked the server for a togo bag. Mandy was not having it. So I ended sharing with the nice German couple sitting next to me. They were quite happy to have the cookies.

I took the train to Brussels, where it was even colder. I managed to catch up with my cousins and then unfortunately had to change my travel plans and headed back to the States.

I was a little sad to miss the Christmas markets, but not sure I am down for anymore in the future. But never say never. Until next time, safe travels