December

HIM, Mommabear and I were in Trier, Germany for the Christmas markets the weekend before Christmas…. and of course – we decided to make an entire weekend of the German markets… Firstly by visiting Trier on day 1 and then by visiting Monschau on day 2.

We did our Trier market day and then all returned to our hotel for a well-deserved nap… before trying to find a spot for dinner.

We had tried to book a table at the restaurant directly opposite the hotel, but they were surly, looked us up and down and said “full”. So we asked the hotel receptionist for her suggestion…

“RATSKELLER” she said, “Um, excuse me?” we replied. She whipped out a pen and drew circles on our map… showing us that the restaurant was just opposite the market and explained that we needed to walk down a flight of stairs to get in.

So off we went.

It wasn’t far – but all three of us would stop every few meters and glance at the map, then up at the street and the storefronts… before we finally find the door way with the sign indicating the stairs…

It was just before 7pm… it wasnt full and we were lovingly escorted to a table (down even more stairs)… in what can only be described as an underground cave… with vaulted, round ceilings and little booths built into the wall.

It was gorgeous.

Mommabear ordered a Radler (Beer shandy 2.90€) to go with her Jäger (pork) Schnitzel (12,60€) which was served with a mushroom sauce, side salad and decent portion of crispy fries.

Radler (beer shandy)

HIM ordered a “Ratsherrentopf” (pork steak, 13.90€ – served with salad, apples and fried potatoes)

And I went traditional – Wiener (veal) Schnitzel (17.90€ – served with salad and chips)

All I can say – is *YUM* – seriously.

and if this wasn’t enough – we decided that desserts were also in order. Nougat Parfait (5.90€) served with souped-up cherries (aka boozy cherries)

and a trio of ice-cream balls (3€)

A place to revisit? WITHOUT a doubt… the service was friendly and efficient. The food was tasty, reasonably priced and very very generous.

Restaurant Ratskeller

address: Hauptmarkt 14, Trier, 54290, GERMANY

telephone: +49 651 75052

http://www.ratskeller-trier.de/Ratskeller/Startseite.html

It’s official…. visiting Christmas markets in Germany in December has now become a tradition!

When mom came to visit in 2009 – we headed over to Aachen – however, we only managed about 10minutes in the Christmas markets before packing in the idea and finding an amazing German grub spot for lunch (I blame the cold of -13degrees).

The years there after included trips to Trier, Monschau, Luxembourg, Cologne and back to Aachen.

So this year, when mom was visiting us in Brussels – we just KNEW that a weekend to Germany was on the cards… the question was = “Which German Christmas markets to visit”?

HIM and I eventually settled on Trier for day 1 (because he has not stopped talking about the sausages for an entire year) and Monschau for day 2 (as it is my favourite in terms of picturesque-ness).

The drive between Brussels and Trier was about 2 & 1/2 hours…. and finding parking in the city was not the easiest task – but we managed to convince our hotel to let us park directly outside their door, check in and then hoof our way across to the market – where the obligatory sausages & potato fritters (with apple sauce) were enjoyed.