I’m sure there are other Christmas Markets happening in the area, but we have reached the saturation point. Maybe next year. But we did make one exception, for a Sunday afternoon trip to Heitersheim.

It was a sunny Sunday, and the town is a five kilometre walk; we had been told it was possibly the best Christmas Market in the area, well worth the trip.

We had been told the market is held in the courtyard of a castle and that we could get a free tour. That cemented the deal. And I always can use the exercise, a 10-kilometre round trip is nice on a sunny day.  However, I am going to want to return to see the place when it isn’t crowded with vendors’ stalls.

The area wasn’t what I would call a castle – there are no fortifications and it isn’t on a hill. Certainly a large manor house though. I didn’t see anyone giving tours, either of the house or the attached museum, and all I got to see of the inside really was the church.

The museum has something to do (I think) with the Knights Templar. I definitely want to learn more. Part of the building appears to be a school, other parts a convent for the Sisters of St. Louis. All of this I gathered from my imperfect reading of the few signs. I gather the complex is closed to tours until the spring, so I have something to look forward to.

The Market itself was a nice mix of various local crafts. High quality stuff for the most part and some of it very reasonably priced. It was really the first time we had been able to attend a market without getting wet, so it was quite a different experience – a good one.