What is gluehwein?<BR><BR>

I'm writing this after having just come back from my German friend's place where we sat and drank Gluhwein for the evening. BTW, the German spelling is GLUHWEIN with the two little dots above the U making it an &quot;oo&quot; sound. They make theirs with red wine, star anise, cinnamon sticks, sliced oranges and sugar. They warm it slowly in a pot on the stove until the scent pervades the whole house, then sit with friends and drink from mugs. Just one more of the wonderful things about Germany. The Christmas markets here are wonderful and we try to go to at least five or six a year (usually several of the smaller ones included). You just can't beat the bratwurst either!

I second the recommendations for Stuttgart. Must be seen to be believed.<BR><BR>Linda,the two dots over a,o,u are called an &quot;umlaut&quot; and for non-German keyboards, you have to type an e as in Gluehwein, for it to be correctly pronounced in German.

Message: jjg Thanks for the spelling of umlaut! I knew how to say it but wasn't even going to attempt spelling it :)

Hello, I am staying in Munich and daytrip to markets in Salzburg and Nuremburg. I might do one more small market town if I feel like seeing more.<BR>Plan to use the train day pass I have read about. I would love to visit some castles but would rather do an organized tour. Does anyone know if the tours are going in winter. I will arrive Dec. 3. Thanks for your advice.

Judy -- Are you going on an organized tour or do you make all the arrangements yourself. I have wanted to do this for so long with my sister. It is too late for us this year but we have decided to go next year for sure. Any recommendations??

ttt

I happened to check this board and seen a post for German Christmas markets. I thought it really sounded like a wonderful trip. I read an article in our local auto club publication the same evening, and they offer three different tours starting November 30th to Christmas markets in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I thought it was really a coincidence that I just happened to read a post the same day. Now I am really intrigued with these markets. Unfortunately, I can't go this year because I recently returned from a trip to France. Hopefully, next year. Rita