Howdy ,
I don't know how it is for you, , but sometimes I hear about places, but don't think they're really as good as people describe.
Take Seligenstadt. I have heard people talk about it for years - especially the 'amazing ice cream'!
Although I'm not a big eater of ice cream, I thought it would make a good day trip .... one day.
Then this year, I have had a student who lives very close to Seligenstadt. She regularly told us about events there and even named it as her favourite city!
So finally I went, to see the place for myself.
Wow!
OK, it was freezing (it was the first weekend of the Christmas Markets) but I was super impressed.
First by the town itself. It has heaps of old, half-timbered buildings (1), so the central area feels historic and quaint (2). As I was looking at the old buildings, I found a tower that was one of the gates to the old city (when there was a city wall).
There is also a huge Cloister (3) complex. I didn't enter any of the buildings, but I had a quick look at the garden. Due to the season, it wasn't so special but my guess is at the right time of year it's fantastic - I've made a note that I should visit again in late spring and look at it properly.
The shops in the middle of the town were lovely - lots of small, independent stores ❤️. I went into a couple and browsed (4). Because it's Christmas time, the shop windows were decorated - more than in Frankfurt. It gave the area a magical Christmas-y atmosphere.
And of course there was a Christmas Market. A surprisingly big one, for the size of the town. It seemed that the Christmas Market extended along all the streets leading away from the Town Square.
And the nicest thing? It wasn't packed full!
So, I'm a Seligenstadt fan! I really enjoyed the visit and am looking forward to going back when the weather's nicer 😊.
How about you, ? Have you heard about a place and then been really surprised to visit and find out how nice it actually is? Is there a story you'd like to share?
I hope you're ready for Christmas,
Andrea
(1) half-timbered buildings - buildings where bricks and stone fill up the spaces between wooden support pieces.
(2) quaint - attractively old-fashioned
(3) cloister - a place where monks lived
(4) browsed - looked around for something to buy
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