Spent my first evening in Cologne checking out amazing nearby Christmas markets. The main one is next to the Dom Cathedral with thousands of lights, a stage with music, and stalls galore. Not far away is the Aldstadt Old Town Christmas Market with a theme of gnomes. 
There is a two ice skating rinks with a large ice loop connecting them both, a game played on ice like large shuffleboard at one of the glugwein stand, and traditional music with people singing along in German. 
Ate yummy potato dumplings covered in creme fraiche with fresh herbs, sauerkraut, onions and a smoked sausage. Then walked along the Rhine River to the Christmas market outside the chocolate museum. This one is smaller and nautical themed with Santa pirates singing German sea shanties. Followed the river pathway right back to my hotel.
The next morning, I visited the cathedral. It is hard to describe just how massive it is. So much detail every place you look with massive stained glass windows, some medieval looking and some more contemporary looking. It was fabulous to see it in person. 
Stopped for a snack of sautéed mushrooms smothered in garlic sauce with bread to soak up the sauce. I had planned to visit the Ludwig Art Museum and maybe the Chocolate Museum, but apparently museums are closed on Mondays. 
So I took the train for a peaceful walk around Melaten Cemetery outside the city center. Then went to check out the smaller Christmas Markets outside the city center. Went to Stadtgarden to check out their market with lots of handicrafts. Enjoyed a homemade hot buttered rum with spiced apple and then headed to Rudolfplatz to check out the Christmas market geared towards children. A short walk landed me at the pink, blue, and rainbow gay and lesbian themed market. And then headed to Neumarket with white roof stalls and star lights hanging in the trees. 
Snacked on grilled steak kebab in bread and fried cauliflower in dill batter with hollandaise sauce and can not possibly eat anoth.... oh hey! Waffles shaped like the cathedral with powdered sugar, chocolate, and banana!! 
I headed back for one more round at my favorite Alstadt Old Town Market for more ice skating and snacking. And finally, fully stuffed, I took a walk across the bridge outside my hotel to see the love padlocks lining the fence and get some night shots of the Dom.
The next morning was an early start to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It is a picturesque walled medieval town with pastel colored Bavarian houses and cobblestone streets. The whole town is decorated for Christmas with window decorations. Lots of guesthouses and bakeries all throughout town and the air smells of wood burning fireplaces, baked goods, and roasted chestnuts. Apparently, Walt Disney once visited this town as well, and modeled Geppetto's town in Pinocchio from here. My guesthouse, Zum Breiterle, is above a small restaurant/bakery and conveniently located near the town square. 
The rooms are small but super clean and lots of wood like a small attic room. Walked the small Christmas Market and had delicious wild boar sausage, homemade gingerbread, and roasted marshmallows with nutella. Spent the day walking the entire massive wall surrounding the city, enjoying the views of the town and the surrounding countryside. Breaking up all the Christmas cheer, I stopped in to the Torture Museum (now called the Criminal Justice Museum for political correctness?). 
It was pretty interesting and sometimes funny (did you know that in Medieval times, if a married couple was quarreling, they locked them together with a piece of wood or locked them in their house with a wooden club and gave their neighbors a bit of wine to compensate for the disturbance?) I have also been a looking for just the right Christmas pyramid to add to my home holiday decorations. I have always loved them and wanted one with animals instead of the traditional religious ones that could use tea lights, since they are easier to find than the small candles specifically for the pyramids. Found one with a winter scene with fox and deer and all kinds of animals at a famous Christmas store and it was the last one. The lady who wrapped it for me said "since it is a winter scene so you can use it for more than just Christmas!" 
Little does she know I sometimes leave my Christmas stuff up for more than just Christmas because I love it so much. Back to the Christmas Market for some uh...second dinner (maybe I had already had dinner at a restaurant)? The town seems to have emptied out, as most people come on tour buses and it is drizzling a bit. I found a store to buy a gift for our work gift exchange, since I won't have any time to go to shop once I get home with my work schedule. 
The shop owners were super nice and gave me a little discount for being from the same area as their friend, Rick Steves (who recommends them in his guidebook and sends them a Christmas card each year). Three generations were working in the store, including the father who was as ex-policeman. He showed me a great black and white photo from when the store first opened 70 years ago and has been in the family ever since. Later that night, I went on a recommended night watchman tour in the evening for more town history until it started to pour rain.I had such a good night's sleep, I almost didn't want to get up to head to Stuttgart. But the smell of fresh baked bread, coffee, and farm fresh eggs lulled me out of bed. More train riding, through Ansbach and German countryside eventually landed me in Stuttgart. Stuttgart was not my favorite city. The people seemed less friendly, it seemed dirtier, and just didn't have the same charm to it as previous places. But I may not have given it enough of a chance. Either way, it was a good home base to explore other nearby things I wanted to see. My hotel is small but family run and right above a train station. It is also, coincidentally, right above a burger restaurant!
Took a quick look around the center area before heading to a suburb called Ludwigsburg (incidentally, the hometown of my Iceland to Munich airplane seatmate, an eccentric physicist that reminded me of Einstein). Wandered around and visited the Baroque Ludwigsburg Palace, first built as a hunting lodge that grew to epic proportions. I was just in time for the tour of the Queens side in English. It was an absolutely fabulous tour led by an extremely knowledgeable woman full of stories. 
The inside of the palace was so ornate (sadly, no pictures were allowed). Dining halls full of chandeliers, sitting rooms and libraries full of beautiful furnishings, the most beautiful hallway I have ever seen with light blue walls like the sky and gold and chandeliers. 
There was also a theater, church, and an original window that works as a magnifying glass to make the Rapunzel tower on the palace garden grounds appear larger as you walk away from it. Later, I went to the town square Christmas market surrounded by large lit golden angels. I had some country potatoes with sour cream and a spit roasted pork neck sandwich followed by homemade gingerbread made with honey as the only sweetener, hot from the oven by the baker. 
Kids were on multiple street corners playing music or singing. Then back to the Stuttgart Night Market that was crowded but had a small ice skating rink and the best ride-able Christmas train I have seen yet.
My final full day, I was going to go to a nearby town called Tubingen. But in researching it more, I had missed the chocolate market by a week, it looked a bit like Heidelberg that I had already visited, and the Christmas Market was only on weekends. 
So I took the train a bit further to Hechingen and caught a bus to Hohenzollern to see a castle. Fabulous choice! I walked up the steep hill to the Castle (there is also a shuttle for a couple euro). 
It was perfect weather. The sun came out over a mist and the views from the castle could see for miles and miles in all directions. Had tons of fun exploring the towers, turrets, drawbridges, ramps, and the casemate bomb-proof vaulted secret passages of the neo-Gothic castle. Unlike the Heidelburg Castle that was ruins, this castle was built between 1850-1867 and well preserved and rebuilt. 
Went on a tour just to see some of the ornate woodwork and paintings inside with a small museum of knight armor and other things. All in German again, but their was some information plaques with an English translation (you have to be on a tour to get access inside, but again, no pictures allowed).
Then caught the bus and trains to a suburb of Stuttgart called Esslingen on the Neckar River to check out my last Christmas Market. This one had a medieval theme. I missed the knight jousting over the market, but it was a really fun last market to see. All kinds of costumed people walking around, medieval music performers, blacksmiths creating crafts, their ferris wheel was a water wheel that was hand cranked, a nativity scene that had live animals you could pet, and all kinds of fun games (like a betting game with live mice, a dunk tank, and other fun activities). 
I had a most delicious fried wedge of Camembert cheese in a thin pita-like bread topped with garlic herb sauce and lingonberries, a filling bowl of wild boar chili con carne, apple struesel and a marzipan hot cocoa. I didn't want to leave! 
But I had to head back to Stuttgart for a bit of rest before getting up early for my train ride from Stuttgart back to Munich. Sadly, I can't recommend Iceland Air since they were 0/4 flights on time, had one painfully slow person to check an entire flight in at the Munich airport, and had two flights leaving Iceland for Seattle about five minutes apart leading to mass confusion. But it was super cheap and they somehow did manage to land in Seattle close to on time around 5pm to make it to work by 7pm for a grueling 12 1/2 hour night shift. Still recovering, but it was all totally worth it. All in all, a wonderful trip. Germans tended to be really friendly, nice and helpful. They are straightforward and can seem stern at first, but are really lots of fun. Questioning whether I may be German at heart because they love Christmas festivities and to eat as much as I do (with the obvious understanding that potatoes, sausage, and sour cream make all meals better). I was saddened to hear about the recent event at the Berlin Christmas Market. I can't imagine places so full of joy, families, and fun take such a tragic turn. Glad I wasn't there for that (and thanks for those who checked in on me).Germany Christmas Market trip photos are online or you can view them as a slideshow.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Festive Festivus, and a wonderful and safe New Year to all!
Love,
Betsy
Some people tried to help me get on buses and other trains to get around the accident to my hotel, but it was chaotic with all the locals also running around trying to catch other ways around. Finally got close and walked around until I find the City Center. Beautiful architecture, Christmas Markets and yummy food galore.
Got up early in the morning and caught the bus to Viktualienmarket to watch them setup. So many yummy cheese shops, bread, meats, and all other kinds of food. Headed over to the Marienplatz and Ratskeller, the central square, and wandered around. Everything was still opening up, so I jumped on the subway to Poccistrasse and walked down Ruppertstrasse to check out a graffiti area. Stopped at a neighborhood bakery for a pretzel bread covered in cheese and bacon. 
Then back to the central square, just in time to watch glockenspiel spin and come to life and then went up the observation tower for beautiful views of the city. Back to the food... salmon quiche and a taste of obatzda, a bavarian yummy cheese spread of brie, cream cheese, paprika and butter for pretzels. I seriously can't stop eating. You are never more than a few feet away from something that smells delicious! Took the tram to Bavaria Filmstadt, the German version of a small Universal Studios. Due to low season, they only run tours in German. I am sure I missed a lot of info, but they gave me a discount and some Germans on the tour helped translate when they could. Their claim to fame was the movie Das Boot and one of my childhood favorites, The Neverending Story. I got to ride Falcor!! Seriously grinning from ear to ear. 
After that, I headed back to the city to visit Asam Church. Absolutely gorgeous inside with lots of gold and beautiful ceiling. I went to the Theresienwiese Christmas Market on the Munich Oktoberfest location in the evening. It focuses more on international crafts and is very modern. This year's theme was recycling and mass transit. 
They had a huge Christmas tree made of bicycles that could be lit up by people jumping on the connected stationary bikes and riding. But the Market was very crowded and more focused on drinking, so I headed back for one more go through the much more traditional Munich Marientplatz Christmas Market on my way back to the hotel.
The next morning, I took a Flixbus to a smaller town on Lake Constance called Lindau. The sweet elderly gentleman next to me on the bus shared his snacks with me (as if I need more food). Wandered through some farm/orchard area, stopping for coffee with farm fresh milk at a general store/bar/restaurant where the locals were drinking and eating. 
They helped me catch the bus to the train station on a small isle on the lake next to the local Christmas Market. Super cute market with a Goldilocks Tower and live German music. 
Tried some Highland punch with whisky and ate yummy food with a breakfast of bockwurst in a roll and a fire plank-roasted salmon sandwich with dill cream sauce. Then a scenic train along Lake Constance to Singen so I could enjoy a train ride through the Black Forest to Freiburg for another Christmas Market in the Black Forest. 
Through trees, over rivers, in old rock tunnels, and even snow by Neustadt (not enough to make snowballs and throw... probably for the best)! The whole trip is one bus and 7 trains throughout the day and took quite a bit of advanced planning to make the connections work, but it was worth it for the scenery and turned out to be a nice, relaxing day.
Finally made it to my hotel in Heidelberg, which was right in the middle of the Market. Heidelberg Christmas Market was quite nice. Cute town with wide streets make it seem less crowded and chaotic. A large Christmas pyramid and a train ride and carousel for kids, all under a lit up castle in the Black Forest hills made for a fun market to end the day. The next day was drizzling and foggy, but not cold enough for snow. I took an early morning wander around town before heading up to the Heidelberg Castle. 
It was a little eerie all alone in the fog and a wandered around for a few hours before a huge selfie stick-using Japanese tour group showed up. I enjoyed the views, visited the huge wine cellar and apothecary museum before heading back down to town. I took a nice walk along and over the Neckar River, crossing bridges, watching a ship enter the locks, and watching a crew team practice.
Made it to Mainz for a bit and got to see their Christmas Market. They had a giant Christmas pyramid (which I love). They also had more traditional stuff for sale. Hopefully, I can find it later on in my trip, as I didn't want to lug it around in my backpack while jumping on and off trains. Ate something called grunkohl, which I hadn't seen before. Something like spinach and potato stew with a big slab of meat (pork? ham?) in it. Onwards to Cologne, I have finally made it and checked into my hotel. The ICE train clocked as fast as 300km/hr. 
It was jaw-droppingly amazing getting out of the train station right at the steps of the massive Dom Cathedral. I remember studying it in architecture classes and seeing pictures in textbooks, but nothing really prepared me to see it in person. Plenty of police outside, who assisted in giving me a great map and finding my hotel (just blocks away, but the Cathedral is so massive, it helps to be pointed in the right direction). 
My hotel,