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.Made it to my hotel later in the afternoon, with some help. It is close to the City Center, but quieter and in a nice older Bavarian style house. They gave me a nicer room than I reserved and I had a corner room with a view of a creek on one side and a church on the other side. There were Haribo gummy bears on my pillow and free coffee, tea, and cookies. Hotel Golden Leaf is a great place to use as a home base to explore.
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.It was a less successful train day. I thought I had the hang of it, but missed two connections today (once getting off at the wrong Mannheim stop and the other not realizing that ICE trains from the Frankfurt Airport station had multiple numbers per train). Oh well, making the most of my 7 day rail pass!
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, Hotel Drei Kronen, is in a perfect location. The check-in lobby seemed kind of sketchy, but it turned out to be a nice place with lovely rooms. I am here for two nights, using it as a home base to explore. I have a beautiful view of the Rhein River and lit up bridge out my hotel window with several Christmas Markets to explore just blocks away.Hope all is well, and for those in Seattle... save some snow for me!
Love,
Betsy
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