Our train to Augsberg was a bit of a party train. It seemed like we were the only people who didn’t have a six pack of beer, or even a crate like some of the groups. When we arrived in Augsberg, the first thing we noticed was the police. There were tons of them, all over the train station all in riot gear (we are getting to be experts on the various riot gear of different countries- a good thing or a bad thing??). As far as we could tell, nothing was going on though- all seemed peaceful. We headed to our hotel where we were told that the riot police were out because a football match had just ended. Ah, that explained the police and the large quantity of people drinking on the train. After dropping off our bags we set out to explore Augsberg. We noted several people wearing team scarves, hats and other gear, we also heard several people singing loudly and while it was a bit chaotic, it was not a violent atmosphere and the riot police mostly looked bored.
Augsberg is not only home to a football team, but it is also a college town and home to a great Christmas Market! The first night we were there we stumbled across a pageant being put on in the balcony and windows of the city hall? building- people dressed as shepherds played a harp, organ and trumpet over the market. There were other people, also in period costumes, whose heads would pop up in windows or whose arms would raise in unison as the music called for it.
A fun note about Augsberg- the city is all but shut down on Sunday. No shops or markets were open (a problem as we were hoping to pick up milk for breakfast the next day, deli sandwiches for lunch and I was out of contact solution!) and only a very few restaurants were open. This Christmas Market was in full swing and seemed to be a gathering place for locals on the Sunday morning we were in town, people gathered with their dogs, their coffee and/or their breakfast gluhwein to chat and eat. It was a sunny morning (yippee!!) and we walked around enjoying the market and the sunshine for several hours before heading to an open bakery to grab some sandwiches for lunch. We found several smaller markets in the city, including a littel craft market selling very cool rock sculptures and glass tables, woolen mittens, scarves and hats and other artsy, cool stuff. We also found a market in a small section of the city known as the Fuggerei- an area known as the oldest social settlement in the world (it was founded in 1521 for the needy citizens of Augsberg, according to the pamphlet we picked up there). It was a fun city to explore and thanks to the college in town, slightly cheaper than the other cities around!
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