Since Mary and Mel were still here, we decided to hit up the most local of all of the Christmas markets, and yet at the same time, one of the most unique... the Auerbach Iron Ore Mine Christmas Market at the Maffei Mine!
The Museen in Bayern website says the following: "The Auerbach-Nitzlbuch mine is the most important iron ore mine in Bavaria. Nearly 16 Million tons of iron ore were extracted here between 1906 and 1978. The two steel structures of the double shaft mine are the oldest of their kind in Bavaria (1906) and stand as a symbol of centuries of mining in the Upper Palatinate."
And it's right here in our own town? Well that sounds pretty cool to me, let's go!
After we parked at the outdoor (not currently in use) swimming pool in South Auerbach, we walked a few blocks over and picked up a bus in the nearby industrial park. Easy peasy! When you first walk into this cute little Christmas market, you go through a mine cart tunnel that had lots of fun things to look at (jewelry!)
Once outside and before we got our first Gluhwein, we snapped a quick group photo (which was wise since we all separated later!) I do not know WHAT is going on with Mel and Grant here but it was sure funny!
An aerial picture of the mine when it was in use, in 1957. There's a great little museum here which is worth checking out.
Have no fear, Saint Nicholas is here! Since it was Saint Nicholas Day and all... he showed up and passed out chocolate gingerbread cookies to the kids (of course, which Grant couldn't eat. My poor peanut allergy baby!) You can see his big Pope-like white hat in the picture above. You can also see it was pretty crowded that day!
Speaking of saints... here's another one right here! This saint happens to drink Gluhwein and is almost as tall as a giant mine tower.
Naturally, my kids had to totally goof off. I mean, we can't go through a day without at least several dozen of these types of pictures!
As we were leaving, the lights were coming on and it was all so pretty lit up at night! Between the Weiden, Auerbach, Nuremberg and Amberg Christmas markets, this one was by far my favorite!
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