On Monday 25th November I set off from Newcastle Airport to Düsseldorf Airport with my suitcase full of mince pies, Christmas puddings,Yorkshire Tea and a pair of socks. Unfortunately I'd be travelling solo as Tom is waiting for a major heart operation. At Düsseldorf Airport Ingeborg and Karl were there to meet me and drive me to Mülheim. After a short drive we arrived at Rosmarie and Günter's house. After a quick catch up I headed to the Berufskolleg Kluse to host a Brexit Q&A for Sabine Büttner-Kaminski's Mechanical Engineering advanced English group. After a very lively debate I returned to my hosts for a superb welcome meal. We then went to the Mausefalle for Stammtisch drinks with long standing friends.
The following day Rosmarie and I cycled through to Duisburg. We visited a huge bike shop near the train station before having a look around the impressive Duisburg Christmas Market. After a bit of shopping we went to the famous Duisburg coffee mill (Dobbelstein) for Kaffee und Kuchen. Full of cake we headed back via the Ruhr.
On Wednesday I cycled up to the Fellerband Farm to visit Klaus, Monika and family. The Fellerband are long standing friends and have performed numerous times in venues around Darlington. That evening Rosmarie and Günter's friends came to visit and have dinner. Dinner followed a 2 hour power walk via Saarn and Styrum in the driving rain. Our thoughts were firmly focused on the lovely meal that awaited us.
Thursday is the day we always set up the market stall and this year was no different. Our partner friends arrived full of enthusiasm and in no time we were ready for business. That night I joined Jochim Richter from the local college for a Carmelo pizza in the Altstadt. Without doubt the best pizza in town.
Friday was the start of the market and within minutes of opening we were greeted by a number of ex pats who remained in Mülheim post the cold war. They come and see us every year and are keen to get some current UK gossip.
The Saturday and Sunday saw us sell almost all of our stock. The usual best sellers; ginger wine, marmalade, jam, tea flew off the shelves. The weather was very kind to us dry and cold which is ideal. To celebrate yet another market we headed to the Mausefall pub/restaurant close by to celebrate another success. We toasted Tom's good health and looked forward to meeting up in Darlington in June 2020. Sadly the following morning I headed back home thinking how did that week go by so quickly. I'm already looking forward to Adventsmarkt 2020 hopefully with Tom fit and well.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Nigel Davison