Bernkastel-Kues is a lovely picturesque town on the Mosel river not far from Trier. It is well known for its Christmas market. We went on the Sunday, the last day it was open and took Hector and Maple with us. It was very busy.
It has a charming central square that is transformed into the different Christmas stalls. Some of the passages onto the square are very narrow.
One of the hallmarks of the town is the big life sized Advent calendar. Each door of the Advent calendar opens each day at a set time with a musical surprise.
Another attraction much earlier in the month of December that makes this lovely town unique is the torch swimming along the river Mosel. More than 100 swimmers go down the river holding a torch and swim a distance of 1,200 meters following the little boat of Saint Nicholas. Just before 6pm the brave torch swimmers pass by and St Nicholas in his boat hands out gifts to the children by the riverbank.