The Flying Santa of Bochum

We had planned to meet Yelena and Bene this afternoon while Endre and Martin were being looked after by the grandparents.  The original thought was to go to a museum or some such.  But the Flying Santa Clause was just too big of a draw, so off we went downtown, this time by train.  Richard had been ill this week with a bad cold and the bikes were a little too challenging, especially since we weren't too sure about the weather and the return would likely be in the dark.

Ruhr Universitaet train station

Main train station in Bochum

Yelena and Bene

Wow what a lot of fun!  The Christmas market was charming and our hosts even more so. We first walked by a little area depicting children's fairy tales.

There were ferris wheels and other kinds of children's rides.  Sweets galore, including a kiosk that sold chocolate that was shaped like tools, screwdrivers, nuts and bolts etc.  Richard bought a chocolate bolt and Judith bought a chocolate faucet.

Next stop was the square near the church in which people were dressed in medieval-styled clothing and played medieval-type instruments.  We lingered here until we finished our gluehwein.

Here they had little areas where you could try your hand at some simple challenges, like a midway.  Everybody took a turn throwing the balls to see if they could hit the hard boiled eggs.  Judith took a stab at the archery and we learned that archery had, in fact, been a hobby of Yelena and Bene. They practice in a forest in which there are places where you stop and shoot your arrow at fake animals like the ones shown below.

And finally to the square where the crowd waited in anticipation for the Flying Santa.

This was a talking moose

And here he comes! Moving slowly and chatting to the children along the way.

Satisfied with the spectacle, we walked back to the Hauptbahnhof to go home.  But not before a glance back at Bochum's welcome sign, and welcoming it is indeed.

The man depicts the shepherd who first discovered coal in the region and launched the Ruhr gebiet as an industrial powerhouse.