A bit about Mainz

Mainz is a small city of about 198,000 people. It's located near Frankfurt (only 45 min away by S-Bahn train).  I am here for a 2 week German course and staying with a host family - actually 2 host families. One family lives 10 min from the city centre and the other one lives within the city centre. This way it gives me an opportunity to see the suburbs as well as downtown.

Having some experience getting to know how the trains and buses work in Karlsruhe and Baden-Baden, I was pretty confident in working my way around on my own here. The ticket machines here gives an option of English so it's pretty easy to purchase tickets if you did not speak German. If you are here for a short time, you can purchase a day ticket instead of a single trip ticket if you will be going around the city. I ended up purchasing a one week ticket so that I can go anywhere in the city as I please without having to pay each direction for one week.

The most popular train stop besides the Mainz Hbf is Shillerplatz. Here you can walk a few blocks towards the Mainz Dom. The Gutenberg Museum is also near there. Along the way are shops and bakeries galore. The Weihnachtsmarkt was full of people from all over the world. I have heard French, English, Russian, and Spanish. There is lots to eat and lots to buy. It is no different from other Christmas markets I have been to so far except for the size and some products some vendors sell. Otherwise, it's the place to gather and get handmade special Christmas presents or drink lots and lots of Glühwein - mulled wine. I have yet to try it out. I would rather have it in the comforts of a home in case my sad *** can't take it in public :)

I did find a good find while wandering about the cold taking photos and taking in the sites and sounds. There is this bakery called Ditsch. The first one I saw was at the beginning of the Christmas market. There was quite the line up. I thought that it may have been for the pretzels (Bretzeln) as it was more advertised around the outside of their small shop. So I walked on by. Then I saw another and yet another. I swear there was one in every block almost teasing me. I ignored it and got a Shokolade Berliner (chocolate filled donut basically) but at the end, did actually check out the Ditsch. Boy, was I glad I did (or didn't) as I am now addicated to their yummy pizzas that cost me 2,50€. My first addiction in Germany :) My second? Ritter Sport chocolate. I know we have them in Canada but they have WAY more flavours here and now I can't help myself.