Have to see it all: Christmas in Edinburgh

Unfortunately I didn't get a lovely white Christmas this year, in fact it was almost like home with blue skies and sun - but with a cold wind and getting dark by 4pm!
I took these pictures on a walk on Christmas day:


It was hard work trekking through all this snow...

I had a nice Christmas, very chilled out, watching movies on TV all day with my lovely flatmate, and plenty of Skype chats home. Mum and Dad sent me Whittakers peanut slabs and scorched almonds which were very much appreciated...they didn't last long ;)
With Edinburgh being a university city it had been getting quieter and quieter in the lead up to Christmas with all the students heading home, but there were still plenty of people about trying to get a bargain on Boxing Day! I'd never really done Boxing Day sales before so it was interesting to go and walk along Princes St to witness the craziness. It had been quite surreal to walk around the previous day with the whole city super quiet, only to have so many people burst out of the woodwork and onto one shopping street all at once.

Over the whole of December and up to the first week of January the Christmas markets were on. Every Christmas German style Christmas markets pop up all over the UK, and Edinburgh's one was quite a decent size with rides like a carousel and ferris wheel and an ice rink as well.

This is the market being set up:

It was quite pricey (upwards of £7 per ride or £5 per food item) but I love the Christmas markets so walked through them as much as I could! All the stalls are wooden open-fronted huts decorated with lights and pine branches, and there is lots of Christmas themed things and gifts on sale like painted candle holders, dried fruit wreaths and wooden carvings. There is also loads of bars scattered throughout selling Gluwein (mulled wine) and all sorts of other hot alcoholic drinks - mulled cider, hot apple juice with a shot in it, Baileys hot chocolate etc. There are also food stalls with Bratwursts (sausages), crepes, strudel, donuts etc. so it's great to just wander around, outside, with a mug of hot alcohol and a sausage in a bun looking at all the stalls with a few friends. Even though it's cold out there is a great atmosphere. We definitely don't have anything like these at home so I love making the most of them while they are here!