Joel Thornton

A common sense conservative.

Archives for January 2022

Christmas Markets and Europe

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One of the most amazing times to be in Europe is during the Christmas season. From the beginning of December right up until Christmas, it is dark, it is cold, it is damp, but the Christmas Markets bring everything to life and change the feel of entire cities.

I have been to Christmas Markets in Berlin, they have over 60, Hamburg, Cologne, Nuremberg, Munich, Frankfurt, and beyond in Germany. I have been to Christmas Markets in Strasbourg and Paris, France, as well as Salzburg, Austria. Now, I am preparing to take a group on a first ever tour of France, Germany, and Austria’s Christmas Markets.

Nuremberg’s Christmas Market

These markets are not tucked away in back corners of the cities and towns, they are right at the main squares, the places you want to visit when you are in Salzburg or Strasbourg or Munich or Nuremberg. They are in the shadow of Cathedrals and ancient sites.

Imagine coming into the Marienplatz in Munich, Germany and seeing the Glockenspiel overlooking the square. Then smelling the Glühwein, the hot apple cider, the hot chocolate, the pretzels, and the sausages simmering all around you. Think about the glow coming from wooden huts that are displaying Christmas ornaments and all kinds of homemade goods for you to look through and purchase.

Enjoying hot chocolate and GlühWein at the Strasbourg Christmas Market

Now, do this again in Nuremberg, in Salzburg, Austria, in Strasbourg, France. See the Christmas Markets along the wine road in picturesque villages along the edge of the Voges Mountains. That is a Christmas Market tour to remember.

That is exactly what we are going to do in December 2022. Join us!

Plans for 2022

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I am getting ready to head to Greece. It wasn’t my plan to travel to Greece. We are sitting here at the beginning of 2022 still staring at the Coronavirus pandemic that will not go away. Four times I have cancelled a trip to Israel because the Israelis government has closed the country to outsiders.

I was scheduled to be in Israel this coming week; instead, in the next few months I am traveling to Greece with a small group of pastors to pray for strategy in the fight against sex trafficking. We are doing a Steps of Paul tour and spending time in strategic meetings and prayer.

This has been a frustrating time for all of us. Businesses shut down, travel shut down, new rules every other week. How do we navigate the pandemic and how do we know what is true and what is not? How do we trust the science when we are told not to question the science? I have been trying to get back to Israel for over six months.

I am fully vaccinated and ready to travel. Anyone who knows me knows that I am always ready to go on the road. I would have been a rock star but for my inability to write inspiring music and play at a professional level. Instead, I travel without fanfare. I bring groups of people on the trip of a lifetime. I get to experience the same places through the new eyes of a first-time traveler. That is fun.

I am going back to Israel in June if the country opens up. I will be taking 30 of my new closest friends with me. It will be exciting. In the meantime, I will be in Greece following the Apostle Paul through the first days of Christianity in Europe. Then I hope to do a Christmas Market Tour of France, Germany, and Austria in December this year.

Whatever this year brings I will face it. If I don’t travel internationally, it will not be for the lack of trying.