German cities deck the halls for festive holiday shopping

Old World holiday traditions come to life as the 14 members of Historic Highlights of Germany capture the best of the holiday season with a portfolio of Christmas markets epitomizing the very best of the season. From late November until Christmas, travelers will find nativity scenes, fancifully decorated Christmas trees, carolers singing yuletide carols and hymns, and local craftsmen displaying ceramics, candles, wooden toys, pewter and pottery. New for 2008 New events for 2008 include Augsburg's fairy tale street, depicting "The Nutcracker" in 10 intricately decorated shop windows; W rzburg's medieval Christmas Market, complete with jousting knights and nativity scene from the 14th century within the walls of the Marienberg Fortress; and Koblenz's Christmas Market's expansion into the Liebfrauenkirche and M nzplatz area, offering special family attractions such as a toboggan run, nostalgic carriage rides and a merry-go-round. M nster, Heidelberg, Osnabr ck and Rostock feature activities for children including amusement park rides, ice-skating and games. For more information Information on each city's offering and highlights may be found at www.historicgermany.com Historic Highlights of Germany is a tourism consortium consisting of Augsburg, Erfurt, Freiburg, Heidelberg, Koblenz, Mainz, M nster, Osnabr ck, Potsdam, Regensburg, Rostock, Trier, Wiesbaden and W rzburg.