Last time I visited the Christmas market I said I'm going to go back to have another cup of mulled wine. I rarely drink alcohol, but that cup of wine was worth it as it was heavenly good. Today is Sunday and there were some extras announced, so I thought it's the best occasion to pay the market another visit.
My first goal, besides the wine was the Santa bus! Yes, you read that right, the Santa bus! Each year there's a Santa bus in the city, which starts its activity on the 5th of December, as that's the day when we celebrate St. Nicolas day! It's a nice way to reward kids, even though the thing is pretty simple.
Public transport is free in the weekends for locals, so it was a great occasion to take the bus. However, after waiting for about 20 minutes, there was still no Santa bus, so I took the first bus that took me to the market.
When I arrived, there were these two beasts at the entrance of the square, both dressed up with Christmas decorations. At first I didn't understand why. It became clear a bit later but more about that in a bit.
This time the square was packed, but not without a reason and this time the reason was not just the Christmas market, the good food and the mulled wine.
This was the next scene that you saw, if you were there today. At first glance it may seem like the usual Christmas event, where kids could get a lot of presents, but it wasn't like that. Fasten your seat belts as what's coming may be something you've never seen.
The place around the Christmas tree was full of motorbikes, one cooler than the other.
There were Santas and motorbikes everywhere. These nice Santas were inviting kids to sit on the bikes and take photos as well.
Times re changing an Santas not the only one participating, we had a few lady Santas as well, with their bikes.
The offer was plentiful, you could choose a young, or old Santa, tall or short, whatever you preferred, even a Lady Santas if you wanted.
I bet many of you are wondering what was going on there. Well, instead of a reindeer pulled sled, these nice Sanatas came with their own bikes and had a purpose as well.
This is the third year, when the Motorcycle Santa event is organized and it seems it's the most successful edition. It's a charity event, with the purpose of teaching kids to give as well, not just expect. Those gift bags are donations brought by people and will be gifted to kids less fortunate, living in orphanages.
There were several initiatives these past two weeks regarding Christmas donations. Shoe box initiatives are very common as it's the easiest thing is to fill a shoe box with toys, sweets and colored pencils for example.
This year I donated two shoe boxes full of goodies, along with two giant bags of good quality clothes and shoes, that are going to a family with 8 kids. I hope my small contribution helps them a little.
Today was not the first day when these nice Santas were present at the square, collecting donations. There were other days in which they offered kids a few minute of happiness. They did a tour of the city, stopping at the major points, to be able to collect donations from everywhere.
Christmas is about spreading love and giving and the less fortunate kids, that have no family or relatives are going to be part of a nice surprise. Imagine their faces, when these Santas are going to show up at the orphanage with gifts.
It's heartwarming to see people coming together to help others. These bikers are organizing the event yearly and they are more and more each year.
I must admit, it was maybe the most difficult photo shoot I did so far. There was a huge crowd, people were coming and going, there was no space to frame any of the photos, so ... it is what it is. At the end of the day, I'm happy I could be part of this wonderful initiative and that's all that matters.
My plan for today was to buy something for myself as last time I came home empty handed. Trust me, there was everything there, the offer was abundant.
Apples in chocolate, pears in chocolate, banana in chocolate, strawberries in chocolate, grapes in chocolate, everything in chocolate and these were calling my names, but I was brave again and resisted temptation heroically:)
Santa was on call again, driving kinds around the square.
This time, as a bonus, I got to pet the horse nose 😆. I love horses and this one was a very calm one (otherwise they are not allowed in the crowd). Have you ever petted the nose of a horse? If not, do it as soon as possible and you'll see what I mean.
And finally, the mulled wine!!! I went to the same place as I liked the wine and had another cup, which was just as good as the first one.
Last time a friend of mine asked me where was my red nail polish. This time I went prepared, but opted for blue as the wine was red 😂.
After finishing the wine I saw the bikers took off, along with the two cars, all lit up in Christmas lights and headed towards their next destination in the city. Unfortunately I could not catch them as the crowd was huge.
Then what do you think happened? ON my way home, I was waiting at the bus stop and the first bus arriving was Santa's bus! Can you imagine how lucky I was today?
The photos are not great, but you get the idea.
So I got on the bus and Santa was not on it! Turns out the bus is decorated for Christmas, but no Santa on it :)
Regardless, it's still a nice thing in my opinion.
All in all it was a very cool event and the biggest gift I could get today was seeing so many good people come together to help others.
Have you ever seen such an initiative? I hope you have and this is widespread.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
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- Cross Posting And Reposting Explained, Using PeakD
- Hive Is Not For Me
- How To Pump Your Reputation Fast - Newbie Guide
- Tips And Tricks & Useful Hive Tools For Newbies
- More Useful Tools On Hive - Newbie Guide
- Community List And Why It Is Important To Post In The Right Community
- Witnesses And Proposals Explained - Newbie Guide
- To Stake, Or Not To Stake - Newbie Guide
- Tags And Tagging - Newbie Guide
- Newbie Expectations And Reality
