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| Wiesbaden Christmas Market. |
It's a jolly atmosphere in Germany where the Christmas lights line the cobblestone streets for a mile along the walking zone. A dozen folks all dressed in the latest fashions, with cute hats, scarves, and stylish boots are laughing joyfully out front of the wooden booth selling gluhwein (hot spiced wine). Shops are busy with customers buying gifts. The smell of sausage, popcorn, and roasted almonds fills the air. Handmade decorations are sold by street vendors, while Christmas carols are sung by a church group. To me, this is the ideal Christmas setting!
If you want to experience a dream Christmas vacation in Europe, here are a couple of recommendations for you.
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| Awesome grill at the Christmas market |
Plan #1: Bavaria
Bavaria is Germany’s heartland. They have mountains, rolling hills, forests, and beautiful historic cities and villages. Bavaria tends to get more snow than the western side of Germany because the elevation is higher. In addition to the beautiful Christmas weather Bavaria is famous for beer and sausage, but it is also well known that Nuremberg has the most famous Christmas Market in Germany. The old city (Altstadt) area is surrounded by ancient walls and stone watch towers. Atop the hill, within the walls, is a huge fortress castle with a tower. The market is located on the plaza square in front of the Frauenkirche in the center of the old city. The whole thing covers an area the size of about two football fields. The market is famous for Nurnburger Lebkuchen (Gingerbread). You can buy it in normal packaging or in the most ornate painted tin cans. These make great gifts. The market has everything in terms of the previous statements above about European Christmas markets. The city of Nuremberg has great shopping. Be aware that small stores in Germany may close at 6PM on weekdays and 2PM on Saturdays. Large stores stay open until 8PM, Monday through Saturday. All retail stores in Germany are closed on Sunday and Christmas Eve, but the Christmas market, restaurants, beer halls and gas stations are open! I have fond memories of the couple of visits I made to the Nuremberg Christmas market. The Christkindlesmarkt will take place 26 November until, 24 December 2010. http://www.christkindlesmarkt.de/english/
Just one hour away from Nuremberg is Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This is another old city with walls and towers. Nuremberg is powerful and the fortifications are impressive. Rothenburg doesn’t have as much to offer compared to the big city of Nuremberg but it is much cuter and makes up for its size in romantic charm. In fact, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the main highlights on Germany’s romantic road, which goes from the Wurzburg, with its huge castle overlooking the Main River to the foothills of the Alps and King Ludwigs most famous castle Neuschwanstein. This is the castle that Disney’s castle was designed after. Another thing that makes Rothenburg ob der Tauber famous is that it is the home of Kathe Wohlfahrt’s famous Christmas workshop (http://www.wohlfahrt.com/9-0-weihnachtsstadt_rothenburg) . The whole town is decorated to the hilt with lights and decorations. If you are looking for a Christmas city, this is it.
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| Cathedral in Strasbourg, France. |
Plan #2: Rhine Valley
Another option is to take a multinational Christmas vacation. Two of my favorite Christmas cities are located within two hours of each other in the Rhine River valley. They are Strasbourg, France and Heidelberg, Germany.
Strasbourg is an old city with crooked half-timbered buildings, surrounded by a river and canal ring. In the center is a giant Cathedral…one of the largest churches in the world! Surrounding the church is the Christmas Market. Little shops and restaraunts fill the alleyways. Children and adults ice skate in a rink to a DJ. The side of a building is decorated with pine branches to simulate a 4 story Christmas tree, and everything is decorated with lights. The experience is like the initial description in the first two paragraphs of this blog, but the setting around the cathedral makes it special.
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| Skating below the castle in Heidelberg |
Just two hours north, and across the Rhine River is the romantic city of Heidelberg Germany. Mark Twain stayed in Heidelberg for 3 months, referring to his stay in his book, A Tramp Abroad. Heidelberg has a walking/shopping district about 1 mile long with numerous plazas along the way sporting souvenir stands, Christmas ornaments and numerous gluhwein (hot spiced wine) stands. At the end of the shopping district is a skating rink on a plaza under the impressive castle on the hill. The rink is surrounded by numerous drink stands, candy stands, fire pits with sausage grilling and people skating. Walk the alleyways and the famous Alte Brueke (old bridge) and stop at cafes or beer halls. Heidelberg offers an incredible shopping experience as well as a festive atmosphere. A college town, Heidelberg has a mix of young and old, as well as visitors from all around the world. At Christmas, people often leave work and go directly downtown to enjoy a gluhwein with friends before it gets too cold.
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| Gluhwein...Hot spiced wine. Perfect for warming up, and it contains holiday cheer! |
Heidelberg is not too cold compared to other places in Europe, but the long winters in Europe call for some relaxation. A good place to stay in between Strasbourg and Heidelberg is Baden-Baden. Famous for its hot springs and bathhouses, Baden Baden is a cute city tucked up against the Black Forest Mountains. Another place to stay is the town of Speyer. Speyer rests along the Rhine, with an impressive cathedral that was visited by the Pope. We stayed for the night once in Speyer. We randomly picked a place called the Kutcherhaus (Coach House). http://www.kutscherhaus-speyer.de/zimmer.html . It was a clean studio apartment for under $100 (USD) per night. They have a fabulous restaurant and it is located near a beautiful walking distance nbear the cathedral, a brewery, and close enough to walk to the river. While we were eating, the owner came around to see everyone. The choice of fresh foods was great as well as the selection of vegetarian items.
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| Each Christmas market has it's own unique collectors mug each year. |
If you stay in Europe for New Year’s, you are in for a treat. Celebrations are not centralized like in the states. Everyone in every city seems to have fireworks, and it seem the whole city is sparkling for about 30 minutes. But be careful and wear a hat or stay under a roof or tree. I got hit in the head by a falling rocket last year. Ouch!!
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