Slight change in plans
 

A recent schedule change has us now going to Hamburg instead of Cologne, so I'm looking for more northerly suggestions. I've heard Lubeck and Celle should not be missed. Any others? Any disagreements with these? Thanks!

I love the Christmas markets & am headed to Germany in a couple of weeks just because I can't stand the thought of missing the experience again this year. Lots of happy, Gluehwein-colored memories from my younger years, I guess. ;)

I'm curious if anyone has been to the market in Michelstadt? It is a little town with a cute town center from the Middle Ages. I imagine the ambience at Christmas could be fantastic.

Trip Report: Stuttgart and Rothenburg Christmas Markets
 

If you want to get into the Christmas spirit and canned “holiday” music at the local strip mall just does not do it for you, go and see a couple of the German Christmas markets! It’s a trip back in time and unlike anything you’ll find here in the states!


The GF, my folks and I just returned from our 2nd (annual??!) trip to the Christmas Markets in Germany. I got a lot of great information from FT and thought I’d report on our trip for those of you that might be planning something similar. Sorry if this is long winded. If you’re planning to go to one of these markets though, I hope this helps.

Last year we did Nuremburg and Munich, this year we went to Stuttgart and Rothenburg ob der Tauber, as well as a short return visit to Munich. A family emergency put the entire trip in jeopardy a couple of days before we left and we did not make the final decision to go until about 5 hours before the flight out. (BOS on AA with the VIP’s clearing both ways!) We had NO reservations or itinerary of any kind when we took off from BOS!

STUTTGART

Stuttgart was the first stop by virtue of it’s easy to reach location from Frankfurt, where we flew in. We purchased German Rail Twin Passes for the trip that proved to be a great value. (See the thread about them located here.)

Stuttgart was great. The main pedestrian shopping street, Konigstrasse, starts right at the exit of the Stuttgart Hauptbhanhof. (main train station, abbreviated at Hbf) I went across the street from the train station and into the Tourist Information office there to inquire about hotels. There is a pedestrian underground crossing in front of the station which also links the subway. You have to go through that to cross the street. Out the left hand side of the station as you arrive from the train and go through the underground passage to the start of the Konigstrasse. The tourist office is right there on the left. Normally I’d have just booked a hotel on-line but this was more than last minute so I decided to let the rest of my party sit at the Starbucks while I got my bearings and figured out what to do next. The Tourist Information office was very helpful and booked us into 2 double rooms at a Best Western. It was located at the opposite end of the Konigstrasse so it was a little bit of a walk. While it was very pricy, about 180 euros, the rooms were very large – even for US standards which is unusual in Europe IME. There was even a large balcony with chairs and a small table. I don’t think this was a standard room and therefore the high price. Given that we booked it at about 6 PM on a Friday night, I was ok with it. All of the Christmas market stalls are on or adjacent to the Konigstrasse so we got a preview as we walked to the hotel. (The subway would have been a better option but I didn’t think of that until we were half way there!)

Once we got out on the town we found the market stalls the best decorated anywhere we’ve been to. More than just a few garlands and lights, these were works of art in themselves. Many featured animated decorations or special themes. They really set themselves apart. The goods on offer were nice if not typical of the markets we’ve seen before. I can’t say as I buy a lot there anyway. For us the atmosphere and the decoration is the main thing and, of course the food and drink! We got the obligatory round of Glúwein and had plenty of sausages, and other treats. The miniature railway set-up at the Schlossplatz was really cute. Some of the market stalls were really packed and the crowds were a little too much at times. We were there on Friday and Saturday so this is understandable. All in all we really enjoyed Stuttgart. I should also mention that the Best Western did not have 2 double rooms for us on Saturday night although they were very nice and did their best to accommodate us. We probably could have ended up there if we waited until later in the day but we ended up booking at the InterCity Hotel right in the Hbf. This worked out well as we were getting an early train out of Stuttgart in the morning anyway. The InterCity was functional and a place to sleep. The room was small and spare but it was reasonably comfortable. I’d compare it to a motel 6 or something like that. If you need a place to stay that’s really convenient and won’t be spending any time in the room aside from sleeping and a quick shower, it works. I booked it on-line at www.HRS.com I found that this site was very easy to use and had everything I needed to judge the various options. I used it for the rest of the trip and would recommend it.

We did not visit Porsche or Mercedes and we didn’t sample any of Stuttgart’s other attractions btw. I’m sure that that is an entire trip unto itself. Our main goal was the Christmas Markets.

We did find a great restaurant close to everything. It was listed in the guide book I picked up – Kachelofen at 10 Eberhrd Strasse. Note that it is on the BACK side of the block, not the Eberhard street side. You have to go around to the back to enter. We walked up and down the street for a few minutes before we figured that out. It was worth it though. The ambiance was just perfect. It was decorated for the holidays and was as quaint and charming as can be. The wait staff was friendly and welcoming and the food was awesome. I’d recommend one of their Swabian dishes like the Maultachen with Spatzel. (Maultachen is roughly a German ravioli with pork and sausage stuffing.) Don’t miss the Apple Strudel here! Very, yummy. We all left vowing to come back some day.

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend: Stuttgart # 1 Stuttgart # 2 Stuttgart # 3
Stuttgart # 4

You might also visit the Stuttgart tourist website: http://www.stuttgart-tourist.de/ENG/...achtsmarkt.htm

ROTHENBERG ob der Tauber

The next morning we departed for Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber (Meaning on the Tauber river – I don’t know why the “Ob Der Tauber” is always listed but it seems to be an integral part of the name.) The trip from Stuttgart was not convenient and required a few train changes. We really wanted to go there however and proved to be worth the effort.

The town is actually an old walled city with cobblestone streets. It’s very picturesque and for the buildings and scenery alone it was worth the trip. There are no large hotels within the old city – thankfully. We stayed at a small hotel Schranne. It is located within the walled city but a block or two from the main area. (Although perfectly situated if you were to drive there, as there is a parking lot right in front.) It was quaint and comfortable but there are many small inns around that all seemed to have vacancies so I’d look around more carefully next time. That’s not to say we did not enjoy Schranne though.

The picture book atmosphere of Rothenburg made up for the relatively small number of market stalls. The lights, decorations and all of the Tudor style buildings with exposed timbers and pyramid shape were absolutely adorable. Fairytale is the best way to describe it.

There is a huge Christmas Shop by the name of Kathie Wolfhart that seems to have every type of wooden and glass Christmas ornament ever conceived. It was amazing. If you’re into wooden Christmas ornaments then this is THE place for you. The crowds there were insane. They have 2 stores across the street from on another. One of the stores is just a store - the selection is amazing. You have to see it. The ornaments are expensive but most are made in Germany and are the real thing. (I own an importing company and travel the markets in Asia frequently so I know what to look for. If it’s important to you – and it should be – watch out for the made in China versions – some of which are mixed in and do not require country of origin markings like we do here. Look for something that denotes that it’s actually made in Germany. Especially if the price seems too cheap, it’s probably not authentic German craftsmanship.) The selection is mind boggling!

The “Christmas Village” is across the street and is decorated to amazing effect. The day we were there, they were charging a 1 euro admission fee to the store just to keep the traffic under control and it wasn’t even working. The fee is donated to charity or deducted from your purchase over 5 euros if you so request. I have to say that the cynic in me found it distasteful but I can understand their effort to control the crowd. It was so packed you basically had to ride the human wave through the place. The same selection of ornaments and decorations are available as in the other store but they are displayed among a “Christmas village” décor draped in thousands of lights and glittering baubles. It was beautiful and worth visiting. I’d just recommend staying away from the place on a Saturday afternoon!

Shneeballs are the local pastry concoction of a cookie type dough dunked in chocolate or other yummy stuff and then dusted with sugar to make them resemble snowballs. There are worse ways to spend a few euros!

The market stands are not remarkable compared to other places. There is the usual assortment of vendors selling sausages, Glúwein, candles, ornaments and carvings. As I mentioned though, the town itself is worth the trip and shouldn’t be missed.

Others have mentioned that the tour with the ‘night watchman’ is great. We intended to go but after all of the walking we had done we decided to opt for beer, sausages and ‘kraut at the hotel restaurant – and a good night’s sleep.

Here are a few pictures from Rothenberg this past weekend: Rothenburg # 1 Rothenburg # 2 Rothenburg # 3 Rothenburg # 4 Shneeballen

Here’s the official tourist site for Rothenburg: http://www.rothenburg.de/d/ISY/index.php?get=121

I’ll stop here. I think that’s enough! Have a great trip!

Rothenburg is a fabulous medieval town, thankfully bypassed by the industrial revolution (an even better town like that is in the Czech Republic, Cesky Krumlow). There are other towns named Rothenburg (including a bigger one in eastern germany), hence the addition of the river name (same for the other Frankfurt, near Berlin).

I was just in the christmas market in Munich, fabulous atmosphere and food, however few items worth buying (lots of junk for sale, most not christmas related). Some of the traditional items (german wood carvings, etc.) are now very hard to find. Even marzipan was not readily available.

I'd have to agree that the quality of merchandise is variable - some areas and markets are much better than others. I was very dissapointed to see a few booths of vegtable slicer-dicers, auto cleaning cloths and pots and pans in Stuttgart. Thankfully these were mostly confined to one isle! That aside, you still can't beat the atmosphere and overall experience which is fabulous, as you mentioned.

If you are planning to go to Lübeck try to be there between now and next Monday. The main Christmas market in the town square is quite nice, but the real "must-see" event is the indoor Christmas market at a place called Heiligen-Geist-Hospital:

http://www.frau-und-kultur.de/htm/weihna.htm

(In German, sorry - but you can get some idea from the pictures).

Warning: You will have to queue for a long time to get in, unless you go very late in the afternoon.

There is another indoor Christmas market in St Peter's Church (Petrikirche), not as famous as the other one but also worth seeing - and on a nice day you can go up the church tower for a scenic view.

I second the praise for the Stuttgart Christmas market. I'd follow up with a small town for a different take on the experience . . . Celle was good a few years ago.

I just came back from Rudesheim am Rhein. It was a nice little cosy Christmas market. I went there in a tour group with a group of old farts by bus from Maastricht.

Heard that Rudesheim is a UN protection/conservation site. Not sure if it's true. Anyone?

Yes, it is a UNESCO world cultural heritage site. This mostly means that they have to control future development. More info at http://www.ruedesheim.de/en/portrait...ulturerbe.html

Last night I visited the Christmas Market in Esslingen, a town near Stuttgart, and I found it to be quite lovely. Esslingen is an old town, and the market has a medieval theme. The atmosphere was great, the goods for sale were of higher quality than the overpriced crap that can be found in Munich and Nuremberg, and food options ranged from the obligatory sausage (try the Rote Wurst) to Flammkuchen, and roast pork. I'm not a big fan of large Christmas Markets, but I would choose Esslingen over Stuttgart, Munich, and Nuremberg.

There are some great single-weekend affairs in small towns in Southern Bavaria (e.g., Benediktbeuren or Andechs), but afaik, these are over for this year. You may have to get the information from locals, and most of these require renting a car, but they're definitely worth it.

We just returned from a quick visit to Munich. The Christmas Market at Marienplatz was unbelievely crowded, almost to the point of being unpleasant at times. We were also surprised at how expensive everything was, particularly the ornaments.

We went to a much smaller one at Rosenheimer Platz (near the Hilton where we were staying) and it was much more pleasant.

A number of MUC neighborhoods have smaller markets where you can get the food, drink, an idea of the goods (mostly from China, unfortunately) and avoid the crowds of the one at Marienplatz. I also passed through the one at Weissenburger Platz (right by Rosenheimer Platz, so maybe the same one?) and there was also a small one at Rotkreuzplatz. And I went for the first time this year to the newish medieval one just down the Brienner Str. from Odeonsplatz. Nice environment, but terribly crowded as well.

I think my vote for nicest market visited thus far is the one in Regensburg at the Thurn & Taxis Castle. At night it is attracitvely illuminated with some lighting on the building & some trees, but there is also a lot of firelight about, which adds a pleasant atmosphere to me. What I found nicer, however, was that a lot (not all, but many) of the goods were handcrafted. They had some guy doing a bit of smithing there, a woman in the knit goods stand was doing a bit of spinning, and at other stands where there wasn't anyone doing anything, they still had a lot of items that weren't cranked out of China. One does have to pay the admission to the castle, but I think (not sure) it was only about 3 Euros. There was a long line to pay to get in and I was afraid it would be completely miserable with the crowd, but it wasn't. Nice ambience & worth a visit if in the area. ^