i was just in fra and took the s-bahn to wiesbaden. i agree. this is a very nice town and enjoyed it alot. if you do stay in frankfurt, you can get a 2 day travel ticket @ your hotel for like 7.5 euros. then ride the s-bahn out to wiesbaden. very nice.

I'm just back from my '07 Christmas Market Tour and I thought I'd add a few more impressions for any heading that direction. I was based in the south again. I've commented on Munich previously, but will add that at the Tollwood Winter Festival (on Theresienwiese where Oktoberfest is held), you can get some sense of Christmas market via the food & booths, but also have a heated tent to escape into if it becomes too chilly outside. It was very cold when I was there with a sharp wind and this was about the only place where no one said more than once, "This is too cold to be fun!!"

Also visited the market in Rosenheim -- was just OK. Nothing "wrong" with it per se, but nothing that stood out to me as special either.

Finally, also went to Salzburg -- the big market at the Dom (cathedral) was very nice, though the drinking of the hot beverages (hot mulled wine (Gluehwein), punch, etc) out of paper cups just seemed scandelous to one who has started a collection of Gluehwein mugs. They did have the proper ceramic or porcelain mugs at one or two stands, but the norm was definitely the paper or styrofoam cups. :eek: One nice ambience element of that market were different brass emsembles playing Christmas carols from several different balconies around the Domplatz -- taking turns so it wasn't a cacophonic mess. There was also a smaller market on the Mirabellplatz that was nice as well, though not as big as the one at the Dom or with the same ambience, but it was very doable -- less crowded and intimate seeming.

If anyone is heading to Germany or Austria in the coming days, enjoy! :)

I returned to cloudy California last week (although the sun is sure shining now!!)

I was able to hit numerous markets and enjoyed them immensely ...more for the atmosphere than the shopping to be honest!!
Wiesbaden...Frankfurt..Rothenburg..Nurnberg..Bambe rg..Munich..Erfurt..Weimar. Some were day trips or stops enroute to somewhere else.

For the first time i consulted the tourist bureaus for two of the towns i was planning to stay at and was quite pleased with what they arranged for me in advance..i didnt want to pay hotel rates that i was seeing.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions etc...and I hope I can hit more of the 'suggested markets' next year!! Happy Holidays to all. Pat

I just came back after two days in Berlin, and spent a couple of hours Tuesday evening at the Christmas market by the Gedächtnis Kirche. A very cold evening in Berlin but it was very enjoyable and fun to be outside and stay warm with jugs of warm Glühwein with Rum, Grog etc from the different booths :p