Last Thanksgiving, my family and I were able to scratch something major off of our “Travel Bucket List”. We visited the Christmas Markets in Germany! It was a vacation we had been planning in our heads for years, but we were finally able to experience this beautiful tradition and it was amazing.
Here are the wonderful things that you can expect to find when you visit Germany and their unbelievable markets.
The Tastes and Sights of the Christmas Markets in Germany
The food at the Christmas Markets in Germany is overwhelming! It all looks good, it’s all fresh and there is quite a bit that most Americans have never heard of. We found out that the best way to decide which vendor’s goodies to start with, was to find the ones that had the longest lines at their stalls.
If you like sausage… The Christmas Markets in Germany have what seems like every kind known to man.
If you can’t decide which one to try first, just ask for a sampler!
Or you could stick with the traditional German Bratwurst…
One of the tastiest things I tried was some thing called Dinnele. It is like a flat bread pizza that is topped with a cream sauce, shaved potatoes, onions, seasoning and pork belly. There are many different toppings they can put on it, but this seems to be the most traditional way to eat it. Dinnele is a must have!
My wife and daughter thought the crêpes at the Tollwood Winter Festival in Munich were a highlight of our trip. If you’re looking for a Christmas market with a more alternative and food oriented feel, Tollwood is the place to go. It was one of my favorite stops.
Christmas Decorations at the Christmas Markets in Germany
You can’t visit the Christmas markets and not buy about a hundred different holiday decorations. The beautifully adorned stalls start to call to you. Everywhere you look, there is a different ornament or trinket that you just have to have.
These lamps were some of our favorites from the Frankfurt Christmas market.
Glühwein at the Christmas Markets in Germany
One of the biggest treats I found in the markets was Glühwein. It’s known to some people as mulled wine and it’s a Christmas market tradition in Germany that dates back to 1420. Glühwein is usually prepared from red wine, heated and spiced with cinnamon sticks, cloves, citrus, sugar, star anise and at times vanilla pods. It is sometimes drank mit Schuss (with a shot) of spiced rum. YUMMY!!! Each market has a different mug that you purchase and then fill up as you walk from stall to stall. It’s never out of reach and there seems to be an endless supply of it. It tasted great and it kept me very warm.
Look… it’s a boot!
My family and I traveled in and out of Germany via Frankfurt Airport on Lufthansa, the Frankfurt Christmas Market was an easy stop on our journey. In total we spent three nights in Frankfurt at Grandhotel Hessischer Hof.
Since Frankfurt Airport is Lufthansa’s largest hub there were a ton of flight options, including the {awesome} nonstop that we took from Tampa to Frankfurt — you can read about my experience here.
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