Jump to content

Christmas markets question


MalibooNewYork
 Share

Recommended Posts

So here it is, the Christmas market season. The first markets have already opened, Koblenz, the largest town in my area follows today. "My" local one is being prepared, the huts are already up, decoration and goodies to follow shortly.

 

I came across this article from the Financial Times that I quite enjoyed: https://www.ft.com/content/755e97de-a81b-11e6-8898-79a99e2a4de6

 

With that untranslatable word "Gemütlichkeit". It supposedly takes a sentence of about 15 words to get that idea across in English, possibly still not quite capturing it. :D

 

I hope that all you travelling to Christmas markets get to feel that special feeling. And you staying at home, too. :)

 

notamermaid

 

P.S.: You might be able to only see the article once, or possibly not at all and be asked to subscribe. However, if you feel like it, you can google the article.

 

Thank you for the link. When I followed it, I was asked to subscribe, so did a google search as you suggested and found the article by searchIng "financial times Germany Christmas Market." It was the second result.

 

We leave on 11/24 to start our Main river cruise from Nuremberg to Frankfurt, followed by some independent time exploring the Rhine valley. We are so excited and are sure we will find or feel plenty of Gemütlichkeit. How can you not in such a magical setting as a Christmas Market, especially with the help of a little gluwein!

Edited by scottam
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just returned from an independent trip to Germany, and we were able to go to Christmas markets in Cologne, Mainz, Freiburg, and Gengenbach. We've previously been to markets in Munich. Gengenbach is really off the beaten path (it's a small town along the Black Forest Railroad), but it was one of my favorites. Not too small, not too big, good variety of food without being too repetitive, and good live entertainment. There wasn't as much merchandise as you'd see at the larger markets. The other top market was Mainz - we attended on opening night and everything was fantastic. We loved the open fire pit with benches around it, very reasonably priced Gluhwein, and variety of vendor items offered. I think we've had our fill of markets for awhile, but we were happy to find some new ones that are less talked about!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello ewizabeff,

 

Gengenbach - now that is certainly off the beaten track! I stayed near Gengenbach a few years ago and have always wanted to do a return visit to the area to see the giant advent calendar on the town hall (they illuminate the windows, one more each day).

 

Mainz does sound nice. Here is the page for some German text and a photo gallery, CPT Trips: http://www.mainz.de/freizeit-und-sport/feste-und-veranstaltungen/weihnachtsmarkt.php

 

While there are many pages on the English website, they have unfortunately not dedicated an English page to the Christmas market.

 

There are a few more Christmas markets mentioned further down on the page. They are in other areas of the town centre, either running throughout Advent or are just on at a specific weekend.

 

notamermaid

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did find the Mainz site last night after reading ewizabeff's post. It has a good map of the central market. Our cruise is offering an optional dinner in Rudesheim that night, so we will likely hit the Market. Who knows, perhaps a PD will offer an evening walk, or we just may eat in town.

 

I need to look into those other markets to figure out how close they are to the docks. My memory says that we were docked an easy walk to the Dom on our previous trip. Now to decipher that web site . . .

 

ETA - I recall reading that the Koblenz market also has an Advent Calendar.

Edited by CPT Trips
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello CPT Trips,

 

Koblenz Advent Calendar, that's right. It is quite nice, but not really that imaginative: http://www.weihnachtsmarkt-koblenz.de/en/programm-2016/townhalladventcalendar.html

 

For a cute one (although not possible as part of a river cruise unless you hire a car from Koblenz) I would head to this one in the lower Westerwald region: http://wiedtal.de/cms/index.php/joomla/weihnachts-und-krippendorf-waldbreitbach/22-weihnacht/76-adventskalenderhaus

 

Such a quaint village at Christmastime, and also nice during the rest of the year.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

Edited by notamermaid
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mainz is on our itinerary, and we'll be there overnight, or at least late into the evening. Sounds like it will be worth heading into the market after dinner.

 

Yes! It's a lovely market. I hope you enjoy it. If you can find the Dom, you'll find the market; it surrounds it.

Edited by ewizabeff
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello ewizabeff,

 

Gengenbach - now that is certainly off the beaten track! I stayed near Gengenbach a few years ago and have always wanted to do a return visit to the area to see the giant advent calendar on the town hall (they illuminate the windows, one more each day).

notamermaid

 

I found the city as part of a self-guided train tour that I purchased from Black Forest Tours. We were able to take the train to Triberg, the bus to Furtwangen for the Clock Museum, back to Triberg to purchase an amazing cuckoo clock and grab a piece of Black Forest cake, and then take the train back to Gengenbach before returning to Offenburg. Unfortunately, they don't start the advent calendar until December 1, so we'd just missed it. I wonder if I looked up if I could have seen it in preparation!

 

We spent a day in the Rhine Valley as well. We did a self-guided walking tour of Bacharach at about 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, and we were the only tourists for miles. I loved it. We also had the chance to take our first ever car ferry on our way to Marksburg castle - that was quite an experience! The locals must have thought I was crazy when I asked... "really, we just drive on?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes! It's a lovely market. I hope you enjoy it. If you can find the Dom, you'll find the market; it surrounds it.

 

So it's hard to miss? :) Did yo happen to visit any of the smaller markets in Mainz?

 

We also had the chance to take our first ever car ferry on our way to Marksburg castle - that was quite an experience! The locals must have thought I was crazy when I asked... "really, we just drive on?"

 

No pixie dust? ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

It is still hot here in Germany but Christmas - like every year - will suddenly be here ;) and before that the Christmas markets are a must for locals and those travellers wanting to see and smell glühwein and gingerbread galore. Drinking and eating are also an option. :D

 

 

Apologies to the original poster - she is of course well informed by now about the Christmas markets - but there is so much good information in this thread that, sort of in response to a recent question in another thread, I felt like bumping this up.

 

Just in case you are wondering: there is a non-alcoholic version of glühwein, often called Kinderpunsch, which I have tried once and found it a bit too sweet. But you might find a better one in the place you will be visiting. Glühwein is traditionally made with red wine but many places have the white wine variety as well these days.

 

notamermaid

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've done the Christmas Market cruises on the Danube and in the Rhine. We are doing another Danube cruise this year over Thanksgiving and I've just discovered a lot of the markets are not open yet, we didn't really experience the last two cruises at the same time. It seems as if a lot of the markets have pushed back the start days by a week to 10 days over last year. I don't know what we'll do in lieu of the markets in cities where they aren't open yet (Regansberg, Nuremberg and Prague).

 

Anyone had a Christmas Market cruise where a lot of the markets weren't open yet?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Samlab25,

 

I have given a short explanation in the river cruise section of how Thanksgiving correlates with the Christmas markets opening, or not. Just a quick note here: as a rule of thumb Christmas markets open anything between three days before and five days after the Thanksgiving date itself. Check every year anew. I think a cruise over Thanksgiving should not be called a Christmas market cruise for that reason. It might be misleading for passengers. I hope you have not been given a false impression by the river cruise company when you booked.

 

Traditionally, Christmas markets start one to five days after Sunday of the Dead. With trade (allowed by local authorities) having pushed this rule aside in the last few years, to criticism by the church and many members of the public I may add.

 

notamermaid

Edited by notamermaid
additional information
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We lived in Germany for four years and always enjoyed going to the Chriskindle market every year. The atmosphere is great.

 

However,, I cannot imaging spending thousands of dollars to go to Germany when it is dark most of the time and freezing cold just to do the Christmas markets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Through 2016, the Christmas Markets in the larger cities opened the weekend of the first Sunday in Advent (fourth Sunday before Christmas), usually the Sunday immediately after US Thanksgiving. The markets first open on the Thursday or Friday before that first Advent Sunday, so a Thanksgiving cruise might enable you to do one or two markets. The small cities often have only one or two weekends in mid to late December for their markets and only on the weekend. The dates for most of the markets should be on this site: http://germany-christmas-market.org.uk/ . It is a bit early for the 2017 date postings.

 

Where did you find the reduced dates for this year? I would like to see that source for future travel planning. Possibly they are curtailing the length of opening for security reasons - though I doubt it. In 2016 security was heavy, especially in Strasbourg but they did not change the markets. Amsterdam did cancel its markets but they are not as special as the German ones.

 

Christmas Market cruises are a thrill for those who love Christmas, live in hot dry climates where Christmas can be 90F, and have not had the good fortune to live in Germany. This is from someone who has been on 7 German Christmas Market cruises.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

xmaser,

 

seven Christmas market cruises?? You are certainly a fan. :) I quite like winter myself and love the Christmas markets, looking forward to seeing some in the East of Germany, have only been to foreign ones and the ones in the western part of my country. I very much enjoyed the one in Brussels.

 

Snow is an extra bonus, it makes the places quite magical and always has this softening of sound coming with it. It is really peaceful where there are no large roads. It can be quite a novelty coming from a hot climate, brings out "child wonder" in you. We do not get much snow around where I live, though, so on a winter trip (long after Christmas) when it was quite abysmal in my valley I went to Bavaria and saw the real deal. It was great.

 

If you think there are still some places you would like to explore I suggest a cruise on CroisiEurope or a short cruise with Riviera Travel adding some time away from the river to it. Gengenbach - see some posts further above - springs to mind. Or Brussels, or the (quite popular and slightly crowded now) underground caves in Valkenburg in the Netherlands. Personally, for that religious feel to it and volunteers dedicating their freetime to the cause I enjoy the Christmas village in Waldbreitbach on the river Wied. It is not a Christmas market like in a big town, the walk through the woods around the village is magical and there are a few shops. Great traditional local café for cake lovers, no herds of river cruisers or bus loads of tourists (up to now). Oh, I have just seen I posted the link on 29th November last year.

 

Anyway, lots of smaller places still out there to explore, they as you have said, often only have a Christmas market at the weekends.

 

notamermaid

Link to comment
Share on other sites

notamermaid -

 

You MUST immerse yourself in the Christmas markets of Dresden. I think they are the most impressive - and the stolen is freshly baked! YUM! Of course, I love Dresden. For cruisers, it is easy to get a day trip privately from Prague if your trip takes you there. A train is certainly a possibility. Be sure to take your passport if you are going in and out of Germany from Czechia.

 

Also, I would love to see a market in Lutherstadt Wittenburg.

 

Have been to Gengenbach, a charming trip out of Strasbourg. The town's children give a delightful performance in German. The markets in Wertheim and Miltenberg have only been on weekends and not all four weekends in Advent. The other smaller markets are difficult for me as I prefer to unpack on a ship and remain unpacked until the trip back across the 'pond'.

 

November 23, 2017 is US Thanksgiving and the Thursday before the first Sunday in Advent. The big cities seem to be starting on the regular schedule.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dresden, yes, that would be nice. Here is one - full dates and events not yet confirmed - in Alsace with a special claim to fame: http://www.selestat.fr/se-divertir-a-selestat/noel-a-selestat/selestat-et-son-sapin.html Sélestat or the old German name Schlettstadt has the oldest document in the world mentioning a Christmas tree. I very much like the area around there, Colmar, Ribeauvillé. Sélestat is doable from Breisach or with a longer drive from Strasbourg (probably easier with public transport from Strasbourg). If one does the Paris to city X axis, i.e. along the Moselle I recommend trying a detour, or a break when travelling with the highspeed train, to Metz. Still one of my favourites. Bonn is quite nice too, not quite as full as Cologne but busy too, "better ratio" locals to tourists, no special theme, nice setting on the squares in the town centre.

 

notamermaid

Edited by notamermaid
additional information
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

While cruisers are getting excited about their Christmas market cruises this year, companies are of course already offering the ones in 2018. Here is an article on new cruises by Scenic: http://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/scenic-adds-two-new-2018-christmas-market-cruises

 

Two thoughts: they will (somewhat inevitably) stop in Rüdesheim on the Rhine cruise, another ship for the already crowded small town! On the Rhine cruise they also offer a concert in Mannheim an event I would certainly book if a was a Scenic cruiser, finally giving the underrated Mannheim some more attention.

 

notamermaid

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Xmaser thank you for your thoughts about Dresden! Instead of a Christmas Market cruise this year we are spending time in Berlin and Dresden for markets and museums. We have done three CM cruises over the years and love them.

 

Second seating

 

We absolutely love Berlin and very much enjoy the markets there. It this is your first visit, look into the Berlin Welcome Card with Museum Island, a great value. The museums there are amazing! My favorites are the Pergamon and Neues Museum. Although the main attraction of the Neues Museum is undoubtedly the Nefertiti Bust, this is a small part of the museum's extensive collection of Egyptian antiquities, if this is of interest.

 

We also always book for coffee at the cafe on the Reichstag's roof, the Dachgarten Restaurant.

 

Our favorite market in Berlin is at Gendarmenmarkt.

 

I realize now it is time to plan a trip back to visit again as it has been 4 years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not a fan of Berlin (loved my old interim-capital Bonn, we in the Rhineland sometimes sort of have this thing against Prussians... ;)) but fully agree about the museums, just amazing. For a trip out of the modern Berlin head to Spandau for a couple of hours, loved it there, I hope it has retained its character.

 

 

Secondseating, probably not feasible this time but I recommend exploring the North Coast, meaning Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania, especially Wismar, the area has a feel of its own. They have Christmas markets there too, I do not know what they are like: https://www.off-to-mv.com/en/christmas-markets

 

You would not be able to do these on a river cruise they are too far away from the Elbe (CroisiEurope and German companies do sail the stretch downstream from Magdeburg all the way to Hamburg) and cannot be worked into an itinerary.

 

notamermaid

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Caviargal,

 

Thanks for the tip regarding the Berlin Welcome Card. This will be second time in Berlin my husband had a conference there in August a few years ago. It was after a Windstar cruise from Athens to Istanbul with days tacked on the both ends. We have tickets to see the Nutcracker in Berlin!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Second seating,

 

You sound like researchers. Have you checked this Dresden link? The dates and times are current.

 

http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/dresden_christmas_market.php

 

I particularly like the Striezelmarkt (Altmarkt), the Medieval market (Stallhof - jousting arena for the Residenz), and the traditional crafts market in the Bruhlsche Gasse (walk to the end at the Elbe for a tinsmith casting shiny metal ornaments).

 

I think you will enjoy these.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...