Merry Christmas from Germany! The German Christmas Markets, where the old-world atmosphere and festivities are right out of classic Christmas books and movies. We visited 3 German Christmas Markets this year, one small one in our village of Vaihingen, a medium-sized colorful one at the Ravenna Gorge railway viaduct, and then the lovely and sprawling Stuttgart Christmas Market.
Vaihingen CHRISTMAS MARKET
Vaihingen is the village we live in, and their Christmas Market is small and sweet. The food vendors are excellent, offering a variety of ethnic foods, from Portuguese empanadas and Turkish kebabs to Hungarian Lángos, and of course, German brats and beers.
RAVENNA GORGE CHRISTMAS MARKET
In southern Germany, colorful lights give the viaduct a magical look, against a snowy, forested background. This is a highly popular market, and tickets must be reserved in advance. This is to limit the crowds, but our Saturday evening visit was still extremely packed.
With limited parking near the market, one option is to park in the nearby village of Hinterzarten and hike on a designated path to the market. This walk down a forested mountain and beside a river was just gorgeous. It was pitch dark except for the hikers’ flashlights and lanterns, a unique experience, with an old-world feeling.
Stuttgart Christmas Market
Stuttgart has an excellent Christmas Market, spread out over several large squares throughout downtown. The stalls of crafts, foods, and gluhwein (mulled wine) serpentine through the entire middle of Stuttgart. We always enjoy this market, and also the small Finnish Christmas Market that takes over one square, and makes excellent smoked salmon sandwiches.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families
in Magdeburg, Germany.
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