It's Your Time. Travel Smart.
What comes to mind when you think of Christmas? Christmas Trees? Nutcrackers? Mulled wine? Many traditions of the Christmas season that we hold dear in the USA have a very German origin.
As I mentioned during the discussion of the Austria adventure, I had spent some time in what was then West Germany back in the late 1970’s as a member of the US military. One of the highlights of that time was seeing how much the locals enjoyed Christmas. The entire month of December became idolized in Advent Calendars. Wooden decorations, decorated trees and bright candles appeared in even the humblest and most unlikely of places. Despite many lovely Christmases in the USA, Germany had taken this holiday to a whole new level. Even then I was driven to open my wallet as part of the experience, resulting in my still having a rather expensive ($80, a lot of money to a single GI in 1979) nutcracker that I purchased at the Kaiserslautern Christmas Market, smartly dressed with his Prussian uniform and his real human hair.
After surprisingly little discussion, and perhaps driven by a desire for a more complete vacation than the week in London that we had spent with our son Austin, Diane and I decided somewhat spontaneously to spend two weeks immersed in a German Christmas. Diane had never seen much of Germany besides Cold War era Berlin, so I thought perhaps southern Germany would be a nice counterpoint to Berlin. A quick Google showed Nuremberg to be one of the oldest and largest Christmas Markets, so I decided that Nuremberg was the one location that had to be on the list. (Please note that I will use the English spelling for German cities due to an English keyboard and an intrinsic laziness)
In a departure from previous Tom’s Travel Adventures, I decided to forego my trusted Rick Steves guidebook and instead looked to the broader internet for ideas. TripAdvisor, Frommer’s, Fodor’s and Rick Steves websites (yes, I couldn’t leave Rick completely) provided a wealth of information. Gradually I leaned more and more towards Bavaria’s famous Romantic Road and the areas not too far from Nuremberg.
I suppose there are three approaches to this sort of adventure. One notion is that you can spend lots of time travelling from one location to another and see Christmas in the major cities, such as Berlin, Cologne and Munich. Another thought is too see as much as you possibly can, spending one or two nights and then moving on. I don’t like either of those options. I prefer to go fewer places, spending more time at each. Those places do not have to be big – just interesting.
The closer international airport to Nuremberg is Frankfurt (on the Main River), so I decided to make a loop of sorts that would begin and end in Frankfurt. Munich would probably have worked as well, but in the interest of less travelling time and more exploring time, Frankfurt was the airport of choice.
Knowing that the first day involves lots of jet lag, I picked a mid-sized city that I was reading great things about and appeared to have nice Christmas Market (Weihnachtsmarkt), Wurzburg. Indications were that it was a quick one hour Inter City Express (ICE) train ride from Frankfurt, and so should not be too painful after a night of flying. It appeared to have a nice old town (Altstadt) area and decent accommodations.
Next up would have to be the target, Nuremberg. My parents had visited me while I was stationed in Germany in 1979, and we had done a road tour of southern Germany in September of that year. That trip was guided almost entirely by a dog-eared copy of the Michelin Road Guide. There was no internet back then, of course, so accommodations were very much on a catch-as-catch-can basis. One of the cities we visited was Nuremberg, with its old town towers and imposing fortress still a vivid memory. At that time many of the old landmarks were still being reconstructed after the devastating Allied bombing during World War II. Back then we stayed at the unknowingly famous Deutscher Hof Hotel (Hitler stayed there). The Deutscher Hof is no longer a functioning hotel, but thanks to the internet there are plenty of options in or near the old town.
Another classic near Nuremberg is Rothenburg on the Tauber River. As with Nuremberg, I had visited this small but very medieval city with my parents those many years ago. It is such a unique town, much like Colmar in Alsace with its timbered buildings, but even more so with the surviving town wall and towers. I wanted Diane to experience that atmosphere, despite Rothenburg’s popularity as a tourist destination. There’s a reason why certain locations are popular with tourists, and that reason is often good enough for me.
I agonized a bit over the last spot. So much of even northern Bavaria and Central Germany is worth seeing that choosing can be difficult. There are famous cathedrals in Speyer and Worms, famous spas in Baden-Baden, and lovely small towns basically everywhere. Again, I opted for a safely popular location that I knew Diane would enjoy – Heidelberg. Heidelberg has gotten a bad rap in recent times from Rick Steves and others, marking it as an over-hyped and over-touristy cliché. I knew, again from having visited with my parents in 1979, as well as other visits with friends while stationed nearby during that same timeframe, that Heidelberg has a lovely old town and truly picturesque Castle ruins that still overlook the city. I also saw that it was known for its Christmas Market, so that sealed the deal for me.
Reading that Frankfurt itself has a popular Christmas Market in the reconstructed old town area of Romerberg, and in keeping with my idea that the last night of an adventure should be spent at or near the airport, I decided to make the last two nights at Frankfurt.
The choices looked good on the map, creating a triangle of sorts, anchored by Frankfurt, Nuremberg and Heidelberg. Theoretically no train times should be more than a couple of hours. I was feeling pleased with myself. Who needs Rick Steves, anyway? I do, of course. I used his website often in the planning.
Well, naturally the best time to visit German Christmas Markets is during December. I wanted to be back at my home in Florida for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and I wanted to give the Markets a chance to be in full swing by the time we visited.
Despite our success with flying Virgin Atlantic from Orlando to London on our previous adventure, I opted for the more traditional flight from my little Destin airport to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Frankfurt. There’s always that unknown of weather, so I was gambling that Atlanta would not have any early winter difficulties. Delta again had the cheapest options on that route, so I stuck with the known good service that Delta normally provides (our previous adventure to Scotland notwithstanding when we spent the night at JFK).
Since airfare tends to be cheaper during the middle of the week, and two weeks still seems to be the best length for a visit, I chose December 3rd, a Tuesday, as our start date.
As with other adventures, avoiding an automobile is often one of the best choices you can make, especially in my case where my Florida driving skills would probably not measure up to a snowy country road. The obvious best alternative seemed to be the Deutsche Bahn government-owned rail system.
We were flying in to Frankfurt, but I was saving the Romerberg Market to the end of the visit. The ride to Wurzburg should only take one hour on the Express.
Knowing the first day is sometimes too lagged out to enjoy, I decided three nights in Wurzburg would be good, with perhaps a day trip somewhere close but well thought of, such as Bamberg.
Given the many sights in Nuremberg, plus the large Christmas Market, plus a possible day trip to Regensburg, I guessed that three nights would be required.
Being a small town and relatively close to Nuremberg, I estimated two nights for Rothenburg. Unfortunately I did not realize until after booking the hotel that there is no direct train from Nuremberg to Rothenburg. The circuitous route back through Wurzburg would take 3.5 hours.
I figured three nights in Heidelberg, with another potential day trip to Speyer. So then again, I did not realize that despite the relatively close geographic proximity of Rothenburg to Heidelberg, the train would be required to backtrack again to Wurzburg. This resulted in an even longer train time of 4 hours.
Thus the final itinerary for our German Christmas Market Sampler, at the risk of being redundant, was:
One of the important things to resolve quickly, and I’m afraid I don’t emphasize it enough, is to book your lodging quickly after deciding your itinerary. This is especially true if you are planning a trip less than six months in advance. I started planning this adventure in August for a December execution. Already many of my first choice hotels were not available, even going a bit off season. I did manage to get some good ones, as I will discuss later, but the point is that once you know your dates, book your hotels as quickly as possible.
The Big Question: Will the weather hold? We had not traveled during December to Europe in decades. Would Atlanta get shut down by a winter storm? Would the trains continue to operate in Germany if a big storm hit? I knew from previous experience that European trains could be relied on, barring disasters. I knew that I could count on most Europeans, especially the younger ones, to know at least enough English to get through the basics (unlike my German, the mention of which reminds me of my hilarious miscommunication during our Austria adventure and likewise provides a good segue to the next topic).
There’s that Language Thing
Answer: Once again, time to brush up on some German! I replayed much of our previously purchased Fluenz German coursework, although I’ll admit being somewhat jaded by our previous adventures to the point where I knew that I would end up relying on the Germans with their much better English skills. I don’t want to say that I feel entitled as an American, but I’ve seen too many examples of English being used as the common tongue between people whose native language is not English. Still, it never hurts to brush up on the basics.
When planning a large, expensive excursion, there is such an investment of time and money that it takes a significant event to consider aborting said excursion. The human mind wants to rationalize anything less as a simple inconvenience. When I woke the long-awaited morning of the BIG DAY, the mild sniffles greeted me quickly snuffed by a dose of antihistamine.
The delays from our earlier trip to Scotland were still foremost in our thoughts. Luckily the weather cooperated and our initial hop into Atlanta sustained only a few minutes of delay. Before we boarded the flight for Frankfurt, I became aware that the antihistamine was wearing off and the sinus issues of the morning were returning. I bought some over the counter medicine and decided that a simple common head cold was not going to deny our Christmas Market experience.
: The long flight to Frankfurt was thankfully uneventful as long flights go. Delta lived up to my expectations of plenty of food, drink and entertainment, though the wine did not flow as freely as it had on previous Atlantic crossings. That was fine, though, since I had no wish to re-experience that slightly hung-over feeling upon arrival that we had dealt with on our trip to France. My cold symptoms were lingering but not obvious as we deplaned.
: Getting off the plane always results in the big funnel of all arriving passengers to go through official entry point for that country. German customs were quick and efficient, in keeping with the German cliché. When asked why we were visiting Germany, Diane and I both responded with “Your amazing Christmas Markets!” That brought a smile from the customs official and an “Us too!” from fellow American passengers nearby.
: This airport reminded me of de Gaulle with its size. After such a long flight, there is a challenge to have the mental facilities to cope with the next step, which is getting to that first hotel. Since the plan was to do only public transportation, we made our way to down to the trains and a Deutsche Bahn (DB) ticket machine.
: At FRA, two German men who were nearby the Deutsche Bahn (DB) ticket machine, realizing we were new to this way of buying tickets, were extremely helpful and walked us through the steps for the purchase. I did not see my expected option for a “couples” ticket, so instead of the expected price of EUR 40, we instead paid EUR 84 for the privilege of taking the ICE express train to Wurzburg.
The Wurzburg train station (Bahnhof) was a busy but reasonably nice post-WW2 station. We decided to walk to the hotel, which seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately being jet lagged, dragging large bags in the downtown of an unfamiliar city, and a bit of drizzle can make for a less than enjoyable experience. An exaggerated tourist map of Wurzburg did not help us find the hotel, making the walk longer than it should have been. In retrospect, we should have taken a taxi or the tram, but the less-than-obvious methods of doing so were daunting to my tired brain.
The young ladies at the desk of the Hotel Rebstock (unexpectedly a Best Western affiliate) were extremely understanding of our exhausted condition. It still took some effort for my befuddled mind to figure out where our room was since it was not in the main building but rather next door. I had hoped to see some of Wurzburg that first day, but once we got to our rooms we immediately went to bed, sleeping till 7pm local time. The hotel is very close to the Marienkapelle church, and therefore to the Christmas market. We ventured out into the cold night air to hopefully sample some warm gluhwein, but were denied as the market shops closed early on weeknights.
The stunning Festung Marienberg dominates the west side of Wurzburg, overlooking the city and the old bridge. We enjoyed our hike to the fortress despite the frost on the walkways. The fortress museum was pound for pound as good as any such museum I’ve seen, with its collections of art and military history.
The Wurzburger Cathedral (Dom) was mildly interesting, as was the Marienkapelle church. Both are worth seeing if you have the time.
The city is also very palate friendly. We enjoyed multiple meals at the picturesque Wurzburger Ratskeller, especially enjoying the sauerbraten. Good breakfast food was available on the west side of the bridge in the form of Cafehaus Bruckenback.
Hotel Rebstock was in a nice central location to the old town and the Christmas Market. Our room was a bit on the noisy side, as a service alley was just outside our windows that was frequented in the early mornings by various delivery trucks. The room was modern and clean, and the personalized Christmas slippers were a nice touch. I would definitely stay with the folks at Rebstock again, though I would request a quiet room.
: The Christmas Market itself was large and interesting for city the size of Wurzburg. By day most of the stalls were closed, but at night the market came to life. Lots of locals were gathered around the gluhwein stalls, obviously enjoying themselves. The savory smoke from the many sausage (wurst) vendors added to the carnival-like atmosphere. It was an invigorating combination of warm drink, warm food, and freezing temperatures.
I didn’t know that each Christmas Market has its own collectable cups for the gluhwein. Because of this, each vendor charged for the cup as well as the wine for the initial purpose. A small coin-like token from that vendor would be given with the cup. If you wanted to keep the cup, you simply did not return it. Otherwise, you had to take the cup and its associated token back to that vendor who sold you the cup, who would then refund your cup deposit. Refills for a cup already in hand were naturally charged only for the wine, regardless of the vendor.
One of the favorite moments of my life is sitting on a stone bench with Diane on the Alte Mainbrucke. It was clear and cold, with an amazing view of the Festung Marienberg highlighted by a bright moon and a chorus of stars. The statues of the old bishops lining either side of the bridge seemed to approve of the festivities. We had our steaming Wurzburg cups full of local gluhwein, enjoying the crowd strolling the bridge as the market wound down for the night. Everybody’s breath was visible in the chill. Even the natives were cold, as one departed with a smiling comment “sehr kalt!” Wurzburg will always hold a special place for giving me that memory.
:
I thought I had an understanding of the Deutsche Bahn (DB) rail system based on all my previous background reading. Instead I found myself relying entirely on DB ticket offices and the English skills of their employees to decide what tickets I needed. Luckily there was at least one English speaker in each office that we used. Despite the common language, I still managed to not make it clear that we wanted round trip tickets (always cheaper) to Bamberg. The result was that we paid almost twice as much for our rail fare because it was two sets of one way tickets instead of a single set of round trip tickets (one set purchased in Wurzburg to get to Bamberg and another set purchased in Bamberg to get back to Wurzburg). It was another lesson learned the hard way.
Bamberg itself is a very pretty town. We walked the quaint streets and visited the town’s well-done museum. The river running through the town was glorious, reminding us of Strasbourg. A big reason to visit Bamberg is the cathedral that dominates the center of the old town. Unfortunately there was an exclusive event taking place on the day we were there, so no tourists were being admitted inside. I overheard irate German tourists arguing with church representatives, but it was to no avail. Another disappointment was the Christmas Market, though in fairness being there during the day meant that the best time for the Bamberg Christmas Market (evening) was missed.
The train back to Wurzburg was super crowded, due to our timing coinciding with the children taking the local train home from school. Perhaps if the Cathedral had been open it would have improved the overall impression of the visit, but as it was, I would rather have stayed in Wurzburg.
: By spending most of our second full day in Bamberg, we missed several notable sights in Wurzburg. Among those were the Residence Palace (Residenz) and the nearby Schloss Veitshochheim.
The Cristkindlesmarkt is BIG. I mean, really BIG. I highly recommend picking up the free map of the “Christmas City” that is produced fresh each year that provides booth locations. On our first walk to the main square I thought we had reached the main market a couple of times before we actually reached it. Hundreds of people of all sorts and cultures swarm the rows of booths. Sometimes the glut of visitors is so great, especially at night, that movement slows to a shuffle. Happenstance gaggles of baby carriages can be an unforeseen but effective impediment to your effort to get from one end of a row to the other. Taking such events in stride allows time to enjoy and appreciate what offerings are at the booths in your immediate vicinity. We enjoyed it immensely and returned multiple times each day and night of our visit.
During the day a visit to the Kaiserburg Imperial Castle with its displays and museum is a must. It is an immense fortification that, combined with the city walls and towers, gives a glimpse of the power that once emanated from there. The Albrecht Duerer house is nearby, though it was closed and we did not have a chance to do more than to admire the architecture from the outside.
The famous Schoener Brunnen (“Beautiful Fountain”) is worth a look though it was surrounded by market booths. Likewise the lovely Church of Our Lady borders the market. Often choirs in front of the church provide a suitable music experience as you shop the market.
When it came to food and refreshment beyond the usual gluhwein and bratwurst, we found that unlikely Finnegans Bar & Restaurant was enjoyable and convenient to our hotel. A surprising Starbucks was excellently situated along the river.
A last flavorful little morsel in Nuremberg is the Fraunholz Elisen Lebkuchen (traditional gingerbread) bakery, located near the castle. We enjoyed it so much that I still occasionally pay the shipping to have it delivered to Florida.
I can easily recommend the hotel, Drei Raben. It is quirky, clean and well-appointed with a friendly, knowledgeable staff. I appreciated the bottle of local wine left in the room each night.
The trip started on the wrong foot due to yet another of my misunderstandings of the German rail system. I had purchased a regional day pass that was supposedly good for any train in the region. We boarded the first train we could, since sitting around a train station is not my idea of a good time. The train was packed and standing room only, so I was surprised at the diligence of the conductor who was managing to bend her way through the seemingly impassable aisles. She checked our tickets and tersely stated that we were not supposed to be on this “fast” train. Luckily her English was passable enough for me to try and explain how I had purchased the tickets from the Deutsche Bahn office and had been told they were good for any train. Apparently I had misunderstood, as the tickets were only good for the slower regional trains that have more stops. After a few minutes of pleading my case, she finally gave me a look of undiluted disgust (another American Dummkopf) and moved on to the next passenger.
After seeing Nuremberg, Regensburg came across as a bit underwhelming. We saw the famous and impressive St. Peter’s Cathedral, then walked through the Bridge Tower to the medieval Stone Bridge. We saw some Christmas markets, but they were small and disappointing. The sights were interesting enough, but I couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t worth the time and effort even more so than I had felt about Bamberg. If I had it to do over again I would trade Regensburg for a different daytrip destination.
The train from Nuremberg to Rothenburg looks on a map like it should be an easy, short ride, but sadly there is no direct train between the two. Still the trip was without any Regensburg-type drama and we arrived in good order. The walk from the train station to our hotel was a stereotype of dragging suitcases over cobblestones. However, the hotel was well worth it. The very quaint and reasonably priced Burg Hotel is built into the town wall. Our room’s window was literally a “hole” in the town wall that afforded dramatic views of the Tauber river below.
I had been to Rothenburg as a young man with my parents in 1979. Overall it is larger and more commercialized, but the old town still has that same character that, especially in the evenings when the day-trippers have left, has the rare quality of being able to transport you to a different time.
Despite the cold weather, we did all the fun stuff: walked the town walls, climbed to the top of the town hall tower with its tiny stairs, toured the castle gardens and enjoyed the small but high quality Reiterlesmarkt Christmas market. The best fun by far though was the Night Watchman tour. We naturally did the English-language version, and the guide’s command of the language was impressive. Dressed in period-appropriate attire, his demeanor, stories and jokes were enough to make us forget how cold we were.
The Kathe Wohlfahrt “Christmas Village” shop and museum is season-appropriate and truly enjoyable with wonderful displays of Christmas pyramids and all sizes of traditional nutcrackers.
The one restaurant that we went back to was at the unlikely Hotel Burggartenpalais near our hotel. It had a nice combination of atmosphere and quality. Another more touristy but still tasty option was the Restaurant Meistertrunk.
One of my favorite moments of the entire journey was when snow fell for the first time while we were in Christmas market at nighttime. A gentle coating of white on the medieval structures highlighted by the nighttime lights was simply magical. The view of the snow-covered river valley the next morning was equally enchanting.
When it was time to check out of our hotel from this extraordinary place, there was an older German gentleman, who I took to be the proprietor, at the front desk. I had booked the hotel through an online service, and he proceeded to chastise me for not booking direct. I costs him 20%, he said, and implied that he barely covered expenses at that price. It reminded me of my spiritual travel mentor, Rick Steves, and his urgings for travelers to do that very thing. I felt somewhat guilty, and have since tried to bear that in mind when booking future lodgings. However, in a pinch or when there is uncertainty about a hotel, I will still use a service such as Booking.com or Hotels.com for the added level of security.
As far as our arrival went, as expected it took just under four hours by train to get to Heidelberg from relatively remote Rothenberg. As in Wurzburg, what looks small on the map is actually quite a distance on foot, and I made the same mistake of having us drag our luggage for way too far instead of using some other form of transportation. Old town is about 25 minute walk without the extra encumbrance of suitcases. Most people would probably take the bus using lines 20 or 33.
Our lodging was at the unremarkable Hotel Goldne Rose, which sits at the edge of the Altstadt. The room was nice enough though, and the staff was very helpful. This helpfulness would be more important later.
There were plenty of activities in Heidelberg that definitely were worth the effort: touring the castle (Schloss Heidelberg), touring the Rathaus, walking the Old Bridge and of course enjoying the amazing Christmas market. We also tackled the famous “Philosopher’s Way” hike, enjoying the spectacular views of the old town and castle from the hill on the opposite side of the Neckar River.
The Christmas market was my favorite of the entire trip. There were multiple hubs of activity as part of the greater whole of the city’s market. The food was traditional and delicious, and the gluhwein flowed everywhere. Being in the market while seeing the illuminated castle above was breath-taking reality of a German Christmas market dream.
The hotel staff told us about the popular local brewery called “Kulturbrauerei”. The beer was very good and the food was delicious.
: My sinus issues from the start of the trip had progressively gotten worse, and over the counter medications were not helping. The hotel staff directed me to a convenient doctor’s office located on the second floor literally across the street from the hotel. I was apprehensive about dealing with a medical condition in Europe, needlessly of course. Dr. Annegret Martin Hubner saw me immediately and thankfully her English was very good. She diagnosed an advanced sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics as well as prescription medications for nose and throat. Cost for the visit: EUR 38. The pharmacy was on the first floor practically under her office. Cost for the meds: EUR 29. The entire experience was better than I could have hoped for and probably better in terms of both time and cash than I could have gotten with my insurance in the USA. Although I don’t wish it, I will certainly have no qualms about using European medical services in the future. Although I continued to be dogged by the illness for the rest of the trip, at least now I knew what it was and was headed down the path to recovery.
The Hilton at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) was, like the airport itself, very modern and sleek. Perhaps it was a little too comfortable. Arriving back to the airport had signaled the end of the most adventurous phases of our German journey. Now we were back in basically an American hotel with American amenities and English the expected language. We loved it.
For our full day at Frankfurt we took the train for the short ride to Romer area. There was indeed a large and enjoyable market there. We only experienced it during the day, but it was still lots of fun. The popular snack at the market was the potato pancake, with the hilarious German name of Kartoffelpuffer. There were multiple booths selling the item, and all the booths had lines of people waiting. Why was it so popular? Why hadn’t we seen this item at other Christmas markets? We had to give them a try, so we waited in line. Finally getting to taste one we found… it was just a fried hash brown sort of like you could get at McDonald’s. We remain mystified to this day.
There’s a short walking tour of several of the of the city’s churches. We only went to a couple, but we enjoyed the Frankfurt Cathedral (Dom St. Bartholomaus) where we had an interesting chat with an older attendant whose daughter currently lives in California. The church survived the war, heavily damaged, but has been faithfully rebuilt and is worth a look if you are in the neighborhood. We also stopped at the smaller and less interesting Alte Nikolaikirche.
We didn’t really do Frankfurt justice, but it was a good last day in Germany.
The German Christmas Market Adventure was unique for a variety of reasons and left me with the following data points:
All things considered, the Christmas markets were fun and I would do them again. Thank you Germany for the wonderful Christmas memories.
It’s been a while since our trip to the Christmas Markets in Germany in 2019. Given the travel issues associated with COVID-19 during 2020, we feel so lucky to have gone when we did. We’re often celebrating our trip by cooking up a German meal for Christmas that includes Homemade German Spaetzle, Traditional German Rotkohl (Sweet/Sour Red Cabbage) and Christmas Stollen – using homemade candied fruit skins and Marzipan! Yum!
