Christmas Markets 2021

Alzey Christmas Market - November 13, 2021

Usually the Christmas Markets in Germany don't start this early, but because of the COVID, many of the markets are trying to get a head start before they start shutting down due to rising cases. I've been following the Christmas Market Facebook page and notice that Alzey and Ludwigshafen wanted to start their markets early. Both markets were only 30 minute drive from our home. I didn't know which one to go to so I had Malia flip a coin ~ Alzey it is. We just bought a new Jeep Cherokee and Michelle enjoys driving it. Alzey seemed to be in the middle of nowhere and we expected it to be busy, but we found parking without issue and walked to the Christmas Market. It was a small Christmas Market. There were only 4 booths open. But it was cute and we did what we usually do at Christmas Markets ~ check out the booths, eat, drink, and take pictures. To be honest all of the Christmas Markets are the same no matter where you go. This one was good because it wasn't too busy. Michelle and Malia get anxiety when it is shoulder to shoulder. You know me, I love it when it is packed. I'm hoping this year we can go to the big ones, hopefully those markets offer something different.

Trier Christmas Market - November 20, 2021

With Michelle sick, Malia working, and Jared not wanting to do anything, I decided to go to the Trier Christmas Market by myself via the DB (Deutsche Bahn) train. After dropping off Malia at work around 11:00am, I caught the 11:30am train to Trier. [You know I planned it out so the timing would be right] The train ride was about 2 hours. When I got off the train I didn't know where to go?! I saw the Cathedral from afar and headed towards that direction. After about 10 minutes I got to the Christmas Market. The place was a bit festive and somewhat busy, but because of the huge outbreak Corona outbreak in Germany within the past week, it wasn't overcrowded like usual. Trier is voted one of the Top Christmas Markets in Germany. However this year, nothing really stood out. I waited in line to get in. Usually you can just walk into the market, but because of COVID, I had to show my vaccination card. Though the Christmas Market was small, I only had one reason to be there and that was to get a Christmas Mug. I'm not sure what the hype is but every German Christmas Market has a unique mug. The designs of the mugs are artistic and represents the city the Market is in. Let me tell you the Trier mugs are awesome. I saw someone with a different mug and figured there must be another market down the road. After I got my gluwein, I left the market to look for the other one. I walked aimlessly for a while, but put some thought into it and figured it would be near the Cathedral, it was. I saw the other mug which was more awesomeness. I left the market victorious and headed back to the train station. I had a decision to make, go home or head to Koblenz. [I'll have to take a picture of the mugs later]

Koblenz Christmas Market - November 20, 2021

After Trier, I got back on the train and headed to Koblenz. It was around 3p and the trip to Koblenz was 1.5 hours. Sunset was at 4:30p. It looked like I would get to Koblenz at dawn. I checked my google maps and saw that the Koblenz market was almost 1 km from the train station. I get a little preoccupied walking in the dark, but Germany is safe at night for the most part. Koblenz was a bit different that Trier. There were no check in points which meant free reign. The market stalls were spaced out throughout the 1 block in the Old Town Center. It was crowded, but not overcrowded. Things were happening. Of course I went to scout the mugs out. The first one I saw was ugly and decided to venture on throughout the area to find another one. After about 5 minutes of walking I found the one I wanted. I drank my gluhwein and ate lachs brotchen (salmon sandwich). There is nothing special about lach brotchen but getting seafood in Germany is not too normal and one would say regarded as a delicacy. I saw a wine glass that said Koblenz and so I wanted to get that glass. When I went to order more gluhwein the guy gave me the regular mug. I didn't speak up to change the mug to the wine glass so I drank the gluhwein. After walking around for some time I told myself I really want that wine glass, so I ordered another gluhwein, the lady grabbed the mug and filled it up. I told her no I want the wine glass, she said, "oh the chardonnay". I was like, "yes, please". Victory! I started off to the train station at 6:30p. I wanted to catch the 7pm train because my regional pass covered it. Any train after 7p was either a pain (many transfers) or not covered by my regional pass. Long story short, I barely made my train. As soon as I got to the platform it came. The train ride home was 3.5 hours long. I tried to sleep and listen to music, I was a little drunk from all the gluwein and didn't feel good. But I made it. It sure was a long day.

Luxembourg Christmas Market - November 21, 2021

On a whim, I got everyone up in the morning (minus Jared) and drove us to Luxembourg to the Luxembourg Christmas Market. This is our 5th time (I think) in Luxembourg and I'm not sure why the country lures us in every time. Every time we go I always tell myself, "this is the last time we are going", and we always come back. What got me interested in the market was the plethora of Christmas mugs they have available. I'm not lying, they have over a dozen mugs and not the junky kine either, the good kine. You'll see in a moment.

When we got there we had to show our QR code. This QR code was created by the European Union and will distinguish EU residents from non EU residents. One of the rules mandated by Luxembourg was that no tourist (outside of the EU) can attend the market (technically they can if they stop at the pharmacy and register). This meant that it wasn't busy. On a side note, I don't think many people realize how many non-EU residents attend the Christmas markets in Germany. It really is a great experience.

Right away I bought my gluhwein and got my first mug, a beautiful white mug with red lettering that said Merry Christmas from Luxembourg. Michelle and Malia followed suit with hot chocolate. After some pictures, we walked about a block to the Gare Market (the second one) and bought more mugs. This market was a bit bigger and more crowded.

Finally we decided to catch the tram to the third market. In Luxembourg city transportation is free, so we got on and got off and didn't have to pay. The third market had nothing interesting and so we just went to the restroom and left.

Pictures to come

Colmar Christmas Market - December 4, 2021

Colmar is a city in France, but near Switzerland. I made a huge mistake by not planning what markets to visit in Colmar. This is a mistake I don't make anymore, but since coming back from Greece, I did not have time to plan it correctly. If I had to do it over again, I would spend the entire day at Colmar and soak it in or rent a hotel and stay the night so we don't rush.

Since Colmar is in France, the market is French, but there is a mix of French and German cultures within the market. Of course there is still mulled wine. In France they call it Vin Chaud which translate into hot wine drink. What sets Colmar apart from other markets is the decoration of all the buildings. They are festive here by decorating the buildings throughout the city.

Parking was a bitch, but we found a spot right at the market, so I don't want to complain too much. The place was packed with French people. Immediately I saw a boot mug and told Michelle I need to seize the opportunity. Getting in line was an adventure, I kinda knew that going in. The French can be a bit unorganized. We fought our way to the front and ordered the vin chaud and Malia ordered a chocolate chaud.

We were hungry and Michelle and Jared went to get food. There are supposedly 6 markets in Colmar. I believe we only visited 1-2 of them. By the second hour the kids had enough and wanted to leave. I was a bit disappointed, but we also needed time to go to Strasbourg.

We left without seeing the Instagram worthy decorated house with the Christmas tree.

Strasbourg Christmas Market - December 4, 2021

It was about an hour drive to Strasbourg. I read that parking was going to be bad so we tried to park far away as possible and tram it into the city. The parking lot we found had a free tram ticket if you paid for parking which was cool. If you ever took public transportation in France, you know they are usually late, not on purpose, but usually late.

Strasbourg is considered big and going to all the Christmas booths seemed impossible. We did as much as we could. The city itself is beautifully decorated just like Colmar. We did quite a bit of walking and I tried to take a lot of pictures. The kids were still in their mood, but we manage to see a lot. I wanted to purchase some Christmas stuff, but didn't see anything I wanted. I'm very picky when it comes to stuff.

We found some mugs by the church and left. As we were leaving protest was happening in the streets and the French police were setting off flash bangs to scare off protesters. But I guess it wasn't working because they had to do it many times.

The drive back to Otterberg was uneventful. Michelle doesn't like driving in the dark. I could have drove, but Michelle doesn't like when I drink vin chaud and drive.

Cologne Christmas Market - December 11, 2021

We had a trip planned to Nuremburg during the weekend of the 9-11, but since Bavaria cancelled their markets we had to change course. Planning time was scarce because we went to Greece the ending of November and last week we went to Colmar/Strasbourg. I ended up planning things on Wednesday. The bad part was I got my COVID booster shot on Tuesday and felt like crap on Wednesday. I only had Thursday to plan. I ended up planning both Frankfurt and Cologne for this weekend.

I knew this was going to take a lot out of me, but what the hell this is our last year here right!

The plan was to stay the night in Cologne and visit their 7 Christmas Markets. Michelle hates driving back in the dark. I offered to drive back, but Michelle knew if I got sleepy she would have to drive and that would upset her. I have this sleeping disorder, I have actual data I got when they did two sleep studies on me 10 years ago. My doctor said you fall asleep so quickly, it is quite unusual.

Michelle drove to Cologne in one straight shot, no stopping even though we both had to pee, we held it in and got to Cologne in under 3 hours and got there before 12pm.

We tried to check into the Tryp Wyndham Hotel early, but our room wasn't available, so we found a place to park and went to check out the 1) Angel's Christmas Market. This was #1 on my list, I read through facebook post that it was amazing. Our idea of getting through the city was via the subway. In Germany it is called the U-bahn which translate into underground train. It took me a few minutes, but I was able to figure out the different lines. Just like any big city, the lines are color coded and numbered. This makes it easy for anyone to figure out.

We got off an Newmarkt and Angel's Market was right there. To purchase drink, we needed a QR code which the EU uses to track people who are vaccinated in Europe. Of course I bought my gluhwein and Michelle bought hot chocolate. Both were a hit. The Angel's Market was nice. It was decorated beautifully, the vendors sold some interesting items, and the food was good. It was nothing special, but the quality put on by the city was top notch.

After Angel's we went to the Nicholas Village on Rudolphplatz via the U-bahn. The markets are close so one could walk there, but we wanted to save our legs. Nicholas Village (Nikolausdorf) can be identified via this Castle called the Hahnentorburg. There was a booth called Cheat day Churros, what a name! Other than that, I don't remember too much about this Christmas Market.

It was nearing 3p and we wanted to check into our hotel. We caught the U-bahn back and decided to stop at the Cathedral Christmas Market. On a side note the Cologne Cathedrals is the most impressive structure I've seen in Germany. If it's not #1, it is close. The only thing junk about visiting the cathedral is the scaffolding all around it. The temperature was about 35 degrees (farenheit) and it was windy at the cathedrals. I was getting super cold. Upon entering the Cathedral Christmas Market, we saw it was shoulder to shoulder making things uncomfortable. We tried our best to hold each other so we wouldn't get lost in the crowd. There were these cute mugs and I bought some. We only stayed for a few minutes because it was too crowded.

We now wanted to go to our hotel, but we saw a Christmas pyramid and another market, so we went in. It was small but what the hell. There were a lot of drinking booths, I assume this was more an adult only type of market. We did one loop and exited. Now we wanted to go to our hotel, but we seen another market, the Gnome Market or its official name Heinzel's Winter Market. This place was also packed. I didn't know it was the Gnome Market at the time, but Michelle quickly figured it out as the place was decorated in Gnomes. Tourist believe that this might be the best out of all the Cologne Christmas Markets and they maybe right. I bought some gluhwein and we left.

Now it was time to leave and check into our hotel. I was feeling a bit drunk and was a bit tired. I took a short nap at the hotel. By the time we relaxed and unwined, it was time to go out again. Nightfall fell and we had enough energy to go out.