As the nights drew close and Christmas was on the horizon we booked our flights to Germany to experience the real German Christmas markets. We first flew to Stuttgart for the opening night of their world famous market. As we arrived early afternoon we spent a few hours around the museum soaking up some of the heritage before checking into our hotel and getting on with the feasting. The atmosphere was electric, the markets were busy but not oppressively so, everywhere there were little nooks to make your own as you sampled a range of different foods, we had some amazing Mackerel grilled over an open fire, delicious pork steaks and smoked salmon in an Icelandic tent complete with fur covered benches and a fire. The perfect romantic setting. In the evening there was a free choir service in the museum grounds which we watch sipping gluwein not quite believing our luck.
The next day we boarded the train to Cologne and quickly noted the similarities and differences between this market and the quaint market we experienced the night before. Cologne is a much bigger city and has several markets spread across the city. The most unusual being the nautical themed Christmas market complete with pirate ship and Cornish sea shanties! While in Cologne we did go to the Kathe Kollwitz museum which was really interesting as it documented her life and artistic development. Due to the crowds we left the markets early and instead got merry watching German TV in the hotel.
We then boarded the long train to Berlin as the final leg of our tour,
Really need to try and get to Berlin! Would love to see actual German Christmas markets as well-all the food...
ReplyDelete