Christmas Markets

A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, Austria and Alsace but are now being held in many other countries.

 

As a travel agent you sometimes see advertisements of things you had never really thought about doing, and the reaction is “I want to do that.”  In 2000, a flyer came across my desk for a trip to “The Christmas Markets of Germany and Austria.” It was a tour being sponsored by AAA, the company I worked for. I just had to do it. I had some vacation time coming, and I was so excited about it.

I went home and told my husband, and he really didn't get at all excited. It sounded like a shopping trip to him. He said, why don't you find a friend to go with. I immediately called Bonnie. She had been my roommate back in my college years and we were still best friends. She thought it sounded like fun and said yes. So we went.



Nuremberg Christmas Market

We flew to Frankfurt where the tour started and we traveled by bus down what the Germans call “the romantic road”, with stops at quite a few Christmas Markets. The biggest of the markets is in Nuremberg, and it was pretty fantastic, but even the smaller towns that we stopped at were great.  One of the best stops was in Rothenburg which is home to Kathe Wohlfahrt's Christmas store.



What are Christmas Markets?  Every town in Germany and Austria has a town square. In the town square at Christmastime, they set up a huge tree, and stalls.  And there are people singing carols. But the smells of the food is what hit me first. There are stalls that are serving the German sausages on rolls, and stalls making spiced nuts.  





And then there is the gingerbread. Lots of gingerbread stalls. And best of all, the hot Gluhwein. That is a spicy hot wine drink. Since it is cold out, just holding onto the mug is great. And talking about the mug, when you purchase the drink you get to keep the mug – they are great souvenirs. The mugs are a dark blue ceramic and each city has a different design logo on their mug. I have a whole set of them, and at Christmastime I serve hot Gluhwein or Tom & Jerry's in them.

The stalls also sell anything and everything you could possibly want to give someone for a Christmas present, as well as the best ornaments of all time. My weakness is the ornaments. For years I have made it a point to buy at least one Christmas ornament wherever I travel. That is not always easy if you are traveling to a country in the summertime, but I find something. I don't want something commercial that says where it is from, but something that will remind me of the trip when I hang it on the tree. As an example, while in the Canary Islands in September, I kept looking for an ornament. There were none to be had. But finally I found the cutest little frog, and he had a string of lights wrapped around him. He's just little, and doesn't have a string to hang from, so I wire him onto a branch each year, and when I do, I think of that trip.

While at the Christmas markets, I have to admit that I went a little crazy and bought lots of ornaments. Some I gave as gifts, but a lot of them go on my tree.

The trip included stops in Munich, as well as Salzburg and Innsbruck. We spent one afternoon taking a gondola to the top of one of the mountains in the Alps. Every city included a city tour, so we really did lots more then just go to Christmas Markets. It was a great trip. And we got a little snow, something that I rarely see anymore, since I live in Southern California. Bonnie lives in Washington state, so for her it was not a big deal.

When we got home from that trip and told about our adventures, our husbands both said that it sounded like fun and they wished they had gone. So in 2005 we returned to the markets as a foursome. The guys agreed they'd have a beer while we shopped. Although Bonnie's husband made the comment that there probably wasn't enough beer in Germany to cover the time while we shopped.
 



Regensburg Medieval Christmas Market

On that trip we actually started in Prague, then went over to Nuremberg and took a river cruise down the Danube all the way to Budapest. That was the way to travel, no packing and unpacking. The Christmas Markets in Prague and Budapest were quite nice, and of course we had been to the Nuremberg market before, but it is the most famous and a must stop if you are doing the markets. In the small town or Regensburg we had our most memorable market experience. The main market in the town square was very ordinary, and that is where most people from our cruise went. But I had read about a market that the locals went to, on the grounds of the palace. They said that the royalty actually mingled with the people at this market, and that the theme was medieval. There was an entrance fee to get into it, but it was different from the other markets, and if you should decide to do a markets tour or cruise and find yourself in Regensburg I would suggest giving it a try, it was quite different and fun.


Booth at Regensburg Market



Both times we went to the Christmas markets we came home loaded down with mugs from the Gluhwein, gingerbread, spiced nuts, and lots of fun ornaments and gifts. A great way to get yourself in the holiday mood, and you can do it and still come home and have Christmas with the family. The Christmas Markets start in early December and go through the holidays.

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One of the ornaments that I bought on my trip to Germany was a glass pickle.  For those of you who may not know about a pickle as an ornament, it is a traditional ornament for the Germans.  Here is the Christmas pickle tradition:

The glass pickle ornament is an old German tradition. It has become a welcomed addition to the present unwrapping dilemma of who is first. The pickle ornament is supposed to be the last ornament you hang on the tree. It should be hidden among the branches in an out of the way location. On Christmas when you are ready to open the presents everyone should search for the pickle. The first person to find the pickle receives a special prize, a piece of candy or some other token. They are also the first to start opening the gifts. The pickle has become a keepsake, which is handed down to future generations

To Read more about Christmas Markets you can go to the link - Trip Reports from trips we have taken - in the column to the right and click on Chrisktmas Market trip December 2006.  The trip report is from the emails my husband sent home to family and friends while we were traveling.

Link to trips we have taken

In the past few years, when we have traveled, we have sent emails home to friends and family. My husband usually writes them. His emails are a sort of blog about what we are doing while we travel. We don't have any from our early trips. For one thing, when we first started traveling the internet wasn't an option. We really only started doing this in 2003. But we have done a bit of traveling during that time. The trip reports are sometimes long. Quite a few of our trips were 3 weeks in length, and he does report on what we do from day to day. If anyone is interested in reading them just go to the links on the right hand side of the page - Trip Reports from trips we have taken - and you can click on the trip that most interests you. The only one I wrote was the one on China, as my husband did not go on that trip.

Packing tip:

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes, and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” Susan Heller

Language - Don't be the Ugly American

"There are no foreign lands.  It is the traveler who is foreign." 

Robert Louis Stevenson



Eiffel Tower, Paris

I have had clients who were nervous about going to a foreign country because they don't speak the language. I tell them that they would be surprised how many people in the world speak English. It may not be their first language, but especially in Europe, most people speak several languages and English is usually one of them. That doesn't mean that you should assume that they do. Even if they do speak English, they may refuse to if you just assume that they should.

One of my fellow travel agents at AAA used to tell people that they didn't want to go to France because the French people were rude. We got into an argument about that. I have been to France several times, and I can tell you that most French people are not rude, they just find Americans to be rude, because we expect everyone to bend over backwards for us. We don't take the time to be polite to them, so they don't feel the need to be polite to us. All they really expect from you as a traveler is a polite greeting in their language - “bon jour”. And then ask them (again in their language) “parlez vous English?” You are asking them if they speak English. 95% of the time they will then gladly switch to English as you have shown them that you are willing to make an effort.

So whatever country you decide to visit, my advice is to learn a few basic sentences. You should learn the local greeting, how to ask them if they speak English, and how to say thank you. Another good sentence to learn, is to ask where the bathroom is. A note on that, in England you should ask where the loo or water closet is. I asked a lady in London where the restroom was and she thought I needed to lie down.

Have List, Will Travel: 10 Places I Want To See Before I Die



The Great Wall of China
Was on my List - Visited it in 2010

 

When I graduated from high school back in 1965, I was asked where I wanted to be in 10 years. Everyone in the class was asked, and they published our answers. My answer was to “be as far from my hometown of White Salmon as possible.” That may have seemed a little harsh, especially since I really had a very good childhood, a great family and White Salmon wasn't that bad a place to live. However, from the time I was very little I remember wanting to see new places. I felt “stuck” in a small town, with not much going on. The old song “Faraway Places” was the first song I learned to play on the piano on my own. The song says, “those faraway places are calling, calling, me.” And it is true. I have a desire to see the world. There are few places in the world I wouldn't go, given the chance. Of course, some places are higher on my list then others.

 

My working career started off in banking, but I never had a passion for it. So, when at the age of 50 I was laid off, I thought I should do something I did have a passion for. I switched careers, a little late in life. I went to school to learn to be a travel agent. And I worked for AAA as a travel agent for 14 years. Last year I decided to retire. Not that I didn't like my job, I actually loved it – most days. Even  the best job has off days, but on the whole I did like it. Especially helping my clients plan their trips. But at the age of 64 I felt it was my time to maybe travel more, without worrying about how much vacation time I had.
 

As a travel agent I did get to do some traveling, on the company. But it's not like it was years ago when travel agents got lots of FAM trips.  FAM's are trips provided by travel companies to travel agents to get them familiar with the company and the destinations. They are becoming scarce, and certainly the travel agent discounts are disappearing.

  

So now I'm retired. We have been taking trips, but of course, we can't travel all the time, we don't have unlimited funds. So what to do with my spare time. I keep busy, taking the dogs to the dog park or on walks, having lunch with friends, reading, swimming, etc. But there are lots of open times. I find myself watching television too much. So my daughter suggested that I write a travel blog. My thought is, who would read it? Probably no one. But what the heck, it might be fun, and it might give me an outlet.

  

I have traveled to the far corners of the world. For one thing, my husband was in the military, so we moved around a bit, and even spent 2 years in the Philippines. From there we got to see a bit of Asia. So that was the start of my foreign travel.

So if I write about my experiences, and if no one but my family reads them, well, it might keep me busy for awhile. So I am going to post my thoughts probably once or twice a week, until I run out of thoughts.
 

I would go pretty much anywhere, given the chance, but some places are higher on my list then others. I do have a list of places I want to see and things I want to do. I think that anyone who wants to travel should make a list. One of the things that used to just blow my mind, is when a client would come to me and say “I want to get away and go somewhere, so where should I go”. I couldn't understand how someone would not know where they wanted to go, and that they would want me to tell them. Where I would want to go, might not be a place they'd be at all interested in. So I would
end up asking them what kind of things they enjoyed doing, what their budget was, etc., until I had some ideas about what kind of places they would enjoy. Myself, I know exactly where I want to go.

For the last 20 years or so I have kept a list which I have titled "My list of 10 places to see or things to do before I die." Some would call it a “bucket list”. Same thing really. Only on my list I keep only 10, but as soon as I do something on the list I take it off, and add something new. That way I will always have 10 places to see. As an example, the number one item on my list until recently was a trip to Croatia. It came off, since we did that in 2011. That was my retirement present to myself. This is my current list:

My List of 10 Places to See or Things to do Before I Die

1.   Tanzania/Zanzibar - balloon trip over the Serengeti
2.   Victoria Falls in Africa
3.   Night skiing on a ski bicycle in the Alps
4.   Australia/New Zealand - snorkeling the great barrier reef
5.   Halong Bay, Viet Nam
6.   Take the Moonlight walk at Iguassu Falls, Argentina
7.   Quebec City
8.   Take the Maid of the Mist boat trip at Niagara Falls
9.   Canal barge trip in France with a visit to Monet's home
10.  Stay at Sanctuary Lodge at Machu Picchu 

Recent things that have come off the list are: Walking on the Great Wall in China, seeing the Greek Islands and a trip to Istanbul. My list has always had a variety of things on it. Future additions will probably include a cruise to the Antarctic and zip-lining in Costa Rica. Two of the things on the list I plan to do and take off in 2012. I don't necessarily follow the list in order.

So, if anyone is reading this, what is on your list?