Christmas Markets 2010: Stuttgart, Esslingen, Germany

Its getting to be that time of year. During our 3 years in Europe the Christmas season has meant trying to make the hard decision as to whether to go home or to venture elsewhere for Christmas. It also has presented a not-as-hard annual decision as to which Christmas markets we want to visit during the year. 

This year we choose an area that not only has one famous market, but several; Stuttgart (and Esslingen and Ludwigsburg).

We flew in on a Saturday morning and despite a nasty 30 minute passport control line, made it to Esslingen by about noon, ready to tuck into the first glass of Black Forest gluwein (mulled wine - often times with some type of liquor added for extra yummy effect)!

Esslingen, unlike Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg, was completely unharmed by the world wars, so it maintains a Hansel and Gredel fairy-tale effect on all the visitors entering either of the three squares with Rick Steves eatable character.

This is behind the Esslingen Rathaus, a key figure in the town that is at its best during the Christmas market time.

This is the other square, likewise filled with what you would visualize as the proto-typical german village. They even have a cool Christmas pyramid that is on top of a gluwein stand; we obviously got a glass.

 Once we let the gluwein numb our senses, we headed to Stuttgart at 4 o-clock or so, dropping our stuff at the hotel and hitting up the Stuttgart market for the night, checking ourt nearly all 200+ stalls. They also have a choir in this beautiful church courtyard at 5pm. There is an electric atmosphere to the area around the city center.

It got extremely cold when walking around....in fact, this is surprisingly the first white christmas market experience we have had in our visits to about 15 different Christmas markets. Good ambiance, cold feet. We ate at a nice microbrewery that serves up some mean german cuisine.

The next morning we hit the town of Ludwigsburg, who have a nice market in front of the church. It was our least favorite of the three markets, which isn't a knock on this market, but more of a testament of how great the other two are.

After seeing the final market, we had most of the day to kill and decided to go back to Esslingen to take in yet more of the festive vibe. You can see by the pic below that Germans don't discriminate, they like wine too!!

This tower behind us below dates to the 1200's and the surrounding street is equally as impressive. One of the shops even sells the building as part of the Esslingen Christmas village set. They literally had over 10 buildings that were shrunk and cloned so one can take the charm of Esslingen home with them.

I think of all the markets we've been to, the top five after 2010 are as follows; Strasbourg, Esslingen, Prague, Regensburg and Munich (Erin may or may not disagree)!

Oxford, UK

Sorry about the delay, but I finally have a little (very little) downtime to do a post or two. This is from our Oxford trip in December.  The weekend after Strasbourg and before returning home to the Minny, Joelskie and I took the opportunity to experience the Christmas cheer in Oxford. It wasn't too Christmassie there, but it didn't matter, as the night was reserved for a historic pub-crawl and the following day for meandering around the old city.

We took the Oxford Tube to Oxford, which picks up right in front of our place among other spots along the North side of Hyde Park heading into the city. The tube is really cheap and easy, making Oxford a great day trip from London. We arrived at about 8pm and went over to what we think was the first Oxford christmas market. It sure makes you appreciate the ones that have had 400 years of practice at the art. There were about 30 stalls that had nice goods, but it lacked the Christmas spirit that the other Christmas markets in Europe we've seen. It is in a good setting (at the enterance to Oxford Castle) so I think once it develops a bit, it'll be a great place to enjoy.

After getting an x-mas sausage into us, it was onto a pub crawl, which many would say can be wrapped into a history lesson as these pubs, through their ageless walls and warping ceilings have seen many generations of students, teachers, tourists and locals come and go. The link above highlights lots of Oxford bars.

The first place we went was the Bear Inn, dating back to 1242, making it one of the oldest in Oxford (the world too?). It is just two little rooms, one with a fireplace, and the age on the building shows by the slanted ceiling and floors, which have settled into their foundations nicely! The beer on tap is Fuller's and the fire is really cozy! I wouldn't be hesitant to say this is one of the top 10 best pubs I have been to. Mind your head!! I nicked this off google images, so thanks to he who provided!

After this pub, we went to the White Horse, one of the older pubs in town with slightly-less-shiftier foundations than found at The Bear. We started talking to a group of students at the bar who were in the midst of the 12 Pubs of Oxford crawl, led by none other than an Irish girl from County Cork.  We decided it was in our best interest to try and meet them at some of the other spots (without being intrusive), so it was onto the Turf Tavern.

This is another great pub of Oxford, dating back to the 13th century, who also contests to be the oldest pub in Oxford. Erin and I had gone here in 2005 when visiting, but it definitely deserves a repeat performance (once a week:). As you can see, the ceilings weren't made for modern humans! The pub is also set right outside the old city walls, whose ruins remain there today (albeit integrated into the nearby buildings). One of the students mentioned that it used to be popular for bare-knuckles boxing and cock fights, since they weren't allowed in the city. The beer on tap is much better than the other spots we went and had the greatest variety in the city.

Those were the two best pubs in my opinion, we went to four others that night, including the Turl, the King's Arms, the Wheatsheaf, and Grapes. They were all really nice pubs and unique in their own way. The Turl was the most old feeling, the King's Arms more of an Inn type pub, and the Wheatsheaf a long and narrow pub down a longer and narrower close that had good beer on tap.

After ending the night with a kabob, we walked around the next day, touring Oxford Castle and Christ Church College. Both tours, while expensive, are worth it. King's College is especially cool, the great hall used in the filming of Harry Potter and the King's College Chapel full of history, including a beautiful stain glass depiction of the assassination of Thomas Becket, who was famously murdered by King Henry's followers in 1170 at Canterbury Cathedral.

It is always fun just to wander down the narrow streets and taking in the history of Oxford. As you can hopefully tell, it was a quick, easy and successful night away in Oxford!

Joyeux Noel Strasbourg!!

France isn't really well known for having superb Christmas markets, even the French themselves would probably concede the title of best christmas country to their neighbors to the East, being Germany. However, the residents of Strasbourg have boldly self-proclaimed their city as la Capitale de Noel, suggesting that one of the best places to celebrate Christmas is actually in France (albeit only since WWII most recently as Strasbourg has switched owners several times over history). As such, we felt it would be appropriate to give it a go!!

One would think getting to Strasbourg would be easy from London. Au contraire my friends. There are very infrequent direct flights to Strasbourg airport so if you want to fly, its Ryanair into Baden, Germany. Another option is to take the Eurostar into Paris, then the TGV to Strasbourg, but that is both time consuming and quite expensive. As we had to pay only taxes for the flight, we choose the Ryanair option, flying out of Stansted airport, which is a 45 minute train ride from Liverpool Street station. Once we got to Baden, it was all aboard a little shuttle that took the 45 minute bus ride across the border into France. Joel, our friend from Ireland, joined us as well, literally sprinting across the airport to make the connecting flight, but as he reassured, "I'll make it, you forgot who you're dealing with, Big Joel!" We all made it and let me stress that when we arrived at our Hotel in Petite France, all the hassle in getting there was gone, the city is beautiful and absolutely oozes Christmas cheer.

We went to two different bars after arriving at 10:30pm both near the Cathedral. The latter, Les Freres Botham, was amazing, offering three kinds of Chouffe (I would claim as my favorite beer) on tap. We had two pints of the 10% N'ice Noel, paying for it the next day.

The city at night is really beautiful, with the massive, largely cobbled pedestrian-only zone with the typical German chalet-style timbered houses and christmas lights illuminating nearly every street. Petite France is perfection!

The next morning we rolled out of bed and began to hit the Christmas markets. With over 10 markets in the city, definitely consult the website dedicated to the markets and print a map and brochure. The most crowded market is definitely the one around the cathedral, but it was extremely crowded. Despite the crowds, the setting is remarkable with the cathedral towering above the stalls. There is also an impressive market near the Opera, a Russian-themed market near the Cathedral, and a really cute little one in Petite France, just a stones throw from our hotel. We had a nice lunch at Au Petit Tonnelier after a few markets, then around sunset went to the top of the cathedral to take in some spectacular views!

The markets themselves had pretty standard fare with many repeats, but all in all it had a nice mix of food, mulled wine, commercial ornaments, "handmade" crafts and kids stuff. We had lots of mulled wine, got a christmas market mug, two ornaments, one handmade by an artist that was selling his goods at his booth and a couple gifts for family at a little Christmas store in Petit France.

This one is for Monique, they had all sorts of cool old maps in French...

I think this market and the one in Prague had the best Christmas vibe, with the only drawback being the lack of german sausages! This had more authentic crafts on sale when compared to Prague, however. The mulled wine was also the best at any market we've been to, especially a week after having some terrible mulled wine at a stand in the Borough market in London. As you can see below, the setting is perfect.

After a power nap we set out for dinner, at Au Brasseur a brewpub that serves up excellent Flammkueche, an Alsace speciality that is essentially a ultra thin and crispy pizza with onions, cheese, sometimes with ham and sauerkraut. The beer was good, but not outstanding (better than the brewpub in Tallin that we went to with Betch, that's for sure). Following dinner we went for a walk and to two more bars, Les Aviateurs and L'Acedemie de Biere. The latter had dancing to go along with an outstanding selection of beers.

After a long night, Joel left early on Sunday morning to make a flight to Dublin so Erin and I strolled around the city all day, going into the Cathedral and marveling at the grandeur of it all, including a really cool astronomical clock dating back hundreds of years. The church itself was completed in the 1400's and was for a time the largest structure in the world. Construction on the new church began in 1176, spanning over four centuries. Needless to say they went through several master builders.

After some more mulled wine, Erin and I hit the road for home, capping yet another great Christmas market experience!!

The X-Mas Markets of Europe - Part Four - Salzburg & Kitzbuhel

On the 23rd, we left Regensburg for Salzburg. After our directions sent us down a pedestrian street through Salzburg (by Borgie and Dano's old digs I believe), we made it safely to our hotel, which was perched high above the city in the mountains, the Romantik Hotel Gersberg Alm. We knew they had a restaurant, but didn't realise it would be the best meals of our trip. We opted to stay in the hotel that night to rest and had dinner there, Erin had a nice fish and I had baby deer (definitely a first and probably a last - PETA would've had a field day with the game on the menu). Our room had sprawling views of Salzburg and you could see the fortress from the entryway to the hotel.The following morning we trekked into town after returning our rental and explored the final Christmas market of the long Christmas Market tour 2008. The Salzburg market was really nice, with two main markets on either side of the Dom (Cathedral), but after seeing so many markets, we were not wowed by this one. We'll have a post in the next couple months announcing our favorite market given a series of categories!

We grabbed a tea, wandered around town some more, got an orament (we have made it a tradition to get an ornament in each (major) city we visit during our European adventure - we'll have an ecletic tree come next year) and stopped at the market for an unusual Christmas dinner of cheese, olives, bread and meats...more of an Italian picnic. We then went back to the market for some punsch and sausages before heading into the Dom for Christmas mass. Despite being in German, we managed to attempt to sing (mumble) along to all the songs. It was a really nice service and a beautiful church.

We then took a taxi back to our place and had our dinner before joining all the hotel guests in Christmas carols (Finnish, German, and English songs - many firsts for us) and mulled wine and cookies. We then decorated the closest thing we had to a christmas tree, the fake flower in our room. Regardless, it was nice to decorate a "tree".
We were a little disappointed going to bed as there was no snow on the ground on Christmas eve (proably hard for our friends back home to believe given the snow in the Minny these days), however, on Christmas morning, we woke up to about 2 inches of white stuff, which definitely made Christmas day much more interesting, as we went for a long walk in the white mountains!

After another visit to the wellness center and hanging out all Christmas day, we had another great dinner which capped off our Christmas in Salzburg.

We jumped on the train the next morning to Kitzbuhel, which is known as the ski place for the non-skiiers in Europe. People are a little more focused on the type of fur boots and coats they wear to a particular bar after skiing (apres-ski) than the volume of snow that dumped on them the night before. Nevertheless, we wanted to experience the hype.

Thankfully the days we had skiing were the best the resort had all year, as it snowed about 5 inches the day we arrived. The town was VERY romantic, with the old town home to a beautiful pedestrian street with colorful buildings ranging from 200-500 years old. It was a truely perfect European alpine village. Our resort, the Haselberger Hotel was right at the base of the lift in a perfect location for exploring the town and taking in the apres-ski scene. We skiied for 3 days and spent one day wandering the town. The snow and runs do not even begin to compare with those in the Rockies, we are spoiled back home; however, the mountain restaurants (over 50 on the mountain) and bars are what make the resort special. We had lunch at 3 amazing places that are complete with old wood tables, fires, german beer, mulled wine, and relaxation. We wish we could take this vibe back to the rockies with us! After skiing each day, everyone hauled their skis to the nearest loudest bar to sip on mulled wine and show off their fur headbands (they actually exist...scary)! Our favorite place was the Strampel, a 200 year old pub with great apres-ski atmosphere. The Haselberger hotel is run by the Haselberger couple who have ran the hotel for multiple generations. The hotel was opened by Mr. Haselberger's father, who left it to them. It is one of the true gem's of the city, not spolied by the wealth that has came to Kitzbuhel in the last 20 years which shows in all the shishi stores and hotels/resorts. Unfortunately, the Haselberger's are retiring and their children are opting not to take over; thus, they are selling to the hotel next door, a 4 star hotel called the Kasierhof (a Best Western). We consider ourselves very fortunate to have been blessed with such great hospitality by the Haselberger's, who are as kind as they come. It is truely the end of an era in Kitzbuhel. It was the perfect hotel to end an amazing trip with! Happy new year to all!

The X-Mas Markets of Europe - Part Three - Munich & Regensburg

We had been looking forward to our trip to Bavaria for so many months and were relieved when our Christmas holiday finally arrived on December 19th.  It was the longest holiday during our time in Europe and it came and went quickly along with the rest of 2008. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All! What was planned as the ultimate Xmas market and beer tour of Bavaria didn't quite turn out as planned, as Erin and I both got pretty sick in Munich, eventually getting diagnosed with Bronchitis by none other than Dr. Beer in Regensburg 5 days into the trip.

The trip began by checking into our Pension and picking up a glass of mulled wine on the way to dinner at Anchens Am Dom, a famous brewery/monastery that has a resturant in Munich, an easy alternative to making the pilgrimage to the mountain top town. Good food, amazing beer. The next morning it was off to the xmas market...we were hoping for snow in Munich, to unfortunately find cold rain and wind....not good for Erin who at this point was getting pretty sick, but being a great sport! The main Munich market in Marienplatz was great, filled with exclusively christmas ornaments and decorations; we quickly found out where all our Christmas traditions originated in Minnesota. After getting a couple ornaments and meeting Strauss, who planned two nights in Munich on his way to Egypt for the holiday, we had a lunch of soup and a beer (for me), tea for Erin, then made our way to Munich's Residenz, where the royal family lived for hundreds of years dating to the 1508, with the building dating back to 1385. We checked out another Christmas market in the courtyard of the Residenz and had a potato latkes in honor of Strauss, as he humored us by tagging along at all the Christmas markets. That night we ate at Paulaner's big beer hall/eatery and had a beer at Augustiner Keller in the basement (like 60 feet below ground) brewery. Erin was a tropper as she was at the height of her illness while we had a beer here (and as I began to deteriorate).

The following day we wandered around again, but only in the morning to get drugs and then it was back to bed until 3:30 for Erin and I. However, we managed to make it to the Hofbrahaus for a couple beers (even though I was sick, I couldn't pass up un mas after an initial tea). On the way to dinner, we stumbled upon yet another seriously cute xmas market that was exclusively for nativity purchases (along with the usual gluwein and pretzels that everyone was eating and drinking). Munich was great despite not being able to do the complete beer hall experience....but to our credit we made it to the Hofbrahaus, an Ayinger, an Augustiner, a Paulaner, and the Anchen's beer halls; not a bad showing. We were able to parttake in the amazing Christmas markets though!!

The next day after a slight complication with our rental, we departed from Munich airport to Regensburg via Landshut. Landshut was a picturesque town straight out of a fairy-tale, with pastel medieval buildings surrounding cobblestone streets. We made a quick tour through town and then arrived in Regensburg to an even more picturesque town, one of the coolest and most historic we have experienced in our time here, complete with colorful buildings and several Christmas markets.

We checked into our hotel and grabbed a tea and set out to check out the markets. It was such a great vibe with all the locals having gluwine and chestnuts beneath the medieval church. We were very sad to not parttake in the banter:-(.

We stayed at the Petit Orphee hotel, right in the center of town. It was only €100 a night but included gourmet breakfast and wine and water in the room upon arrival. It should be the only option when considering accommodation in Regensburg. That night we were fortunate to get a reservation at the restaurant managed by the hotel, also the best restaurant in town. It was bistro-french and didn't disappoint.

After dinner, we wandered around town some more and to another cute market that was focused more on arts and crafts, kids stuff, and music. There was a cute merry-go-round made of wood that was just like the one we say in Riga last year. There was also mini-bowling for the little ones. The next morning we woke up to a great view, had breakfast, and then made it to a hospital in the old town, seeing Dr. Beer and getting some much needed meds. Following the hospital, we wandered around the markets some more and to some shops.
We went to a home store and found Erin's Christmas present, which was wrapped in the store and hauled to the post-office. As you can see below, it was too big to put in an envelope, so we had to send the package to Ireland to be able to ship it home!

We eventually made it out of Regensburg and it was across the border to Salzburg for one last market and our Christmas celebration!