Christmas holidays....

Which ones in the United Kingdom? I think that many of the small Cotswold and other rural towns and villages are especially nice with (usually) simple strings of white lights along or across the high street and small trees with decorations clamped at an angle on the outside of shops at the first floor height, perhaps a little snow on the thatched or slate roofs, a crib outside the church.

I am going at holiday time to meet my son who is attending Oxford University for a semester. I am a school teacher so I have modest funds. Can you recommend a nice but moderately priced B&B in a scenic part of the Cotswold? Thanks, Martha

I stayed at the Volunteer Inn in Chipping Campden and it was right on the main street and very reasonable. It is a central location to lots of other scenic villages and was a great home base. Cute village with plenty of good food and a bit of shopping. The Inn is located above a bar, but that was never a bother to us...it all quieted down relatively early.

Martha,
Look into accommodations in the town of Bourton on the Water. It is very picturesque, with the river winding through the town.

Munich and Salzburg are both spectacular in December. Vienna probably is similar.

Martha, I thought the "Gouda bij Kaarslicht" was the best. Gouda, Netherlands has a Gouda by Candlelight celebration on the second Tuesday of December. All the museums and sites open early for free. They turn off the power to the city center when it gets dark, after first having lit thousands of candles to light up the town hall and square. They then illuminate a huge Christmas tree, and after a speech by the Mayor, everyone sings carols, until the wee hours. It was so non-commercial and beautiful. Gets you in the spirit. The UK? Growing up as a lad in Edinborough, (Edinburgh), Scotland, I can't remember any nice celebrations. I do remember getting a piece of cold hardtack, with a glass of warm milk to soften it in, and a stocking with lumps of coal in it on Christmas day ;) Such warm memories!

We just stayed at the Old Bakehouse in Chipping Campden and had a wonderful time.

We just stayed at the Old Bakehouse in Chipping Campden and had a wonderful time.

Was Chipping your favorite town in the Cotswolds?

To be pedantic, "Chipping" is an old english word for a marketplace. In the Cotswolds, there are Chipping Camden, Chipping Norton and Chipping Sodbury. Other towns like Tetbury and Wotton under Edge have market squares just called "The Chipping", and there are towns with "Chipping" in the name in other parts of England - Chipping Ongar and Chipping Barnett, for example. It is the American practice to abbreviate place names, but that can be very confusing in Britain. Gloucester Road station is a very different place from Gloucester station, and Liverpool Street station is over 200 miles from Liverpool station.

This was going to be my very next question on the helpline, so I'm piggybacking. My dates are Dec 6-16. How does this plan sound? Thursday, arrive Munich airport 9 p.m. Friday, Munich Saturday lafte afternoon, train (2 hours) to Salzburg Sunday, Salzburg Monday, early train to Strasbourg (6 hours, arrive 2 p.m.) Tuesday-Wednesday, Strasbourg (day trip to ???) Thursday, 2 p.m. train (2 hours) to Frankfurt Friday - Saturday, Frankfurt (day trip to ???)
Sunday, 6 p.m. train to Frankfurt airport Mostly I want to see the Christmas decorations and celebrations (not much of that here, except for midnight mass in Bethlehem on tv). I'd like to see a market that has a Renaissance or medieval theme. I put in Salzburg and Munich because of what Robert said. My flight options are pretty limited. I could fly into Vienna, but that seems too far away since Strasbourg and Frankfurt are my must-sees.

Chaini - the one market you MUST go to then is Esslingen am Neckar. They have a regular Christmas market AND a Rennissance one. Ulm does as well, but the on in Esslingen is way better. I loved it so much I went twice last year. And it's "on the way" from Munich to Strasbourg. You'd take the ICE from Munich to Stuttgart, then take an S-Bahn or Regional Bahn a very short trip (like, 10 minutes?) to Esslingen. I would stay overnight so you can really enjoy the market and the lovely little town. Then in the morning, back to Stuttgart, where you can catch a TGV to Strasbourg, it's only a 90 minute ride. Sounds like a great trip! And if you'd like to meet up in Esslingen, let me know. :)

I didn't mention Strasbourg, but I see you included it. I've also been there in December, and it was beautiful, although the Christmas market was a little tackier than others. But still worthwhile, and there often are free concerts in the various churches/cathedrals. As far as day trips from Strasbourg, there's Colmar, which also probably has a Christmas market, and Selestat, which claims to have "invented" the Christmas tree.