Christmas in Europe advice

I don't have answers to your questions but if you don't have winter gear I would pick up at least base layers, gloves, boots, jackets, hats in the next month or so when outdoor stores put their good stuff on sale. I would go for merino wool base layers and glove liners.

Germany and Austria have similar winter like US Northeast. Nowadays with global warming it's very unpredictable. Weather could be balmy (like this year) or freezing and with a lot of snow like 5 years ago when we were there. I would need a crystal ball (which I don't have) to predict this far ahead.
What do you do there?: Christmas markets, concerts, museums, walk around like in any other season, enjoy ambience.

People who are from, live in or have lived in Germany/Austria will need to chime in here. I lived in Germany only for 3 years, 1982-1985, but here's my take on what you asked and said.

He has dreamed about sleigh rides...Yes, you can do that, especially in locations near the Alps. It's a lot of fun and magical being in an open sleigh being pulled over the snow by a horse or horses with the bells ringing. It's not anywhere close to warm, though.

Christmas markets... Yes, they are charming. I still have my beautiful red and gold angel from the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg along with fond memories of brotchen and bratwurst and gluhwein and lebkuchken and coffee.

The beauty of the holidays in Europe...Much more low key. Not as commercial or as decorated up as the US.

Me, the negative/realist, thinks of being freezing cold...Yes, it will be cold. You need to dress for it.

Icy/snowy roads...Yes, I drove on some regularly to and from work and rode on some in buses on group trips. On one skiing trip, the bus taking us to the resort got stuck at the bottom of an icy mountain road. After standing around and stamping our feet, most of us walked up the road to the place. White snow. Bright moon. Nobody fell off the mountain. We all got there about 6 hours later than anticipated and the bus arrived considerably later than we did. No food, nothing available for this large group. And no extension of breakfast hours the next day either.

What to do beyond Christmas markets?...As others have said, there will be concerts, especially in churches. Attending a service is wonderful even if the church isn't heated and you don't understand German. My personal favorite is going to a spa with indoor sauna and wave pool.

We don't like huge crowds, so we would prefer smaller markets...Even at a famous market like the Nuremberg one, you can avoid huge crowds by going at somewhat off times when there aren't so many people, but honestly, part of the fun is all the people and little kids. Also there will be crowded stores that are open later for shopping during the season. I remember getting in lines to ride the escalators at a department store.

Is it reasonable to be out driving this time of year?...If you are not used to driving in snow and ice, I wouldn't do it. Check out public transportation. I'm sure you could get most anywhere that way. That's a big advantage we often forget about in our car-obsessed world here.

Can you get snowed in?...Yes, we got snowed in at the top of Grossglockner in Austria in late June! Even the super, duper 4WD folks didn't leave until the parking lot and road up had been plowed and was mostly melted.

What do you do there?...There will be the activities already mentioned, but don't expect anything to be happening on Christmas day. In Stuttgart, absolutely nothing was open. I was visiting a friend and we made tacos, then went on post to the bowling alley and had hot dogs.

Just walk the villages and cities?...That sounds about right, but depending on where you stay, and who you might meet there, that could be a lot of fun. Keep in mind that the days will be short, very short.

Just wondering what kind of cold- deep chill damp cold or dryer cold?...Deep chill damp.

I wouldn't let any of these conditions keep me from going. It will be a beautiful experience, just not a SoCal one.

Of course every year is different, but when we went in 2011, temps were right around freezing. 3 times it snowed, less than 2" total. It is easy to get around with trains, even to most small towns. Unless you are really interested in gettng a lot of ornaments, I would be sure to visit places that have other attractions of interest to you.

My friends in Kitzbuhel tell me they don't normally get serious snow until January. I was there a few years ago in December, and the ski areas made snow for skiing.

It does get cold, though. Down coat and thermals or leggings were important.

We were there this year Dec. 2 - Dec. 16. The weather was mild (40's) and except for one day sunny. We had hoped for snow. Strasbourg, France is wonderful, beautifully decorated. I highly recommend Strasbourg. Crowded especially on weekends. You can take a day trip to Colmar from there (1/2 hour by train). Rothenburg, Germany is fun - take the night watchman tour. Beautiful countryside views. Walk the wall. Salzburg is beautiful and has things to see besides the markets. Hellbrunn Palace has a market and is a quick bus ride from Salzburg. You can take a day trip with Panorama Tours to the Salzkammergut and 3 Christmas markets there. Vienna has lots to see if you haven't been there already including lots of Strauss and Mozart concerts, art museums, cafes. We found all the markets to be very crowded. We loved seeing the little kids and the look of joy and wonder on their little faces whether they were watching cotton candy being made, riding on a carousel, seeing a decorated shop window, riding ponies, ice skating, etc. Dress in layers, take a warm hat, mittens and a scarf. Enjoy the gluhwein (vin chaud in France). Trains are a good mode of transport unless you are going to some little, out of the way places. Much easier than driving yourself especially in cities - aargh. Have fun. I hope you have snow.

Some random thoughts:
1. Christmas markets happen before Christmas. Only a few in very touristy places continue into the new year.
2. Christmas in the German-speaking countries is a very quiet affair. Everything shuts down, and people spend their time with their families. It's really the worst time of the year to visit Germany/Austria/Switzerland. New Year's Eve however is great, especially in big cities like Berlin (random street scenes).
3. don't expect snow, not even in the mountains. Usually it's just wet, foggy and dark.
4. don't see the Christmas markets as the main sight of your trip. After a while you will notice that they all sell the same anyway, especially if you stay within a region (like Bavaria).
5. for more variety you need to visit different parts of Germany, not just Southern Bavaria and Austria, which are culturally quite similar.
6. you don't need a car. All the places you want to visit can be reached by public transport. Having said that:
7. most Germans would agree that Germanys Christmas country are the mountainous regions between Nuremberg and Dresden. That's were most of Germanys Christmas traditions come from. If you want to visit Lauscha, the village were the glass baubles were invented (and still made), or Seiffen, the village were all the handmade wooden Christmas toys come from, you would need a car.

I did an 11-day trip, 2nd week in December, 3 years ago, all by train. I visited markets in 11 cities in 3 countries. It was a great trip, and though no sleigh rides (that sounds really really cold) most town had skating rinks.

If you dress properly you won't be cold. I used layers of thermal undies (top and bottom) under my pants and tops, because I don't really own winter clothes, certainly nothing woolen. I wore low-cut Ecco hiking shoes with very thick wool socks (a souvenir from Alaska) over regular socks. They kept my feet warm and dry even in 2-3 inches of snow. Really important for me were good gloves (Italian shearling) that allowed me to use my camera without taking them off. Also very important was warm headgear and warm scarf that could cover much of my face.

The markets are extensive. There are rows of stalls in just about every square in the town centers. Every town had a huge central Christmas tree and a large, often live-size creche (the one in Colmar even had live animals). You can get an idea of what to expect from my photos here and here. Especially in Alsace, many buildings, not just shops, all had beautiful decorations on their facades as well as in the windows. Locals frequent the markets, so they start to get crowded around 5 p.m. as people get off work and some are wall-to-wall people by 7 p.m. You'll hear Christmas music over the loud speakers, and there are outdoor choirs to hear occasionally.

The markets usually don't get started before lunchtime, so there's plenty of time for sightseeing in the morning and even afternoons. Most markets close up between 7 and 9 p.m., though in Stuttgart and Munich some went much later. My suggestion would be to dress warmly for outdoors, eat lunch by grazing through the markets, then go back to your hotel to change and have dinner in a cozy well-heated restaurant. If you go inside for lunch, it's hard to take off those layers, especially if they are thermal undies. I often ducked into churches during the day - they aren't heated so not too hot, but they were warmer than being outside and lots of seating, plus they were beautiful.

The cold and snow were not nearly as bad as the time I got stuck in a sudden heavy snow on the rise to Donner Pass driving back from Reno after MLK weekend.

Germany/Austria for Christmas is an insane idea. Let it go. You are also correct about there being absolutely nothing to do in Germany/Austria after you have burned out the markets and drank so much beer you don’t know if you should run or p$$. On the other hand, Budapest at Christmas can be everything he dreamed of. Yes, markets; and good ones at that. Yes, snow most years, but temperatures that barely drop below that which is needed to keep the snow firm. In Budapest you will find cozy wine bars, incredible theater and music in outrageously beautiful historic structures. Steaming baths surrealistically surrounded by snow drifts and restaurants with amazing food and impossibly beautiful views.
Here are some ideas: http://budapestchristmas.com/
and the bath house in the winter chill by another RS person: http://baths.topbudapest.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Picture-100.png

or you could go to Germany: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01501/zugspitze-radio-ma_1501928i.jpg

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now lets see how many take this a little too seriously......

My advice -- GO! As a second-generation Californian (and raised in LA) I was concerned about the cold so I packed multiple warm leggings, wool pants, wool socks which WERE worn double as needed, waterproof leather walking shoes, mufflers, gloves ... and sleeveless tops worn under wool sweaters for the times I needed to strip off the extra layers in overheated restaurants and museums. Packable down jacket under raincoat in drizzly Paris, packed compacted into a zip loc bag when I switched into a down parka for drier and colder Austria/Germany.
We stuck to cities and trains -- Paris, Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Vienna, Nuremberg. Lots of walking. Lots of gluhwein. Crowds at markets were festive, not annoying.

Thank you all for the help! I really do appreciate all the input!

Susan -- if you're thinking about getting special warm clothes for the winter trip, keep thrift shops in mind -- I bought my LLBean Gore-tex down parka for $35 at a hospital charity shop in about March. Just saw a jacket from REI today at our local American Cancer Society shop (size 10).

possibly not a lot of parkas in the thrift shops in CA. However you can do it in reverse. You can buy beautiful and warm clothing and then donate them before you leave Europe. Remember if you are going to Germany you will need to dress for this:

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01501/zugspitze-radio-ma_1501928i.jpg

Actually, James E, there ARE parkas in California -- lots of people in the Bay Area ski at Tahoe and other nearby areas. I have also found RS Civita day bags in the hospital thrift shops -- and cashmere pullovers. The key is to find where the well-to-do donate last year's items.

LOL. JamesE, talk about misleading!

Just playing.

I will be in Cologne, Germany for a few days in February 2016 and i am looking forward to it.
Also spent Orthodox Christmas (January) in Moscow a few years ago. Reportedly the coldest day of the coldest winter since WWII. It was marvelous. You guys are talking about places that know how to make winter work; it will be great.

But seriously, if you aren't going to use the heavy coat again soon, you might look for a charity to take it. Maybe one that works with the immigrants. You can suffer for an hour on the way to the airport to leave.