Christmas Markets - Freiburg, Frankfurt, Sankt Wendel, Heidelberg, Deidesheim, & Baden-Baden

Thanks for sharing your experience and for the heads up on renovations at the cathedral and the museum.

We visited there in December 2019 and I'm still thinking about the delicious food and cold beer!

Last weekend was Advent, one of the four times a year all the churches in Frankfurt ring their bells for 30 minutes in unison. I'd not experienced that before, so it was on my list. I rode the train, which was delayed, but arrived in plenty of time. I met up with Ms Jo and she was nice enough to show me around a couple places I'd not seen before. The Christmas market is, as in many of the town, somewhat spread out. If you haven't been in a couple years, Frankfurt's has grown considerably. It's now on both sides of the river, and the area from the Rathaus to the Romerplatz was very congested, with a couple hundred stalls, some of which are multiple story structures. The Eisemer bridge was also crowded, mostly with folks waiting for the bells to ring. As always, the food is good. The usual wurst and raclette, grilled salmon, and potato pancakes abound. There's a lot of choices for drinks also, and I had a very good apple gluhwine that reminded me of the mulled cider you can get in the PNW.

When the bells start it gets very loud if you're anywhere near one of the churches. And just turning a corner can make a big difference in the sound. The bell in the Kaiserdom especially is felt as much as heard. The whole building vibrates.

There's a really excellent Merry-Go-Round in the Romerberg, and the Honighaus by the Rathaus is something I've not seen anywhere else.

If you have the time I highly recommend a visit to the Archaologisches Museum, if only to view the murals in the courtyard.

Sankt Wendel is not on most peoples lists, but its one of the better Christmas Markets in the Rhineland. It's fairly easy to reach by train, and the bahnhof is just a short walk from the market. It only runs for 10 days, usually the first two weekends of December. It's one of the larger markets, with over 150 stalls, and there are a couple nights when the stores stay open late also. This is a "Middlealter Markt" with a large percentage of the booths selling local made crafts, wood carvings, ceramics, metal, glass, etc. You can find some very unique tree ornaments, high quality knits, or a life sized carved bear if you don't already have them. The food was all local, with the metzgeri and vintners all having special stuff just for the event.

One thing that sets this town apart is the Zwergenwald (elves forest), a space set aside with around 20 small puppet displays of elves going about their lives. The hospital, the school, the gasthaus, the toymaking shops; all are lit and animated. It's a big hit with the families. There's also a series of large nativity scenes dating back over 100 years, and multiple places with live music.

great trip report

would have loved to have been in Frankfurt

Heidelberg is one of the major Christmas markets for American tourists, so I don't usually go this time of year. But I was wanting to do some other shopping, and the city is very good for that. If you are not part of a tour group, I recommend taking the train to the Altstadt station, which is two stops east of the main bahnhof. That puts you near the Karlstor gate, and you can choose to walk back into the old city center either by taking the path along the river to the Alte Brucke bridge, or walk the Hauptstrasse right into the city center.

If you go via the Hauptstrasse the first thing you'll come to is the skating rink in the Karlsplatz. This is also where you'll find about 20 booths, mostly food and drink. Further along the street you'll find the Kornmarkt square, and even more booths, although these tend to be more crafts. From the Kornmarkt, going uphill, you can catch the Bergbahn, which will take you to the castle and the stalls and decorations there. If the weather is good you want to do this, if only for the view.

If you don't go to the castle, but instead keep going along the main road, in just a couple hundred yards you'll be in the main square around the Heiliggeistkirche. This is the major concentration of stalls in the lower part of the city. And, most days, the shops built back into the church are also open, along with all of those on the perimeter.

You can keep going down the Hauptstrasse, but I usually detour over towards the Jesuit's Church and the University, because there's a old bookstore I like. But on the corner where the high road runs into the University Square you're going to find another concentration of food and craft stalls. This is the last major grouping, along this route, until you hit the small gathering at the Bismarckplatz about 3/4 of a kilometer down the road. There are other spots with a couple booths, but this is the main shopping area for the city and there's not a lot of open space left. From Bismarckplatz you can easily take a train, or bus, to the main train station.

This is a university town, and the crowd is mainly under 30 except for the tourists. Everywhere you go you will find people who speak English, and other languages, and menus in multiple languages. The best time to go is after dark, because it's really something with all the lights and the castle lit up. But it helps if the weather is good (it was foggy today).

I am flying home now from a trip that included Aachen, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt. I took a train from Stuttgart to Frankfurt on Dec 17, passing through Heidelberg which was indeed foggy! As was Frankfurt! I got to spend some time with Ms Jo, which was fun!

Very detailed and helpful. Thank you for museum recommendations.

Deidesheim is a gem of a town on the Weinstrasse (Wine Route), and it's rarely visited by Americans. I find this strange, because it's closest counterpart in the USA is Napa. You have 4&5 star hotels, Michelin restaurants, dozens of well known vintners and wine bars, and the added attraction of a 1200 year old town to explore; all of which you can get to by train.

The town is very well occupied by European tourists from April (when the fruit trees bloom) through the summer and past the harvest when the "new" wine season hits. And it's a really good place to visit any of those times. But what most people don't know is it has a really good Christmas market. Local vintners make their own versions of Gluhwein from scratch, all using their own recipes, the local bakers make seasonal treats (like gingerbread with wine), and the decorations are less industrial than the big city displays.

There are around 150 stalls, most locally staffed, and about a third of those are selling (or serving) liquids fermented and distilled within walking distance. The local church hosts displays of hand carved nativities, many of which are for sale. The local clubs come out with their own homemade crafts and baked goods, and it's like a neighborhood block party you can join. It's Christmas-y not commercial, and one of my favorites.

Parking can be tricky, it's not a big place, but there's a large parkplatz west of town in the vineyards. If you take the train you'll see it as soon as you get off, because the whole Bahnhofstrasse is blocked with stalls and the Ferris wheel.

I should have gone to Deidesheim. Too late now, but there is always next year. Being sick in the middle of Christmas market season seems to be a regular thing now.

Went to Worms today. It is a pretty small market but the locals seemed to be pouring in. They had some cute things for the kids, as well as doing waffles on a small cast iron stove. Not sure I would go out of my way to see it though.

Had hoped to make it to Heidelberg tomorrow, but will see if I make it or not.

Deidesheim is a gem of a town on the Weinstrasse (Wine Route), and
it's rarely visited by Americans.

It's a nice area, and it's true that Americans rarely visit. This fact doesn't surprise me though. US wine lovers thinking about Europe think first about France and Italy, much later about Germany, partly because Americans heading to Europe tend to be influenced by the simplisitic stereotypes they've grown up with (France = wine, Germany = beer.) The bulk of German wines imported to America tend to come from the Mosel, IME. As a rule, US retail outlets will have a very small number in stock, and they are often low in quality.

There are lots of nice wines in Germany though, and lots of wine regions as well:

https://daily.sevenfifty.com/app/uploads/2021/05/SFD_Wines_of_Germany_map.jpg

In Germany, if Americans end up near a vineyard, it's probably not intentional, but rather because that vineyard happens to be on their way to a brewery, or a castle, or a WW II site.

Baden-Baden's Christmas Market runs until the New Year's weekend and it's very popular. Its spread out at the base of the Kurpark, in front of the Philharmonic and the Casino. Parking is tricky, but there are signs. Just expect to walk 1/4 mile or so, mostly downhill. The center of town is closed off, which makes directions and getting to the museums difficult.

There are some really good places to grab the usual stand up food, but they also have a unique attraction of around a dozen igloo type plastic tents which you can reserve and which have waitstaff servicing. Fondue was a popular choice in most of them, although the menu also included champagne and caviar (it is Baden-Baden after all.) I picked up a couple slabs of truly excellent nougat and a couple other treats to send back home, and stuck my head into couple of the buildings. Very swanky in that part of town.

This isn't a huge fest, and there are a lot of folks from the local health spas wandering around, so you have to expect the foot traffic moves slow. But it's a very pretty city, and everything, even the crafts, are high quality. This is one of the places it's probably best to spend a night and walk after dark with no need to try and drive home. (The roads are steep and twisty getting into the city center.)

Deidesheim is a gem of a town

also has a very fun ram (goat) auction that we had the privilege of attending one year.