Looking for your experience and advice for our trip to (mostly German) Christmas markets! I’m pretty excited. We are not city people generally, so we are mainly focusing on smaller towns between Munich and Stuttgart. My husband proposed to me in December in the Black Forest (lo, those many years ago…), so while we will market hard, we are also happy with days driving along the roads, taking in the beauty, and the local food and drink. Some general questions, and I’ll share our itinerary in another post. (Highlights—Munich to Stuttgart/Esslingen, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbuhl and back to Munich.) We will have a (compact) rental car, we love road trips and husband is experienced driving in Germany. We were last in the area in May (Black Forest), and are eager to return after a too-long absence.
Thank you to those who have replied to my previous questions. We've got a pretty solid plan now!
? General question about the pfand, or deposit on the cups for gluhwein et al. Will each market have ONE common mug, or does every seller have their own? If we get a cup and pay the deposit (and DON’T want to keep that particular mug), do we have to return the mug to the place where we got it for the deposit? Or can we go to a different stall that “rents” that mug?
? Another general question, what’s your favourite drink? Of course gluhwein is the default. What about the version of eggnog? (It is not possible to get “home made” eggnog where I live, and the carton from the dairy section at the grocery store is usually disappointing.) Or the flaming one? Or, you know, the ones without booze!
? Husband would like to find a good beer hall in Munich—have heard that Hofbrauhaus is very touristy? Hotel is about 10 mins walk from Hofbrauhaus, so it’s handy at least. (We drink a lot of craft beer, amber to dark at home. Pilsner is not our fav, so won’t NEVER have it, but would enjoy something else if it’s available.) So—beer lovers, where would you go?
? General question, we’ve seen lots of videos with costumed characters (often stilt-walkers) in the markets. Are they buskers? Or provided by the market? Just wondering if we should have good amounts of coins for tipping.
? How much work is it to get into small towns during the markets? Especially on the weekends… We picked our accommodations specifically so we will be in walking distance to the markets once we park the car, so if it’s insane to move around from town to town, we’ll be happy where we are. (Most of our accommodations provide parking for when we are there.)
? Related question. We’re happy to drive, but also ok with local trains if that’s a reasonable way to get into other towns. For example, from Rothenberg to Schwäbisch Hall or Nordlingen. My first impression of the train schedule is that the small towns aren’t as easy to get to and from as would be larger centres like Munich or Heidelberg.
I'm also posting my itinerary if you still want to talk about this topic. (I sure do!) And...thanks again.