Who: my husband and I, in our mid-60's. When: November/December 2023 (17 nights) Where: Stayed in Berlin, Leipzig, Seiffen, Freiberg, Goerlitz, Dresden, and Prague. How: Delta flights to Berlin/from Prague via Amsterdam; trains (individual tickets for the end of November, Deutschland Ticket for December), two day car rental for Seiffen. Why? For Christmas Market atmosphere! Shopping was not a priority...so how did we end up with our extra bags packed full?
Berlin (2 nights) Arrived around noon; easily found the S-Bahn station, bought 24 hour passes, and were on our way to our hotel near Savignyplatz. Very easy access to public transit. We stored our luggage, and the desk clerk guided us to a nearby Chinese noodle restaurant. Busy little restaurant crowded with locals. A few flurries of snow off and on...the beginning of below-freezing temperatures that held on until we left Germany. I had purchased tickets for the Christmas Garden at Berlin's Botanischergarten; it was a beautiful evening and the lighting displays were lovely. The next day we were off to opening day for the markets at Charlottenburg Palace, Gendarmenmarkt (held at Bebelplatz), and Breitscheidplatz. Our favorite was Gendarmenmarkt. Tents were set up to create an indoor area for the vendors, a great place to both explore and warm up:). Very nice selection of primarily German-made merchandise. Also visited Ritter Sport and Rausch chocolate shops. Time to open the first shopping bag! Bonus: the memorial at Bebelplatz. We had visited Berlin before, but hadn't seen this. It's not just about the Markets.
Leipzig (3 nights) We REALLY enjoyed Leipzig. We stayed in the Altstadt in Oelssner's Passage. I had purchased Sparpreis tickets for the ICE train, as the journey by regional trains takes nearly twice as long. Lunch at the Panorama Tower; lovely except for the heavy cloud cover. That night was opening night at the Leipzig markets. We liked that the different themed markets were spread out throughout the Altstadt. Very walkable! Heard a group from the Boy's Choir perform at the opening ceremony. VIsited Thomaskirche and the Monument to the Battle of the Nations. Also took a day trip to Quedlinburg; viewed the Quedlinburg Treasure (very interesting history) and strolled the town. It is so beautiful! It was a two-hour train ride from Leipzig; we almost didn't go but were so glad we made Quedlinburg a priority.
Seiffen (1 night) We took the train from Leipzig to Chemnitz, where we picked up a rental car. It was about an hour's drive to Seiffen. The closer we got, the deeper the snow...and deeper...but the roads were very well maintained and my husband didn't mind driving. Stayed at a beautiful lodge a ten minute walk from town, with a view of the iconic church midway between the lodge and town. Would have happily stayed a week! The seasonal Christmas market here is small--because the entire town is a year-round market, with store after store of wooden pyramids, schwiboggen, ornaments, etc. Had a delicious meal at Buntes Haus. On Saturday morning was the "klein" parade--the local miner's band, children of all ages in traditional clothing carrying/pushing/pulling wooden toys. It snowed overnight, so there was about a foot of snow on the ground! So beautiful. On our walk to town we passed a home with a display case of wooden ornaments beside the road; the "Offnen" sign pointed us to the house so in we went. We shopped in a room off the couple's entryway; beautiful hand-crafted ornaments.
Advice: To visit the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountain) area on an Advent weekend, RESERVE EARLY!!! Due to "life events" we couldn't plan this trip until late summer. We would have happily stayed another night. As it was an Advent weekend that wasn't possible--I kept checking for cancellations until our arrival date, but nothing was available anywhere in the area.
To be continued...