German Christmas Markets
Deutsche Weihnachtenmärkte/Christkindlesmärkte!
Weihnachtsmarkt in Hamburg
Fröhliche Weihnachten! Or, Frohe Weihnachten — Merry (Happy) Christmas! There are several names for German Christmas markets — Weichnachtsmarkt literally means “Christmas market” whereas Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, or Christkindlimarkt means “Christ Child’s market” or a sort of “spirit of Christmas.” I believe the latter is more associated with southern German or Bavarian Christmas markets while the first is more associated with northern markets.
I decided that I wanted to write a “Christmas-themed” blog post about Germany, but I knew I couldn’t go to just one market and tell you about it, so I went to three instead — four if you included the time I went to Hannover’s Christmas zoo. That seemed far better. I got to see the Christmas markets in Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg (in that order). I think my biggest comment to make about all of them is that if you say, “I went to a German Christmas market,” it’s hard to say that you saw the whole market because each of these market-festivals span across multiple areas of the city — I kid you not. Read on to see what I mean.
Berlin Weihnachtsmarkt at Alexanderplatz.
I did think it was funny that whoever controlled the radio was playing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” They just really love him for some reason, but I still didn’t think it was the best Christmas music… I went to Berlin’s Christmas market during the day and it was freezing outside, which made it perfect weather for some apple Glühwein, a heated German mulled wine. It was fantastic! I had a chocolate cookie with it, which was ever so soft on the inside. I later had a mango Glühwein with a shot of whiskey in it. They had three options: tequila, whiskey, and amaretto. This was a perfect way to warm up.
Alexanderplatz, Berlin.
The flag in the very distance of the video is the “Berliner bear,” which is on Berlin’s flag because Berlin is its own province, technically. Fun fact: the Province of Brandenburg surrounds Berlin. I also had the blessing of getting to see two dads and their son taking a seat and having some treats as a family, which warmed my heart more than the alcohol. So cute. All of Berlin’s Christmas markets are spread across Gendarmenmarkt, Roten Rathaus, Alexa, Charlottenburg Palace, Charlottenburg, Spandau, Sophienstrasse, Nikolaiviertel, and of course, Alexanderplatz. These were all listed as part of 9 of the best Berlin Christmas markets not to miss! And I spent at least a couple hours at just one! So this is what I mean by it being difficult to say that I went to the Christmas market in Berlin.
The next Christmas market I went to was Bremen’s, which was super cute. As Bremen is the smallest out of the three cities I saw, everything felt far cozier and tight-knit. If you want to go to a market in the north that doesn’t overwhelm you, I’d go here.
“Very big welcome to the Bremen Christmas Market.”
Okay, to help you get your bearings here — the first video is in the market square and the statue of Roland is behind all the stalls. If you walk through the stands and go past Roland, you’ll want to go a bit to your right. In-between the St. Petri Dom and the Rathaus (Bremen Cathedral and City Hall) you’ll start to see the area in the second video. If you have no clue what I’m talking about, read my blog on Bremen. All these stalls were really quite close to one-another, but I know that there were also more stands near the Bremen Hauptbahnhof (train station), so it had some things spread out like the other cities.
Speaking of some of these stalls and stands, let’s take a look inside some of them, shall we!
As you could see above, there were shops with handcrafted nutcrackers and I technically wasn’t allowed to take pictures of them — so you’re welcome for the sneaky shots! There were handmade candles, containers, and lanterns in some of the bottom pictures.
The above video is a better view from the inside of the candle shop. I absolutely loved these. I wished I could’ve bought all of them because I’m a sucker for candles. I found these really great, but my favorite thing was coming outside and seeing the performers on their stilts.
They were so colorful! I wanted to be them… I think the level of well-made clothes, food, and items made it feel like a truly authentic and unique market with its own special, magical charm that just can’t be matched in the U.S.
After seeing the Christmas markets at three cities, I noticed a formula that their stalls usually followed — candles, hats/gloves/etc., food, drinks, food/drinks, nice jewelry, fun and cheap jewelry, cooking utensils, bags/purses, soaps, natural oils, crepes, and then Christmas knick-knacks obviously.
I say this because the last city I went to and saw Christmas markets was Hamburg. I’ve frequented Hamburg and although I’m by no means an expert, I’ve greatly come to enjoy it from just exploring Hamburg in general to going to the Miniatur Wunderland. So this was a great way to spend the last couple of nights in Germany.
In the third picture, it literally means “Christmas crib,” or, “Nativity scene” as we’ve come to call it. There’s actually a post on the 7 best Christmas markets in Hamburg — Spitalerstraße, Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz, St.-Petri-Kirche, Rathausmarkt, Jungfernstieg, Gänsemarkt, and Fleetinsel. I went to the ones at the St. Petri Kirche or St. Peter’s Church and the market at the Rathaus or City Hall. The market at the Rathaus sold Christmas trees — the very first picture on this post is the massive tree of light to basically notify people where they can buy the trees. Makes sense.
You can see the tree pretty well above here. It was pretty rainy and stormy when I went, which I didn’t mind because that’s my favorite kind of weather.
As you might notice in all these videos and pictures, each city had some different themes for their stalls. I noticed in Hamburg that their stalls had a lot of brick styled stands and lots of trees around. I know the trees stuck to their “forest in the city” kind of decorating, which I think is cute. But look how Bremen and Berlin’s stalls looked more like cottages with the wood. I thought this was interesting and it just goes to show that each market in each city will vary from the others.
I’ve gone to the “Christkindlemarkt” outside of Cincinnati, Ohio and it’s… sad. It’s just sad. It touches no where near the fantasticalness of the German markets that they’re trying to replicate.
And this leads us to Ehron’s Takeaways
A Must-See: I mean, I think any German Christmas market is worth a visit. There isn’s an American equivalent to these even if they try, so I think an actual German Christmas market is a must-see.
What I Recommend: If you get the chance to go to one of these spectacular markets, the Glühwein is what I think you should try. They’re only about €4 or $5 and for an extra .50¢, you can get a shot of liquor, which is yum-tastic.
My Favorite Place: After staying in Bremen as my home-base for a couple of months, I’m probably partial to Bremen’s markets. I enjoyed its atmosphere the most. Maybe it was comforting because I knew it and had seen it in the light of day without too many people, and maybe it was because they had the cool-ass people on stilts, but it was simply magical and probably my favorite out of the markets.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time, lovelies,
Ehron