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Germany in December

Brisketexan

By Brisketexan
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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104465

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So, we're putting together a trip to 1) visit the boy while he's studying in Berlin, but importantly, 2) hit some Xmas markets in Germany, which is very much on my wife's list.

What we know is that we are starting in Berlin (will spend a few days there visiting him and friends, and will hit the Berlin market while we're there), and most likely, ending in Copenhagen (flight schedule getting home is actually cheapest if we fly out of Copenhagen, and hey, who minds spending 3 days in Copenhagen at Xmas time?)

In between.....I know that she wants to visit Dresden.  We have also discussed Lubeck, an old and cool Hanseatic League city, ancient and well-regarded Xmas market, and an easy jumping off point for Denmark.  BUT, we have friends near Koblenz (between Frankfurt and Cologne) who would very much like it if we connected with them.  So, maybe thinking of spending a couple of days in Cologne in addition to/instead of Lubeck?

Priorities are 1) start in Berlin and 2) include Dresden.  I imagine that we could be somewhat flexible on the rest.  Any thoughts?

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Js1

Js1 85056

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No clue on the other cities but our favorite Christmas market in Berlin was the Gendarmenmarkt. 

But god damn, it was cold and windy most of the time we were there.  So the more gluhwein and bratwurst and giant soft pretzels, the better. 

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104465

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1 minute ago, Wiler77 said:

Ever been to Prague?  Great city and good Christmas markets.  Not that far away from Dresden.

Yeah, toying with that.  One point of caution is that we'd be re-entering Germany, and they have some serious COVID protocols, so I'm thinking that the only entry into Germany we want to mess with is our original arrival (on our flight out, we'll transit THROUGH FRA, but I don't think we have to fill out all the paperwork as we are only passing through the international terminal).  I'll look into the protocols a bit more, because Prague WOULD be cool, and we've never done it.

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956 Worldwide

956 Worldwide 34314

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13 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah, toying with that.  One point of caution is that we'd be re-entering Germany, and they have some serious COVID protocols, so I'm thinking that the only entry into Germany we want to mess with is our original arrival (on our flight out, we'll transit THROUGH FRA, but I don't think we have to fill out all the paperwork as we are only passing through the international terminal).  I'll look into the protocols a bit more, because Prague WOULD be cool, and we've never done it.

Last time I transited FRA you had to do the test to transit. As far as paperwork, you should be able to travel between CZ and DE with a vax card and filling out the traveler locator forms online.

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Js1

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36 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Yeah, toying with that.  One point of caution is that we'd be re-entering Germany, and they have some serious COVID protocols, so I'm thinking that the only entry into Germany we want to mess with is our original arrival (on our flight out, we'll transit THROUGH FRA, but I don't think we have to fill out all the paperwork as we are only passing through the international terminal).  I'll look into the protocols a bit more, because Prague WOULD be cool, and we've never done it.

Did Prague the same trip as Berlin. Do highly recommend. 

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The Ace of Aces

The Ace of Aces 5106

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Dresden is a super easy trip from Berlin, an easy daytrip even. You could spend 4 days in Berlin, one of those in Dresden, then go to Cologne for your friends.  

Prague is great but it's so goddamn crowded it's a PITA. 

The best markets in Germany, fwiw, are in Munich. Avoid Nuremberg where it's all fat Americans. 

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EuroHorn

EuroHorn 3204

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Make a trip into duesseldorf from cologne. It’s 30 minutes by train and worth walking up the Rhine from the Haffen into the Alt Stadt (lots of good restaurants and bars) . They have a small Christmas market in the Alt Stadt as well. 
 

Munich is one of my favorites.  And it has a very nice Christmas market. 

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956 Worldwide

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2 hours ago, The Ace of Aces said:

Dresden is a super easy trip from Berlin, an easy daytrip even. You could spend 4 days in Berlin, one of those in Dresden, then go to Cologne for your friends.  

Prague is great but it's so goddamn crowded it's a PITA. 

The best markets in Germany, fwiw, are in Munich. Avoid Nuremberg where it's all fat Americans. 

Prague right now is unbelievably not crowded and likely won’t be even at Christmas time. A lot of people just haven’t booked their European Christmas tours due to uncertainty and have made other plans. If you’re going to do it, you honestly might not pick a better year because most likely the markets will be open and you’ll never have fewer people. 

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1 hour ago, Mo Horn said:

 Question for an educated Christmas market person. I assume they start early December, so if we went, but wanted to be back home for Christmas day, it's worth doing. 

Absolutely. Figure on markets running through advent. Some of them even close Christmas Eve and most locals don’t want to be out Christmas Day.

The best markets I have been to are in Bratislava, of all places. They’re almost entirely locally oriented but in a big enough city it’s not just a few stalls. The wine and punch are stuff and cheaper than in Austria or Germany. The food is better— a ciganska pecienka (gypsy liver sandwich) is fond of the Gods (grilled pork chop, griddled onion and pepper, spicy mustard in a crusty role. Some places will offer griddled Camembert cheese to add to it). Better than any wurst I’ve ever had, but even there the Slovaks win with spicy grilled Hungarian sausage.

If you go, get there the first two weeks of December before the university kids head for home. Enjoy either the company or just the scenery of mulled wine drinking Slovak coeds depending on your situation. 

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dcbc

dcbc 14388

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Only place I have been in Germany was Koln for an afternoon. But what an afternoon! Kolsch til you drop. Schnitzel on top. Walk around and see the pretty Cathedral and other German stuff. Nice town. Not exactly on the way to Copenhagen. We jumped over from Amsterdam on the rail and back by evening.

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Chewbacca

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No clue on the other cities but our favorite Christmas market in Berlin was the Gendarmenmarkt. 
But god damn, it was cold and windy most of the time we were there.  So the more gluhwein and bratwurst and giant soft pretzels, the better. 


Yes on the brats, but gluhwein is nasty.
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52-80

52-80 19066

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Cologne's Cathedral is obviously tremendous, but you're also short hop from Aachen's Cathedral where Charlemagne was buried and a ton of earlier holy roman emperors were coronated, so its very significant.  Eltz castle is outside of Koblenz and nice. 

All the other places are, sure, nice, but in December you're short on day light and all the xmas are kinda the same IMO.

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TXSG8R

TXSG8R 3355

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46 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  Was there in 2014, It'll make you believe in Santy Klaus again, if you've lost the faith.  

Last remaining walled city in Europe.  It's like a 15th century time capsule. 

Yea, it’s great, but going up the tower in the winter sucks balls. The Kathe Wolfhart store there is ridiculous too for Christmas stuff. I’m also a big fan of Nurnberg’s market.  Nurnberger brats are unique and worth the trip, and there is plenty of feurzagenbowle to keep you warm.  We always run around the Bavaria/Franconia area of Germany, so I can’t help much outside of that. 

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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33 minutes ago, TXSG8R said:

Yea, it’s great, but going up the tower in the winter sucks balls. The Kathe Wolfhart store there is ridiculous too for Christmas stuff. I’m also a big fan of Nurnberg’s market.  Nurnberger brats are unique and worth the trip, and there is plenty of feurzagenbowle to keep you warm.  We always run around the Bavaria/Franconia area of Germany, so I can’t help much outside of that. 

But...... there's also the torture museum for the win !!

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The Ace of Aces

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2 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Prague right now is unbelievably not crowded and likely won’t be even at Christmas time. A lot of people just haven’t booked their European Christmas tours due to uncertainty and have made other plans. If you’re going to do it, you honestly might not pick a better year because most likely the markets will be open and you’ll never have fewer people. 

Oh that’s very true - I wasn’t sure if Europeans are flocking there but without the Americans and Chinese it’s irrelevant. 

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Ag with kids

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2 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  Was there in 2014, It'll make you believe in Santy Klaus again, if you've lost the faith.  

Last remaining walled city in Europe.  It's like a 15th century time capsule. 

When I was 1-5 years old I lived in Darmstadt.

My folks were friends with a local German family.  I remember when St Nicklaus came to the friend's house...

It was magical.  That's the only way to describe it.

Kids in the US wouldn't understand.

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Doug E. Fresh

Doug E. Fresh 452

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I have done several of the markets across Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria although it has been over a decade.. In Germany, Nurnberg, Munich, Hanover, etc. are great, large markets, but some of the smaller towns will also have one or two markets that are fantastic. Think we did Bamberg once, probably since it is reasonably close to Nurnberg.

Prague would be a solid option for you if there is time, due to the proximity from Berlin/Dresden.

Strasbourg, just across the German border, is also fantastic and one of my favorites, although it is potentially a bit too far for you being on the opposite side of the country.

 

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Grimas

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Lived in Copenhagen for a few years and drove to Berlin a few times including Christmas.  Berlin is just a big city and other than Brandenburg Gate, The Berlin Zoo (young kids), it's just another big city with the usual attractions that you can find in any other big city.  Remember Berlin was leveled and rebuilt so not too much "old" to see but if you are visiting people there, they will keep you busy. You can still tell if you are visiting the old East of West side of Berlin...

Note - I hate shopping and every Christmas market seems the same to me and I hate them other mulled wine and food... 

Visit Potsdam which is 30-45 minutes to the SW of Berlin.  Lots of palaces/summer homes in the valley that survived the war and is a nice walkable town- "feels" more "old Germany".

(I second visiting Prague if you can swing it - one of my favorite cities in N Europe...)

The Hartz mountains between Berlin and Hamburg have some neat little towns and attractions including skiing.

Hamburg has a few things to see as well but again, mostly the same stuff as any other German city. (Model train museum is pretty impressive for kids and adults)

Lubeck is a neat small town with a Christmas market and filled with Danes making the run across the border for cheap shopping.

Aachen is cool but totally the opposite direction you are going.

Shop, eat and drink well while in Germany because you will spend out the nose to do the same when you go to Copenhagen.  Tivoli is a must stop as is the harbor area and Christania while there. Christmas markets in CPH aren't anything special... (And yes, Noma is worth the experience if you can get a table - but it's at least $400/person w/o booze ...)

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Brisketexan

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8 minutes ago, Grimas said:

Lived in Copenhagen for a few years and drove to Berlin a few times including Christmas.  Berlin is just a big city and other than Brandenburg Gate, The Berlin Zoo (young kids), it's just another big city with the usual attractions that you can find in any other big city.  Remember Berlin was leveled and rebuilt so not too much "old" to see but if you are visiting people there, they will keep you busy. You can still tell if you are visiting the old East of West side of Berlin...

Note - I hate shopping and every Christmas market seems the same to me and I hate them other mulled wine and food... 

Visit Potsdam which is 30-45 minutes to the SW of Berlin.  Lots of palaces/summer homes in the valley that survived the war and is a nice walkable town- "feels" more "old Germany".

(I second visiting Prague if you can swing it - one of my favorite cities in N Europe...)

The Hartz mountains between Berlin and Hamburg have some neat little towns and attractions including skiing.

Hamburg has a few things to see as well but again, mostly the same stuff as any other German city. (Model train museum is pretty impressive for kids and adults)

Lubeck is a neat small town with a Christmas market and filled with Danes making the run across the border for cheap shopping.

Aachen is cool but totally the opposite direction you are going.

Shop, eat and drink well while in Germany because you will spend out the nose to do the same when you go to Copenhagen.  Tivoli is a must stop as is the harbor area and Christania while there. Christmas markets in CPH aren't anything special... (And yes, Noma is worth the experience if you can get a table - but it's at least $400/person w/o booze ...)

Oh, this is not our first trip to Berlin -- we have a museum to hit still, Christmas market, and seeing our son and friends.  We love the city and its vibe.  Been to Potsdam, the wife's ex lives nearby.  I think our plan includes a fair amount of visiting friends and family, but a lot of touristy time as well.  It's boiling down to Berlin, to Dresden, hop across the country to Cologne (both to do Cologne and see friends who live nearby), then hop  up to Copenhagen for some "us" time.  We've done Copenhagen before, but there's still some stuff we hadn't seen, and we haven't done any of it in winter, so that will be new.

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TXSG8R

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4 hours ago, Doug E. Fresh said:

I have done several of the markets across Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria although it has been over a decade.. In Germany, Nurnberg, Munich, Hanover, etc. are great, large markets, but some of the smaller towns will also have one or two markets that are fantastic. Think we did Bamberg once, probably since it is reasonably close to Nurnberg.

Prague would be a solid option for you if there is time, due to the proximity from Berlin/Dresden.

Strasbourg, just across the German border, is also fantastic and one of my favorites, although it is potentially a bit too far for you being on the opposite side of the country.

 

My grandmother lives between Bamberg and Bayreuth, about 30 minutes to each.  Nurnberg and Rothenburg are both roughly the same distance from her, and that’s the two places we hit if we are looking for a Christmas market. Hard to beat either one, but they are very different. I honestly don’t remember Bamberg having a true Chrismas market, unless it’s not in the city center, which would be weird. 
 

 

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Rudiger

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On 10/19/2021 at 2:33 PM, TXSG8R said:

My grandmother lives between Bamberg and Bayreuth, about 30 minutes to each.  Nurnberg and Rothenburg are both roughly the same distance from her, and that’s the two places we hit if we are looking for a Christmas market. Hard to beat either one, but they are very different. I honestly don’t remember Bamberg having a true Chrismas market, unless it’s not in the city center, which would be weird. 
 

 

But the Rauchbier makes up for it. 

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TXSG8R

TXSG8R 3355

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Hey @Brisketexan just a heads up.  Talked with my mom this week and she said covid is creeping back up and they are talking about shutting down Christmas markets among other things. It may only apply to Bavaria, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. You may want to have some alternative plans.

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Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104465

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Hey [mention=593]Brisketexan[/mention] just a heads up.  Talked with my mom this week and she said covid is creeping back up and they are talking about shutting down Christmas markets among other things. It may only apply to Bavaria, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. You may want to have some alternative plans.

Well….that would suck. Tickets are booked…we can maybe shift our itinerary WITHIN Germany, but man….I hope not.
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NAVY

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Just out of high school, my best friend and I went to Berlin a month after the wall came down. Think it was December 1989. Really damn cold to be backpacking/hosteling, but being in East Berlin was wild. 
 

If you’re looking for something kinda weird to do, we found a Soviet-era bowling ally in the basement of a building on Alexanderplatz. Pins had strings attached and a dude lifted the pins back into place.
 

Naturally we dubbed it the Der Bowling Bunker. We got drunk as hell and then walked back to Brandenburg Tor, then a little further south and peed on that other bunker. 
 

The occasional shot of Escorial will help fight the cold 

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Shady Ray

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On 10/31/2021 at 3:50 PM, Brisketexan said:


Well….that would suck. Tickets are booked…we can maybe shift our itinerary WITHIN Germany, but man….I hope not.

I think you will be OK. The national discussion here at the moment is essentially trending towards more widespread adoption of "2G" (proof of vaccination or proof of recovery) vs the existing "3G" (vaccinated, recovered OR tested).

 

Das Erste has a running table of the status of the most popular Christmas Markets, and it looks like only the Market in front of Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin (which is certainly a shame) has been cancelled. On top of that, the German people are very, very opposed to cancellations of the Markets again, with over 75% planning on attending at least one market this year, so I estimate they will generaly remain open, albeit with increased masked/distancing requirements.

 

https://www.mdr.de/brisant/weihnachtsmaerkte-corona-100.html

 

 

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Shady Ray

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12 minutes ago, TXSG8R said:

Yea, I guess the big spike right now is southern Bavaria, so maybe the restrictions will be limited to there or Bavaria only. 

Yeah, you are right. Berchtesgaden is a complete shit show at the moment. As well as a couple of other tourist hotspots in Southern Bavaria.

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jimmyjazz

jimmyjazz 45513

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I haven't spent much time in Germany, but about 10 years ago I was there for a week in January.  One place our host took us to was a small town called Goslar, in the Harz Mountains.  It was a beautiful place, absolutely picturesque.  Roughly equidistant from Berlin and Dresden, to the west.

Heritage, Hills and a Forbidden Steam Train: Join Me Exploring Harz, Germany - Tips For Travellers

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