German Christmas Markets

[Burlington]

The world renown German Christmas Markets truly deserve their reputation for being wonderful places to visit. Some going far back, with almost 600 years of history, the traditions are rich with character and flavour.

We made it to three different markets over the weekend around northern Germany this year, really great times.

There is so much to capture, but I thought what may be of most interest, was some of the different foods on offer at this time of year.



Flamed salmon - this is a particular favourite of mine. The charring from the wood fire really imparts a great taste.



Hand made sweets and various bon-bons.



Traditional German Brezel



An Xmas highlight - hot, cauldron cooked nuts with various crunchy sugar coatings. Beyond delicious.



Warm Berliners !!



Plenty of wurst stands too



Freshly baked Spekulatius





The delicious Lebkuchen (gingerbread)



This just scratches the surface of the various foods on offer around the country as so much of it is regional.

If anyone is thinking of visiting Germany at this time of year, these are my favourite markets in order (each town has their own, so this is just a small selection of where we have visited) I haven’t listed the smaller ones as they are too tiny for a special visit, but often they are the most charming.

- Dresden
- Nürnberg
- Hamburg
- Köln
- Berlin
- Erfurt
- Bremen
- Düsseldorf

And an honourable mention to Budapest too - a really really great Xmas market to visit as well for something a bit different.

What are your local Christmas traditions ?