Christmas markets, Germany

My sister Betty, our nephew Joe and I spent a wonderful week exploring Christmas markets in Germany, Dec. 1-9, 2008, visiting Munich, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nuremburg and Berlin. We were frugal and did the trip for a total of about $1,300 each, which included the airfare round trip from Chicago O’Hare to Munich, a four-day railpass, food and hotels.

We ate our way through sausages, kraut, stollen, marzipan, sugared nuts and the warm mulled wine at the market stalls.

In Munich we purchased U Bahn tickets to Marienplatz, then walked through the farmers’ market. That evening, we used our still-valid U Bahn tickets to visit the large Christmas market on the grounds where Oktoberfest is held.

The next morning we validated our train passes and were off to Rothenburg. The two station changes were easily done. It is a rather long walk into town, so travel light. A wheeled suitcase is best, even with the cobblestone streets.

Of course, we visited the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Village (Herrngasse 1, 91541 Rothenburg; phone +49 [0] 9861 409 0, ). Take time to really see all the animated animals in the display at the front door. There is also a German Christmas Museum (€4) upstairs, where my sister and I had a great time recognizing “historic” ornaments used during our childhood in the 1920s and ’30s.

Afterward, we enjoyed listening to brass bands and carolers until it was time to take the “Night Watchman Tour”… in the rain. (The tour, at €6 [$7.60] adult, leaves from Market Square every night at 8 p.m.)

The next day we stopped at St. Jacob’s Church to view the carved wooden masterpiece “Altar of the Holy Blood,” located by climbing the stairs at the rear of the church.

We took the train to Nuremberg and from our hotel walked to the Christmas festivities at the main square, where we munched our way around the booths.

We stayed two nights in Berlin in order to spend a day at the Egyptian and Pergamon museums. We also saw Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate and walked Unter den Linden. As we approached the main Christmas market, we were greeted with a fireworks display!

The weather was colder and this market more crowded than the others we’d visited, with families with children and strollers. Groups of friends gathered around the wine bar standup tables. At a booth we ate potato pancakes — hot, greasy and good with traditional applesauce or horseradish sauce.

It was an all-day train ride back to Munich, where our sightseeing included Baroque churches, the Frauenkirche cathedral and the Cuvilliés Theater as well as enjoying the animated displays in the department stores. The best little Christmas market was inside the palace grounds close to the theater. It was kid-friendly, with fairy-tale scenes.

We had a dinner of goulash, great bread and beer in the Ratskeller on the lower level of the Rathaus (Town Hall) on our last night. A wonderful finish!

We found that most of the young people in Germany spoke English and were more than willing to help.

HELEN MARIE MERRILL

Saratoga Springs, UT