We had already planned on hitting up Nürnberg's Christkindlmarkt before we went to Munich's. The idea behind going to both on a weekday paid off! Most people told us that opening day for both cities would draw in terrible crowds, but they were wrong. I must admit, I am writing this a bit late, but I can report that other folks who had waited to visit weren't as happy with their Christmas Market experiences as we were.
Opening day at Nürnberg's Christkindlmarkt wasn't crowded, in my opinion.
Crowded by my definition means people shoulder to shoulder, 1/2 an hour wait in lines at a bathroom, no possible way to take a photo without a person in it, constantly checking to see if your kids got lost in a sea of people, giving up on eating dinner because of the 'hunger games' you have to play to even get in line for food. That sort of thing.
I have seen crowded. Opening day at Nürnberg Christmas market wasn't it! Maybe because most people thought it would be insane, less people decided to come on this day? Or it could be that it was a work day for the locals?
Anyway, we rode the train from Vilseck to Nürnberg, ditching the car altogether. It is nice not having to worry about parking in a large city, period.
We arrived around 2:00pm and started wandering. This Christmas market in particular has been dubbed one of thee best, if not the best, in Europe, especially Germany. Now I understand why! There was something about the Nürnberg atmosphere that Munich didn't have...I can't put my finger on it, but I could also be biased because Nürnberg is still my favorite city in Germany thus far. And we have been to MANY.
Not even 5 minutes after getting off the train, I was at work snapping pictures and breathing in the sweet scent of roasted almonds. YUM. Every building was seasonally decorated. It was cute, and different than my usual Nürnberg scene.
Another funny thing about Glüwein is the mugs. Yes, the mugs that they come in.
Every vendor has different mugs. Some are cuter or more festive than others. I was on the hunt for a mug that I wanted to take home as a souvenir! I plan to have one for every market we visit. They are not created equally, though. I had found a vendor with a cute stack of mugs that I liked. I personally look for mugs that have the city name, and decorative art. I ordered my Glüwein, took a sip, and realized that the year date on my cute mug said "2007". BUMMER! Haha.
What is nice is that you pay 6-ish Euro for your drink, mug included, but when you return an empty mug, you get some of your money back (the deposit is called a "pfand" in German, or pronounced "fond" in English).
You do not have to keep the mug, or walk around with tons of mugs. Returning a mug to it's rightful vendor usually gets you 3 euro back in your pocket, depending on the vendor. They hold the money as a deposit. You can keep any mug you wish, but then you'd be 'mug poor'.
After getting my 2007 mug that I was disappointed with, I finished up my drink, returned the mug, and then I scouted out for a mug that had the correct year!
We had went to Nürnberg the day after Thanksgiving, which was Friday the 28th, and also opening day. If you read my previous post about Munich and think we're crazy people for doing two markets back to back, save your thoughts!
I didn't necessarily want to go to two on the same weekend, but it just worked out that way. We figured we could kick off the long Thanksgiving 4-day weekend by getting out of the house while everyone on post was sitting inside, and then spend our Saturday and Sunday at home, with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, of course. I love me a good roasted bird.Crowded by my definition means people shoulder to shoulder, 1/2 an hour wait in lines at a bathroom, no possible way to take a photo without a person in it, constantly checking to see if your kids got lost in a sea of people, giving up on eating dinner because of the 'hunger games' you have to play to even get in line for food. That sort of thing.
I have seen crowded. Opening day at Nürnberg Christmas market wasn't it! Maybe because most people thought it would be insane, less people decided to come on this day? Or it could be that it was a work day for the locals?
Anyway, we rode the train from Vilseck to Nürnberg, ditching the car altogether. It is nice not having to worry about parking in a large city, period.
We arrived around 2:00pm and started wandering. This Christmas market in particular has been dubbed one of thee best, if not the best, in Europe, especially Germany. Now I understand why! There was something about the Nürnberg atmosphere that Munich didn't have...I can't put my finger on it, but I could also be biased because Nürnberg is still my favorite city in Germany thus far. And we have been to MANY.
Not even 5 minutes after getting off the train, I was at work snapping pictures and breathing in the sweet scent of roasted almonds. YUM. Every building was seasonally decorated. It was cute, and different than my usual Nürnberg scene.
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| I am quite sure that everyone loves candied nuts. I especially dig the almonds! Note that the fresh ones are so much better. I noticed that smaller vendors just outside of the main market gave out fresh candied nuts, as opposed to the busy vendors within the main market. |
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| This lady's face! |
What's super neat about Nürnberg's market is that there is a "kinder" or children's area! OH MY GOSH. It has the most gorgeous carousel I have ever seen. I had only brought my 50mm lens (a prime lens; doesn't zoom in or out), so I was a little miffed that I couldn't get a better photo of the carousel. I backed up as far as I possibly could to get the next picture. I need to go back with my fisheye or telephoto at least!
After walking around the Kinder area, I promised the kids we would head to the main market to get them their new favorite winter drink; kinderpunsch. It's like mulled wine, minus the alcohol. They LOVE it.
^^^I happen to love mulled wine too! I like mine with alcohol though ;-)
What is funny about Glüwein (pronounced GLUE-VINE, and in English is spelled 'Gluhwein') is that if you order it and just say "eins Glüwein" meaning "One Glüwein", the vendor may or may not assume that you want alcohol, or the actual wine, included in your drink. You have to say "eins Glüwein, mit wein" which translates to "One Gluhwein, with wine". Otherwise you won't know if your drink is the virgin version! Tastes the same, but one definitely leaves you feeling 'toasty' after drinking. I learned this with the help of a friendly vendor. I wouldn't have known unless he told me, which may explain why my Munich Glüwein didn't do much for me the day before...Another funny thing about Glüwein is the mugs. Yes, the mugs that they come in.
Every vendor has different mugs. Some are cuter or more festive than others. I was on the hunt for a mug that I wanted to take home as a souvenir! I plan to have one for every market we visit. They are not created equally, though. I had found a vendor with a cute stack of mugs that I liked. I personally look for mugs that have the city name, and decorative art. I ordered my Glüwein, took a sip, and realized that the year date on my cute mug said "2007". BUMMER! Haha.
What is nice is that you pay 6-ish Euro for your drink, mug included, but when you return an empty mug, you get some of your money back (the deposit is called a "pfand" in German, or pronounced "fond" in English).
You do not have to keep the mug, or walk around with tons of mugs. Returning a mug to it's rightful vendor usually gets you 3 euro back in your pocket, depending on the vendor. They hold the money as a deposit. You can keep any mug you wish, but then you'd be 'mug poor'.
After getting my 2007 mug that I was disappointed with, I finished up my drink, returned the mug, and then I scouted out for a mug that had the correct year!
After bumming around the Christmas Market for a good four hours, we sat around eating our almonds before heading to the train station, hence the nerdy photos you see below! We had a pretty good time, and the kids agree that the Nuremberg Christmas Market was one of their favorite outings since we moved to Germany! We'll definitely return next year and I am already looking forward to it.
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