O Tannenbaum - A tour of German Christmas Markets and other spots

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We walked alongside the Königsseer Ache. The views were still fantastic but it was also getting even colder.













We eventually got back to the main road and had to wait at one of those very cold bus stops that I had seen earlier in the day. However the views from the bus stop did make the cold a bit more bearable. This was really the last time we were walking in snow on our holiday.

 

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Here are three short videos of our bus trips that day. The first are from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden. The third one is from Berchtesgaden to Bad Reichenhall. They do give a good idea of the view from the bus.

Just to give you a clue about why we were cautious in regards to the bus. This is the timetable for the day we were riding. It was a public holiday with everything shut except for the supermarkets.



We caught the bus back to Berchtesgaden and on basically a whim decided to catch a bus to Bad Reichenhall rather than back to Salzburg. This bus turned out be very busy making lots of stops along the way.

But at least we again got to see some more nice scenery.

 

[OZDUCK]

Bad Reichenhall is a spa town that was a famous health resort in the 19th C. It was basically shut tight as a drum when we got there. We had trouble finding anywhere to even buy a snack. We wandered around for at least an hour waiting for a connection to Salzburg.

You could see how upmarket it must have once been by the villas.









The surrounding mountains certainly loom over it.





This is the local retirement home.




The local park

 

[OZDUCK]

We eventually caught the bus to Salzburg. This was another bus where we were supposed to have free travel to the border and then pay a small amount to Salzburg. But I so confused the poor bus driver that he just told us not to worry about any payment. There was only a buss every couple of hours and it was bursting at the seams. It also detoured off the main road into every small village on the way to Salzburg so it was a very slow trip.









I was trying to take a photo of this ruined castle on a hilltop from the 'wrong' side of the bus. A young woman sitting on across the aisle kindly offered to take a photo for me.







On the outskirts of Salzburg the bus actually went underneath the airport but it was impossible to get a good photo.

 

[OZDUCK]

As I said we had to scramble to find accommodation for this extra night in Salzburg. I ended up booking "Wolfgang's managed by a&o". It now has had a change of name to "harry's XL Hotel". It is only about 400 metres from the HBF. The double rooms are normally around € 120 but operating on the basis that you should never let an emergency pass you by without profiting from it the price had basically doubled for the night we stayed. It operates in conjunction with a hostel next door and seems to cater for people 'passing through'.

The room was basic but clean and four could use it





One good point in its favour was guests kitchen & laundry in the basement. We put together a meal from the nearby supermarket.





There was actually a reasonable view from the windows







Maria Plain Pilgrimage Basilica - 1674


By this time the pretty snow on the streets had turned into muddy, and gritty, slush.



The Austrians are obviously, and sensibly, determined to make money about this confusion

 

[OZDUCK]

We now headed to Munich for one night. Initially we had booked a three night stay in Munich before heading up to Nuremberg. Then some German friends said that if we could get to Nuremberg a day earlier they could catch up with us there for a couple of days. We then lost another night due to the German train strike. In the end we had just one night to spare for Munich and so cancelled our more upmarket hotel and booked into a B&B Hotel near the HBF.

One thing that I haven't mentioned before is that I think that the city we ran across with the most number of beggars in the streets on this trip was Salzburg. They were not disruptive but there were lots of them all through the centre of the city. I assume a lot of them had been trying to get through to Germany but had been stopped at the border by the Bavarian police who are pretty 'active' from my understanding and experiences. On the train between Salzburg and Munich there were police on-board who checked passports but only those of people who had obviously been profiled. They got off at an unscheduled stop halfway along the route.

Salzburg HBF. Clean, plenty of good signage and clear platform announcements in German and English. Plenty of shops below including a very busy supermarket.





This leg was an ÖBB (Austrian) Railjet train. Clean, modern and unlike most of the German trains we used exactly on time. ÖBB has an on-time performance of 97% while for November 2023 D Bahn had an on-time performance of 52% - all that is needed to be said. The train was comfortable and clean with plenty of legroom in 2nd class.





Once more we got some good train window views. These were the last views we got of the Alps. There was still a fair bit of snow around before we got to Munich but it was melting.













Attached are a couple of short videos of this trip

 

[OZDUCK]

Outskirts of Munich



Arriving at the HBF



Our train



The HBF from outside. There is huge amount of reconstruction work going on. It commenced around 2018 and is planned to be completed in 2028. The snow has now mostly turned to slush



As I said before we had booked into a B&B Hotel (the brand name). It was either a 10 minutes walk or one U Bahn stop from the HBF. It was €114 for the night and the pretty good breakfast was €9.30 each. We have stopped at this chain before. The rooms are small but clean with everything you need for a short stay. The breakfasts are also good value.

The view from our window. I was worried as the clock had a loud chime but it did not chime overnight.



Part of the breakfast room

 

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A German friend who had caught up with us in Esslingen earlier in the trip was coming to Munich for a couple of days so she met us near the Residenz. She was visiting a local resident and they only a couple of hours to see us as they were going for a dinner with overseas visitors - who it turned out were not only Australians but also from Perth.

There was still a bit of snow around on the streets around the the Munich Residenz





We only had time to visit two Christmas Markets with them

The first being the children's Christmas Village in one of the courtyards of the Residenz



Another fine example of 'social distancing'.









There were lots of displays for the younger kids and as you can see they were certainly fascinated by them



This is a video of the above display

We then went onto the "Munich Advent Spectacle and Medieval Christmas Market" at the nearby Wittelsbacher Platz

We could see that we were getting close



The entrance

 

[OZDUCK]

Just inside the entrance to the market were three woman holding some birds of prey. As a duck I am of course disinclined to get too familiar with raptors but I think these were a kite, a falcon and an owl. Any ornithologists on here can correct me. Regardless of what particular variety they were these birds were extremely well behaved and placid in a noisy place with lots of people gawking at them.













Around the market

some entertainment



But the best entertainment was on the stage. There was a group of four musicians - two on drums and two playing Dudlesacks. They interacted very well with the crowd. I think they considered themselves to be a sort of AC/DC of the Middle Ages and put on an excellent show.

The Pfand is the deposit on the mug. If you wish to keep one the deposit is simply lost. This was the dearest one we saw.

 

[OZDUCK]

Then our old friend Krampus made an appearance. He was a very friendly monster this time. However I did see a boy of about 6 who was terrified by him and had to be comforted by his father.







Our friend getting a hug. She is another 42nd or so cousin of my wife and is coming to visit us in Perth in August.


There were lots of people wandering around in costume



Smoking some salmon








By this time much of the snow had turned to slush and was being piled up for the kids to play on.

 

[OZDUCK]

We then had to say a quick farewell and headed off towards the Marianplatz.

There was a small market in the courtyard of the Altes Rathaus





We passed through Marianplatz on our way to the Viktualianmarkt





When we reached the market we had a quick snack. I had Leberkäse and my wife had some sausages



For those who like to price check

 

[OZDUCK]

By this time it was getting dark, so probably about 14:30, and we decided to head back to the hotel. I headed off confidently but instead of walking in a straight line or even using a 'great circle route' I decided to use the' wander aimlessly around in all possible directions until you are completely lost method'.

But to salve my pride we wandered, purely by blind luck, across the Christmas Market at the Sendlinger Tor.








There was a small memorial to the victims of AIDS there as well - the first one in Germany



By this time it was really dark so we headed, in the correct direction this time, to our hotel. On our way we picked up some food from one of the 1001 middle eastern restaurants near the HBF. We needed our rest to confront the horrors of the German Rail system the next day - and we did encounter the normal problems of overcrowded and cancelled trains.

 

[OZDUCK]

As we had the monthly transport ticket for Germany I decided to use the 'ordinary' RE trains between Munich and Nuremberg. They run about every hour and were usually only about 35 - 40 minutes slower than the ICE trains and were 'free' for us. However when I checked the D Bahn site in the morning about every 3 out of 5 of these trains were cancelled. Therefore we rushed to the HBF and took an earlier one than planned. We managed to get seats and jam our luggage on board. By the time the train left it was like those photos of the Tokyo underground with staff pushing commuters on-board. The trouble was that not only were half the local trains cancelled but a large proportion of the population of Munich seemed to be heading to Nuremberg to visit the Christmas Markets on this Sunday. We actually ended up having a pleasant conversation with our seatmates in those awkward group of four seats facing each other. However by the end of the trip my legs were cramping up due to the lack of room.

Of course sometimes D Bahn can't win a trick. When I had a look at their site this morning this message was the headline:-
"Due to vandalism damage on the route between Cologne and Frankfurt (Main), there will be disruptions to Deutsche Bahn's long-distance services on 3 and 4 February 2024."
For the first half of the trip there was snow around but it was slowly getting scarcer and scarcer. We never saw any more snow for the last 15 or so days before we returned home.













All gone now



In Nuremberg we stayed at a very new Premier Inn about a 10 minute walk from the HBF and overlooking the old city walls. It was far cheaper than most of the hotels in Nuremberg . The prices seemed to have been raised for the Christmas Market period. It was very good for the price. For those who have travelled to Germany the cost was a little less than at the nearby Motel One.

We were catching up with another 42nd cousin of my wife. He is about as closely related to my wife as he is to the person we meet up with in Munich. They stayed at the same hotel and especially liked it as the gates on the underground car park were broken for the two nights they stayed so they got free parking.





The hallways had a strange geometric pattern carpet

 

[OZDUCK]

The hotel was built on the site of the building where the Notorious Nuremberg Racial Purity Laws were created.



We weren't lucky enough to get a car park view from our window. Although this view was not very inspiring.



As I said the HBF was just down the road.





The Nuremberg Opera House was between us and the HBF. Notice the Chanukah fixture.



The old town walls were opposite us.







We met up with our friends and the headed of to the main reason all of us were there.

 

[OZDUCK]

That night we all headed off to the markets. The main area in the Hauptmarkt were only about a 10 minute walk from the hotel.

We had to pass through the old walls





Halfway to the main market wee passed close to this smaller market near the Weiser Turm - built around 1250 - an the St Elisabeth Church. The image on the Turm is that of the Christkind. These photos were taken over a couple of nights

Christ Child - Christkind - German Culture








The Ferris Wheel cast some interesting shadows on the façade of the church





This is a pretty new, 1981, and apparently controversial fountain.

Ehekarussell

This lurid German fountain plots the sad course of marriage from dating to death.

www.atlasobscura.com

 

[OZDUCK]

Heading off towards the main market area

St Lawrence Church. Construction began in 1250.



Taken from the Museum Bridge looking at the Hospital of The Holy Spirit - 1332 -1339.



This duo was very popular with the kids



We could see that we were going the right way. The Children's Market was to the right



The streets in this area were busy with plenty of light and action





Looking over the market with the Frauenkirche to the right.







There was a choir singing Christmas songs - some in English



It was not anywhere near as cold as as the other markets we had visited but a warm drink was very nice.

 

[OZDUCK]

These markets were the biggest and 'best' markets we saw but I don't think they were the most enjoyable. Their size was a bit overwhelming and they were crowded every time we were there. They seem to be immensely popular with tourists - just like us - and you heard a multitude of languages being spoken. But I think some of the smaller markets like those in Erfurt or even Leipzig were just more plain fun to visit despite their limitations.

The Frauenkirche



Not at all crowded



The Schöner Brunnen



An idea of what the stalls were selling











My wife was hunting some dolls house furniture & fittings for our grand-daughter and there were lots to choose from. She got a few nice pieces.

 

[Flashback]

I think you'd like Karlsruhe then - as grand as your 'best' market but on a more manageable / smaller scale (and even better, IMHO - had a few unique things I didn't see elsewhere).

 

[OZDUCK]

While we were walking back from the markets there was there sound of drums and a small parade came into view. A t first I thought it was a demonstration for Ukraine or for the Palestinians or Israelis - we ran across all three during our trip. As they came closer I could see that some of them were wearing what I think of as traditional Bavarian clothing. Then the wife of my wife's cousin said in a very sad voice that they were from the aFD the far right, near enough to neo-naz_ in my opinion, party that is garnering some support in Germany. Then she said again with some anguish something along the lines of "Don't people remember?". It was very sobering to see this Especially in Nuremberg with its history in the 1920's - 40's. If I had taken a movie of them and run it in black & white it would have looked like some of the scenes from the 1920's.

Anyway back to more pleasant memories - finishing off Nuremberg at night.

We had a wander through the children's market.

The kids there were eating some fairy floss that my grandkids would love as it contained a LED or similar that caused it to flash in various colours. The colours in the photo are not of the actual fairy floss.

Other night-time photos



The HBF



There was a sort of handicrafts area near the old walls







The old moat is now a park and path

 

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The smoke is rising from the chimney of one of the numerous bratwurst restaurants around the marketplace



We ate here on our last visit to Nuremberg in 2013. It claims to have been operating since 1312.

Home - Bratwursthäusle

bratwursthaeuslenuernberg.de

The opera house