Hamburg Christmas Market

A weekend business conference for the Budman required him to visit Hamburg, so we decided, “OK, we’ll go to Hamburg this weekend and check out the Christmas Markets as well!” After concluding his meetings Saturday noon, we headed to Hamburg’s Old Town. And can I say, I was quite pleasantly surprised by this city, the second largest in Germany. Great shopping, lots of pedestrian-only streets (so no car dodging required), and the multitude of canals weaving through the city make it a very easy (albeit, urban) place to visit.

First, I was surprised to see the Rathaus, as it quite unlike those in other German cities and towns. First, it is HUGE! Bigger than Buckingham Palace, with 6 more rooms (how do guidebooks figure that out?). Begun in 1866, it was built by sinking 4000 piles into the marshy, soft land surrounding the market square. Finally completed in 1892, it contains 647 rooms and an imposing clock tower. No tour of the interior this year, as the Budman and I had “all things Christmas” on the brain; maybe next time.





The market(s) were spread out in 3-4 locations around the main square in Altstadt where the Hamburg Rathaus is located, as well as along Jungfernstieg, one of several lovely shopping areas in Hamburg.



Unbeknownst to me, Hamburg is not only a port city (and a huge one at that); it is also city of canals. More on that tomorrow. However, some of Santa elves were apparently have some crew races this fine Saturday.



Just about the time we arrived, the market was in full swing, and when I say in full swing, it was so crowded we could barely walk through the stalls. We did persevere for a few rows, however.

















Of course, Christmas markets are about the food.









One of the more clever things at the Hamburg Christmas Market was a “surprise” visit by Santa; as you can see from these photos, he flew through the market square sharing his brand of Christmas cheer. As his “ho-ho-ho” echoed across the loud speaker, I can say that several of the dogs were not thrilled that Santa was making a visit.







The Christmas Market by night…













Hamburg’s nightly Christmas parade.