After all, I am no longer a novice to the Christkindlmarkt. Last year, the Budman and I probably explored somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-12 different markets. Yes, they all have the food stalls: gluwhein, bratwurst, printen, candy, backfleisch, etc. It is the difference in merchandise at the various booths that surprises me.
Before I go any further, for those of you who are not familiar with the concept, and did not catch the blog article last year (smile), a bit of context for you.
Every town has their own little "Christkindlmarkt", kind of a market-fest, where people gather to enjoy the Christmas time. These markets offer baked goods, sweets and toys and feature local and regional specialties. Larger cities like Frankfurt or Nuremberg have large markets, and attract many tourists, both local and foreign. They open before the first Sunday of Advent, around the time of Thanksgiving in the U.S., and usually continue until December 24th at 12 noon.
For example, Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt (Christ Child Market) is the most famous and one of the oldest. The first official record of this pre-Christmas market dates to 1628. A list of notices for stallholders from 1737 shows that nearly all of Nuremberg's craftsmen were represented. Back then 140 persons were given the right to sell their wares. In 1998 there were 190 stalls with 200 stallholders.
Fast forward to 2007, and the concept of the Christmas Market is still alive and well. So, allow me now to ramble just a bit:
* Call me crazy, but I suppose I expect to see a preponderance of “German” products, as opposed to the “international” merchandise I’ve seen so much of this year: Turkish and Moroccan lamps, African bric-a-brac, Russian nesting dolls, just to name a few. I kind of wanted to “OD” on German ornaments, nutcrackers, German gifts, etc. After all, it is Germany.
* Being a gal that tries to see the glass half full, maybe the Germans (the people predominantly shopping at the Christmas markets) are ready to shop for other things. Heck, they live in Germany after all; they can get those traditional German knick-knacks all year round.
* Which brings me to my second point: if you are touting Christkindlmarkt as a tourist destination, trust me, tourists want to see “all things German”, rather than the Turkish smoking pipe or the Chinese lantern. How many bees-wax candle booths can really be sustained in any one Christmas market? Clearly, someone has the franchise working on that one.
* It must be tough to differentiate yourself as a city from the Christmas market in the next town. I mean, I’ve already visited Dusseldorf’s Christmas Market, but if I did not live here, I probably would not have made this one of my 2007 Christkindlmarkt travel destinations. It is almost rather humorous to see what the “draw” is going to be for each city’s market: Cologne – medieval Christmas market, Dortmund – the tallest Christmas tree in Germany, Dresden – the oldest market, Frankfurt – the largest market, etc.
* I’ve already hit 3-4 Christmas markets this year, albeit some of the lesser known ones. Perhaps, I am playing this right be leading up to the “mother” of all Christkindlmarkts, the Dresden Christmas market. As we are not scheduled to visit Dresden until the 15th or so, I can only base my comments on this market’s reputation. I’ll have to get back to you on that one.
* Stating the obvious, Christmas markets are better without the rain….
* All said, how much variation can there really be between one Christmas market and another? Can’t it really be said that “if you’ve seen one Christmas market, you’ve really seen them all?” Well, so far, I’d have to agree with that somewhat, but I’d like to do a bit more “investigative” research on that before I confirm. Sure…I am always up for another reason to take a weekend trip!
So, after weekend #1 of the 2006 Christkindlmarkt season , a few markets for your viewing pleasure: Cologne, Aachen, and Dusseldorf.
Yes, this was a first at a Christmas Market…he was just too cute!
Lest, there be any doubt, though, they are charming, cute, fun, and a true experience, especially if you have never visited one.
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