Tradition, Delicacies and Festive Lights – Winter Experiences in Germany
So Christmas tastes
Culinary delights at the Christmas markets vary from region to region: from fish rolls and kale with Pinkel sausage in the north to Schupfnudeln and cheese Spätzle in the south. At the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt the scent of freshly baked Elisenlebkuchen tempts you – rich in honey, nuts and fine spices. In Dresden, the famous Striezelmarkt, Germany's oldest Christmas market, entices with Christstollen that looks as if dusted with snow, and little sweet Dominosteine of gingerbread, jelly and chocolate. But Christmas markets are worth a visit not only for their food; they are also the perfect place to immerse yourself in the country's many customs and to buy traditionally made handicrafts.
Living Tradition & Christmas Craftsmanship
In Quedlinburg in Saxony-Anhalt you can experience Germany's largest Advent calendar . Every afternoon, the door of a half-timbered house on the Quedlinburg Schlossberg opens, and the residents present a Christmas scene behind it – from nativity play to fairy-tale tableau. The romance of the half-timbered houses, together with the festively lit lanes and the music, makes the living Advent calendar an unmistakable experience. In Seiffen in the Ore Mountains artful Christmas pyramids and nutcrackers are made, in the Black Forest detailed nativity figures and cuckoo clocks, and in Lauscha in the Thuringian Forest, mouth-blown Christmas baubles sparkle. Glass Christmas decorations are now known all over the world. They were invented 175 years ago in the glassblowing town of Lauscha. Since then the tradition has been carried on in many glassblowing workshops in the town, which offer their works of art for sale at the Kugelmarkt.
Magical Winter Experiences
Away from the Christmas markets, too, there is plenty to experience in Germany in the run-up to Christmas. The country's rich cultural offering is ideal for longer trips. At the Zollverein colliery in Essen, industrial heritage merges with winter magic. Surrounded by chimneys and disused coke ovens, visitors glide through the UNESCO World Heritage Site on a 150-metre ice rink . On the Baltic Sea beach, the rush of the waves and the warm light of torches provide an atmospheric setting for the guides' fascinating stories about the seaside resort. The guided torchlight walks on the Baltic Sea beach are a calm yet atmospheric contrast to the bustle of the markets.
