Roll Call - Christmas Markets 2010 - all lines...

[germanyboy]

That is the tour we are doing. We leave for Basel on Nov 29th, but do not board the Harmony until Dec 2nd.

 

Wow, we went away for a weekend and this thread exploded!!:D Looks of good ideas about clothing and packing. I am still catching up on reading all the posts.

 

Glenn

 

We had a great time. Grand Circle was great. Want to talk more?

jeraldcross@comcast.net

[pegsammax]

My sister and I are doing the GCT river cruise from Nov. 24th to Dec. 2nd. We're very excited, and looking forward to it! We're on an itinerary that goes from Vienna, so I think we won't have as much time there. Anyone with any tips, or info to share I would appreciate it.

[luvtrvlng]

we are looking at the information that one of the posters put out on the Chicago Christmas Market ... perhaps we will go to that one this time.

Here is a link to information on the Chicago Christkindlmarket:

 

http://www.christkindlmarket.com/about.html

 

Go in the evening when there's some snow and all the lights are on, and it makes for a very festive visit. (Don't forget to walk the Magnificent Mile of Michigan Avenue too.) So much to do in our beautiful city of Chicago!

[webfoot]

Thanks for the link ... I have it already bookmarked ...

[luvtrvlng]

Im known in this industry as the Christmas Market Queen, I have been escorting groups for 14 years to Germany/Austria/Switzerland (plus 9 other countries) with Christmas Markets and have around 516 different towns/markets under my belt (7 new ones coming up 12/10).

 

I highly recommend everyone to experience Alpine regions Christmas Markets. There is nothing more magical than Europe during Advent Season. I love the cruises as well, but be careful whom you choose and their itinerary. I am seeing so many of these port towns becoming overly touristy as well as the larger markets. It breaks my heart seeing so many items coming in from China, and they do not have to label them as we do in the States. It all depends on what you want to experience on your tour. I also mail items home 1/2way thru a tour, its much cheaper than extra suitcases (great for dirty clothing/brochures/chocolates) and there are so many great reasonable souvenir ideas without breaking the bank and budget. Have been packing bubblewrap/extra box/roll of tape and pass it around the bus. Keep in mind...do you want more crowded areas or less? do you want more scenery or are you ok with larger cities/towns? There are so many ways to experience Europe during the holiday season. I just returned from my Oberammergau Tour last week and I visited some off the beaten path cities in Bavaria to plan for markets 2011! I will post some of my favorite markets, best souvenirs and tips and soon...

 

Just booked my very first river cruise with my sister - Christmas markets from Nuremberg to Budapest, 12/18-12/27, with a few days in Prague.(My husband is unable to join us due to his work schedule.) Wanted to sail with AMA, but ends up this trip will be with Viking. Fortunately, it appears all markets will be open - even three of four Vienna markets on Christmas Eve; Budapest and Prague are the lengthiest beyond Christmas.

 

Someone asked about special Christmas Day goings-on planned by the ships ..... Looks as though midnight mass will be available in Vienna, a special Christmas brunch on board our ship, and a ride to Vienna Woods. I don't know if all agree, but I am hoping for a small amount of snow on this trip for a white Christmas.

 

Have found the three Christmas market provided links very helpful and I appreciate them greatly! Thanks to those of you who posted them. I'm awaiting and looking forward to your thoughts and sharing about the various markets, vipalpinetours!

 

Happy planning!

 

Michelle

[vacruiser2007]

I have 2 questions regarding river cruises in December in Europe.

 

1. Looking at either a Rhine (Basel to Amsterdam) or a Danube (Budapest to Neurenburg). Any ideas on which might be better in early December for sightseeing and Christmas masrkets?

 

2. What can realistically be expected as far as weather and what to bring as far as clothes?

 

Thanks for any suggestions

[franski]

I don't think you could go wrong on either... We did the Danube last October, and loved it. We are going for Christmas markets this year - and chose the Rhine because we will be seeing new places. We are going with Uniworld - Cologne to Basel - and picked that as we have part of the day to explore when we arrive (and there are *7* Christmas markets in Cologne!!!). I understand that the market in Nuremburg is amazing... not an easy decision for you if you haven't been on either river yet.

 

As far as weather goes, we are planning on the worst (windy & rainy) hoping for the best (dry & sunny). We will be taking outer garments that layer, umbrella(s) and water resistant foot gear.

 

I am sure that others will jump in here and offer suggestions.

[ktwrigley]

We are also traveling on the Tauck cruise from Vienna to Nuremberg on December 11th. This will be our first river cruise. When I was a student in France many years ago, I visited Vienna and Salzburg and Munich during the December, and had always wanted to go back. We will be using frequent flier miles and will spend three nights in Vienna (Hotel Pertschy) before embarkation. We hope to go to the opera (standing room only tickets) and to the Spanish Riding School for a performance before we embark on the 11th. We will fly back to the US from Frankfurt on the day after we leave the boat in Nuremberg. We are thinking of spending part of the day sightseeing in Nuremberg, (hopefully leaving luggage in storage at the train station), then taking the train to Frankfurt late in the afternoon, so that we can fly home the next day. The train trip is 2 hours, I believe. We are looking for a hotel with easy access to the airport. Does anyone have any recommendations? Also, has anyone visited the **** sites in Nuremberg?

[gypsy lady]

HI, Just thought I too would post so this thread would stay alive. Not too much action lately. I suppose everyone is enjoying their summer but it won't be much longer until we are getting on the AMA Amalegro and cruising thru some beautiful areas. The Christmas markets are wonderful. Make sure everyone trys the "Gluhwein" mulled wine, it's very tasty and a treat it you've never had it.

 

Gypsylady

[cruisingmimi]

That Gluhwein is certainly tasty! We have lots of souvenir mugs to show for it! LOL

 

It was such fun to go from market to market, see all the wonderful things being sold and stop and have some Gluhwein. It was chilly and rainy a few days so certainly warranted a mug of Gluhwein. We tried different flavors from Blueberry to White.

 

Mary

[robthens]

That Gluhwein is certainly tasty! We have lots of souvenir mugs to show for it! LOL

 

I'm probably the only person, but I did not like Gluhwein.

[H2Otstr]

I'm probably the only person, but I did not like Gluhwein.

 

 

My husband and I did not like it either. We dumped ours in the bushes :eek: :D

[RET P3 FE]

That Gluhwein is certainly tasty! We have lots of souvenir mugs to show for it! LOL

 

I'm probably the only person, but I did not like Gluhwein.

 

It reminded me of cough medicine !! Yet they twisted our arms and made us drink it in every town :>)

This year I plan on concentrating more on beer and sausages

[cruisingmimi]

There you go, if that works for you, go 4 it. Actually, my husband didn't like the Gluhwine, I made him try it! LOL He's a beer and sausage guy! Enjoy.

 

Mary

[bree28]

Going on my first cruise in December. Sounds like I will have to try the Gluhwine and beer and sausages ;)

[cruisingmimi]

The food smells as you walk through the markets are incredible. You can see them cook all types of sausages right in front of you. They are very different from what we see back here in the USA. My husband had one and loved it. That's was one of the fun parts of the markets for us, walking about and looking at all the food they had. Everyone was walking around eating something! They have small outdoor tables (a tall bar type kind) that you stand around and eat and drink. It was quite neat to see.

 

Bring layers with you if you are not used to cooler weather. It was chilly and rainy a few days but we had T necks, fleece and I did bring a heavier weight parka. Hats and gloves mittens also. I brought boots but there was no snow so didn't really wear them much except when it was rainy. We found the temps to be mild (40-50 range) as we live in New England and climate was similar to ours.

 

You will LOVE your cruise. What cruise line did you book with? We are thinking of a 2nd Christmas Markets cruise as we had so much fun on our 1st one.

 

Mary

[RET P3 FE]

We're going back to the Danube again this year with GCT. The market I'm looking most forward to is one nobody seems to mention too much. It's the one in Regensburg at the Thurn and Taxis palace,I went for an hour or so last year and found it to be the closest to a "traditional" market.

The food was to die for with soups served hot in bowls made of fresh bread,different varities of "spatzel", with whole hams and poultry on the spit over open fire pits.

[bree28]

The food smells as you walk through the markets are incredible. You can see them cook all types of sausages right in front of you. They are very different from what we see back here in the USA. My husband had one and loved it. That's was one of the fun parts of the markets for us, walking about and looking at all the food they had. Everyone was walking around eating something! They have small outdoor tables (a tall bar type kind) that you stand around and eat and drink. It was quite neat to see.

 

Bring layers with you if you are not used to cooler weather. It was chilly and rainy a few days but we had T necks, fleece and I did bring a heavier weight parka. Hats and gloves mittens also. I brought boots but there was no snow so didn't really wear them much except when it was rainy. We found the temps to be mild (40-50 range) as we live in New England and climate was similar to ours.

 

You will LOVE your cruise. What cruise line did you book with? We are thinking of a 2nd Christmas Markets cruise as we had so much fun on our 1st one.

 

Mary

 

Thanks for all your info! I am going on Uniworld. Leaving December 14th on the River Countess. I have been to Germany and Austria before so I know how good the beer and sausages are! Love them both. As I said in my previous post, I have never cruised before nor have I been in Europe over the Christmas holidays. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time. Can't wait. I live in Indiana so I am not bothered by the cold weather too much. I will have my silk underwear just in case;)

[germanyboy]

At some of the markets, they would have a 5 ft diameter grill hanging over a fire, and dozens of brats, dogs, sausages grilling on them. When I get a chance I'll send a picture of it

[cruisingmimi]

We're going back to the Danube again this year with GCT. The market I'm looking most forward to is one nobody seems to mention too much. It's the one in Regensburg at the Thurn and Taxis palace,I went for an hour or so last year and found it to be the closest to a "traditional" market.

The food was to die for with soups served hot in bowls made of fresh bread,different varities of "spatzel", with whole hams and poultry on the spit over open fire pits.

 

That was such a beautiful Christmas Market area to vist. I was just looking at my pics yesterday of our visit to Regensburg. I can smell that wonderful hot potato soup I saw them cooking outdoors, wished I'd tried it. The goodies in that market were unbelievable also. We didn't visit the Turn and Taxis palace but wished we had as others on the ship went there. We visited the Market just around the corner from the large church.

 

Mary

[ktwrigley]

We will be going to the Turn and Taxis Christmas market during our Tauck cruise on the Danube. I have heard that it is wonderful. We are also looking forward to going to the market in front of Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, which is supposed to be excellent. Has anyone been to the Nuremberg market? I hear that it is the oldest and best. Has anyone been to any of the World War II sites in Nuremberg? We will have several hours there after we debark, and I would like to see some. Does anyone have any other ideas for Nuremberg or Frankfurt? Also, has anyone seen a performance at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna?

 

Also, coming from AZ, we need to not only layer, but buy some warm coats. I purchased a down coat with a water-resistant fabric on the outside. I haven't used it yet to see how it does in the rain. I hope that it will work...

 

[caviargal]

We were in Nuremberg last year and visited the WWII sites, including stadium Hitler had built to resemble the Colosseum. The history was quite interesting.

 

We really were not enchanted with Nuremberg overall though and it was probably our least favorite port on our Christmas market cruise. This year we are there for 3 full days so have decided to head off to either Cologne or Garmisch on our own and spend two nights instead of staying aboard docked in Nuremberg.

 

We did visit the market at Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna three years ago and it was very nice.

[RET P3 FE]

We loved the Nurnberg market,but it was the first we saw ! It was definitely very crowded on the weekend,not so much so during the week. Have you seen the market website ? Lots of info there and some of the vendors are already posted

Here's the link

http://www.christkindlesmarkt.de/english/index.php?navi=1&rid=3#

[robthens]

Will I be the only one on the Christmas Market cruise who will not be looking for Christmas "things". (famous last words) For years I have collected blown glass ornaments. Truly, I can not fit another ornament on my tree. We have been to Germany numerour times and I have always packed an extra suitecase to bring home my treasures. I never thought I would be on a Christmas Market cruise.

 

I simply want to enjoy the festivies of the cities and enjoy a cool/cold climate (the Texas heat truly is the dog days of summer).

 

? DH doesn't believe I will be able to resist the temtation of ornaments.

LOL It doesn't matter. I told him if I want to buy......shoot me.

???? Will I be shot????

[cruisingmimi]

robthens, we booked our 1st Christmas Market this past Dec. w/GCT because it was such a great price. We absolutely loved the experience. There are many reasons besides shopping to do a Christmas Market cruise. We noticed how much more family oriented the Germans were as we browsed the various markets. All seemed to be w/ families celebrating the season by being together, eating that wonderful food, drinking gluewein (if you like it!) and just being in the outdoors.

 

I really didn't do that much shopping while we were there, it was fun just to browse. Like you, I have so many ornaments that I have brought back from our vacations that there isn't any room to hang them on the tree. I tried giving some of them to my daughters but there own trees are full also. I would also bring back an ornament to them from our vacations. However, I did have one other mission and that was to buy our 12 yr. old grandson an authentic nutcracker. I started him w/ a collection when he was about 2 and he absolutely loves them. He asked me b4 we left if I could bring him back an authentic nutcracker so that was my goal. I couldn't believe how many different types they had in Germany. I ended up purchasing him one at Nurnberg Markets in one of the stores prior to the entrance of the markets. I forgot the name of it but it is a well known store. He loved the nutcracker I brought back. So if we go again this year, I'll buy him another one. They are pricey but I felt it was worth the money as he would have it to enjoy for many years.

 

All of the markets we visited had lots of glass ornaments but I decided I didn't want the hassle of carrying it in my carryon bag and worrying about it getting broken. Besides, I didn't need another ornament. We had such fun at the markets.

 

You will love seeing the different markets and what they sell. Enjoy.

 

Mary