German Christmas Markets
As a child I travelled for several years running on coach holidays to Austria with my mother, who worked for Cosmos as a courier, and remember how much I enjoyed the feeling of instant community that sprang up the moment the door closed at Victoria Station and we drove away.
In December 2007, I revisited this happy experience on a 3 day trip to the Christmas Markets in Cologne, Siegburg and Aachen with an Adult Education group of German learners from Folkestone. Independent travelling has its joys, but I also like the way the coach becomes a home from home. We caught the 7.40am P & O ferry from Dover, enjoying the fresh sea-crossing, the early morning rain clearing away to lovely pale sunlight, before driving from Calais to Cologne in just under six hours, stopping en-route for lunch. To a student of history, the Belgium farmlands are rich with evocative associations, and signposts to places like Mons.
We arrived at the Mercure Hotel Junkersdorf, booked in and freshened-up before driving into the centre of Cologne to spend the evening at the Christmas markets. The Dom Markt under the stunningly spotlit Cathedral was a little crowded for me – I preferred the oldest market, the Neumarkt. It had long been a dream of mine to visit the German Christmas Markets, and this was everything I would have hoped for. No cheap nasty Chinese imports – just stalls full of exquisite things, mostly made in Germany and Austria, all good quality and good value, and, particularly noticeable, people in great good spirits, friendly, and courteous – I felt really safe, and welcomed. A feature of the markets are huts where you can buy hot spiced drinks – Gluhwein, spiced fruit juices, buttery rum punch etc, and where the locals obviously met too with friends for a drink, a chat and Christmas shopping. Every year the drinks come in a little mug with a new design and many people collect these, forgoing the return of the small deposit in order to keep them.
There are also numerous food stalls selling wonderful German traditional sausages, fried potatoes, sauerkraut, soup, Apfelstrudel etc, all the more delicious eaten in the crisp December night air.
Cologne also has superb shops, and the next morning, after a fantastic buffet breakfast which catered for all tastes (Bircher Benner muesli and a cup of English breakfast tea for me!) we drove in again for a morning in the city. That afternoon we also visited the medieval market at Siegburg, and on the third day, on our homeward journey, the beautiful centre of Aachen.
In December 2007, I revisited this happy experience on a 3 day trip to the Christmas Markets in Cologne, Siegburg and Aachen with an Adult Education group of German learners from Folkestone. Independent travelling has its joys, but I also like the way the coach becomes a home from home. We caught the 7.40am P & O ferry from Dover, enjoying the fresh sea-crossing, the early morning rain clearing away to lovely pale sunlight, before driving from Calais to Cologne in just under six hours, stopping en-route for lunch. To a student of history, the Belgium farmlands are rich with evocative associations, and signposts to places like Mons.
We arrived at the Mercure Hotel Junkersdorf, booked in and freshened-up before driving into the centre of Cologne to spend the evening at the Christmas markets. The Dom Markt under the stunningly spotlit Cathedral was a little crowded for me – I preferred the oldest market, the Neumarkt. It had long been a dream of mine to visit the German Christmas Markets, and this was everything I would have hoped for. No cheap nasty Chinese imports – just stalls full of exquisite things, mostly made in Germany and Austria, all good quality and good value, and, particularly noticeable, people in great good spirits, friendly, and courteous – I felt really safe, and welcomed. A feature of the markets are huts where you can buy hot spiced drinks – Gluhwein, spiced fruit juices, buttery rum punch etc, and where the locals obviously met too with friends for a drink, a chat and Christmas shopping. Every year the drinks come in a little mug with a new design and many people collect these, forgoing the return of the small deposit in order to keep them.
There are also numerous food stalls selling wonderful German traditional sausages, fried potatoes, sauerkraut, soup, Apfelstrudel etc, all the more delicious eaten in the crisp December night air.
Cologne also has superb shops, and the next morning, after a fantastic buffet breakfast which catered for all tastes (Bircher Benner muesli and a cup of English breakfast tea for me!) we drove in again for a morning in the city. That afternoon we also visited the medieval market at Siegburg, and on the third day, on our homeward journey, the beautiful centre of Aachen.