Christmas in Germany
This year was our first Christmas spent in Europe! It was extra special because my parents and sister came to spend it with us. We all met up in London the week before (read all about that here) and then continued on to Germany.
Munich Christmas Markets
First stop on the agenda was the Munich Christmas markets! This is hands down my favorite thing about living here. I cannot get enough of the Christmas markets. We started at Marienplatz and from there we went to the medieval Christmas Market (where we got a flaming feurzangenbowle!) and ended at the market in the courtyard of the Residenz palace. We had gluhwein at each one and of course we kept the mugs! Each market has its own gluhwein mugs with the name and year of the market on it. You can keep it or return it for a euro or two (depends on the stand). We kept ours as souvenirs!
Afterwards, we headed to the famous Hofbrauhaus to give my parents a German beer hall experience.
Nuremberg Christmas Market
The next day we got up bright and early and boarded a regional train to Nuremberg! Nuremberg has probably the most famous Christmas Markets in Germany, so we were all pretty excited to experience it together. It was super cheap to get there: in Bavaria, we have a “Bayern ticket” which is 25 euros for the first person, then 6 euros additional for every extra person with you, which means huge savings if you get up to 5 (the maximum) on the same ticket. It’s also valid for unlimited train travel within that region! Munich and Nuremberg are both in Bavaria, so this was a great way to get there.
The Nuremberg Christmas markets are famous for their sausage and gingerbread, we tried both and everything was delicious.
My mom’s favorite part was the band that performed! They played traditional Christmas hymns.
We did some shopping and picked out a few Christmas decorations. My mom was smart and had packed bubble wrap in one of her suitcases in anticipation of all the shopping she knew she would do at the markets!
We got to see the Christkind! During Advent, the Christkind is the most important representative of the city and the Christmas Market.
Christmas Eve
The next day was Christmas Eve! We spent the day walking around our neighborhood in Munich and showing my family around our favorite spots. In the late afternoon we went to a church service (in German) that had a really cute children’s nativity. We had dinner at our place and just enjoyed being together the rest of the evening.
My exact top is really old (like 5+ years old!) but I found a few similar versions here and here. Earrings are here and skirt is here.
Christmas Day
Christmas day we all got up early and I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I always use the Pioneer Woman’s recipe. After exchanging gifts, we spent the rest of the day relaxing, talking, and baking more cookies. We went on a very long walk around the neighborhood and saw the “reindeer” at Hirschgarten.
And we finished our Advent calendar!
I had such a great time, but it went by too fast! I am already looking forward to next year’s Christmas Markets.
