Méindeg, 7 Dezember.
As promised yesterday, some snapshots from our afternoon at the Trierer Weihnachtsmarkt!
The entire city was decorated for the holidays, but we spent most of our time at the markets located in the Hauptmarkt (the Main Market, featured above) and the Domfreihof (Cathedral Square, depicted below). Although shops were closed and the majority of the city seemed to be enjoying a quiet afternoon in, the Christmas markets were full to bursting with people.
Of course, what's a Christmas market without food?! I snacked on gebrannte mandeln, my all-time favorite weihnachtsmärkte treat of sugar-roasted almonds, and we warmed up with hot chocolate in souvenir mugs. (Because when it comes down to it, do you REALLY want glühwein when you could be drinking hot chocolate covered in whipped cream?)
For lunch, we stopped for flammkuchen, a traditional dish from Alsace that I had only tried once before while exploring the marchés de Noël in Strasbourg during my semester abroad. Unlike Alsatian flammekueche, made with a pizza-thin crust and a (surely unhealthy) dose of crème fraîche, this was made with thick, doughy bread covered in potatoes, cheese, and little bits of ham and ... oh, what's that? Sorry, I was daydreaming about eating flammkuchen for the rest of my life.
Until next time, Trier! In the meantime, wishing you all an early Frohe Weihnachten from the oldest city in Germany.
There is exactly one month until Christmas ... or Chrëschtdag in Luxembourgish! In honor of this important milestone in the holiday season, I decided to share with you THE MOST EXCITING thing I could possibly think of.
That's right. It's time for my definitive guide to Luxembourgish Christmas Markets.
Luxembourg City.
Of course, the Christmas Market that you simply cannot miss is held in the capital of Luxembourg. Or should I say the Christmas Markets? The city of Luxembourg has several small markets spread throughout the city, but the unmissable spots are Place de la Constitution (which features a large ferris wheel and a dozen or so adorable chalets) and the Place des Armes (which includes a stage and live music).
Visit the Visit Luxembourg website to learn more. Want to learn more about how Luxembourg City celebrates the holidays? Blogger Luxessed has some beautiful photos from Christmas 2014 and this page from the Luxemburger Wort has tons of cute photos from this year's market!
This video from SantaTelevision is bound to put you in the holiday spirit!
Aubange.
The town of Aubange in the southwest of Luxembourg is holding their marché de Noël on the weekend of December 11-13. See more information on their Facebook page.
Clervaux.
I've been meaning to go to Clervaux for weeks: they have a beautiful castle, some cool museums, and a famous photography exhibition (within the aforementioned beautiful castle). And on December 13, they'll even have a special Christmas market. Neat!
Diekirch.
The city of Diekirch in northern Luxembourg holds an annual Christmas market. It is open on one weekend only so if you want to attend, mark your calendars for December 18-20. Photos from Christmas 2014 are available on the Diekirch tourism website.
Dudelange.
Dudelange, a city in the south of Luxembourg, has a rather unique Christmas market tradition! Their Marché de Noël Médiéval comprises both a traditional Christmas market and a medieval village. Unlike some of the country's other markets that open in November, this event lasts only two weeks! This year, you can visit the medieval market from December 11 to 20.
Echternach.
It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Echternach, the beautiful city in Eastern Luxembourg where you can hike, explore ancient churches and Roman ruins, and walk to Germany. In December, I'll have yet another reason to love this city: the Eechternoacher Chrëstmoart!
Echternach's Christmas market takes place on one weekend only. This year, it will run December 11-13, 2015. The Christmas market will be open on Friday night from 18:00 to 21:30, on Saturday from 11:00 to 21:00, and on Sunday from 11:00 to 20:00. In addition to the market in the town center, Echternach will also host a medieval market in front of the basilica. To learn more about the event, check out their official website: www.weihnacht.lu.
Esch-sur-Alzette.
Home, sweet home! The annual Christmas Market in "my" city of Esch-sur-Alzette is called the Escher Krëschtmoart. (Try saying THAT five times fast!). It takes place in the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, right in the center of downtown Esch. This year, the market is open every day (from noon to 8:00 pm) beginning on Friday, November 21.
Ettelbruck.
The city of Ettelbruck will be holding their fortieth annual Christmas Market on the weekend of December 11-13 in the pedestrian heart of the city. For more information, look at the event on Facebook. Heringer Millen.
The Heringer Millen -- a former granary turned tourist center -- is holding its own Christmas market on December 5 and 6. Check out the event on Facebook.
Mersch.
The city of Mersch is holding its annual Chrëschtmaart on November 28 and 29. You can RSVP on Facebook or visit the commune's official website to see photos from the Mersch Christmas Markets in 2013 and 2014.
Vianden. According to the Luxemburger Wort, the town of Vianden will hold a Christmas market on the weekend of November 28 and 29. (They have yet to confirm the dates, but as November 28 coincides perfectly with a planned hike through Vianden, I'm going to cross my fingers that these are correct.)
Wiltz.
The town of Wiltz is hosting a one-day holiday market during the evening of Friday, December 11. (See all the information on the town's official website.) The town will also host a visit from Saint Nicholas on Sunday, November 29 -- the culmination of a weekend of events in celebration of a new documentary, The American St. Nick, about the American soldiers who threw a Saint Nicholas Day celebration for the children of Wiltz in December 1944. (Click here to learn more about this heartwarming chapter on CNN or watch The American St. Nick trailer here.)
In addition to Christmas markets, many cities in Luxembourg put elaborate nativity scenes -- or creches -- on display during the holiday season. You can find a complete list here.
One of the most interesting things about this list is how much it reveals about the Luxembourgish language! As you might remember, Luxembourgish did not become a standardized language until the 1980s and even now, most native speakers are never taught "correct" Luxembourgish spelling and grammar. In France, Christmas markets are invariably marchés de Noël. In Germany, they are Weihnachtsmärkte. But in Luxembourg, the name seems to differ from town to town! Is it a Chrëstmoart (like in Echternach)? A Krëschtmoart (as in Esch)? Or a Chrëschtmaart (like in Mersch and the Heringer Millen)? Although all the names clearly share a similar origin, the fact that differences in spelling persist is weird fascinating to me!
Of course, Luxembourgers don't limit themselves to Christmas markets within their country! Stay tuned to hear more about the beautiful markets just across the border -- in cities like Metz, Trier, and Brussels. And click here to read all of my posts about Christmas in Francophone Europe.
As you could probably tell from the length of my last post, it would have been absolutely impossible to fit all of my Strasbourg adventures in one post. We just saw and did (and ate) too much! So here begins part two of the Strasbourg adventure -- this time, all about the Marchés de Noël.
As the city holds the title of "capital of Christmas," it's not surprising that they have Christmas markets down to a science. There are over 300 chalets -- little booths, selling everything from pretzels to mulled wine to tree ornaments -- spread out over eleven villages throughout the city. It's all super well-organized: there are giant maps everywhere! (Perfect for a photo op.)
The biggest of these markets is the Christkindelsmärik (an Alsacian term that translates as "Baby Jesus Market"). The history of the market goes back to 1570, when a Lutheran priest, who in an effort to eliminate the very Catholic tradition of venerating saints, was trying to get rid of the city's traditional Marché Saint-Nicolas. Instead of fully cancelling the market, city council decided instead to change its name! And so the "Baby Jesus Market" was born.
Although the Christkindelsmärik is the oldest and most famous, another of the city's Christmas markets -- at Place Kleber -- had another distinction: it's the home of the city's 30-meter Christmas tree! I've never been a fan of over-decorated Christmas trees (like the National Christmas tree in DC, which hardly looks like a tree once they've finished lighting it up), so I loved that this one retained its "tree-ness."
I loved the lights and the little illuminated village at the bottom! Although both the tree and village were truly glorious at night, they're also quite lovely during the day.
As for the Christmas markets themselves, they definitely lived up to my expectations! They were a little different than in Heidelberg: the stands were more unique and seemed to have more artisanal goods ... and there was no bratwurst!
If you've been following this blog, you know that I've been waiting all semester to get a chance to go back to Germany. I haven't been back since we moved to the States in 2001 and I've been relying on increasingly fuzzy -- but always incredibly positive -- memories to sustain me. Sure, I got a chance to spend a couple hours in the country when travelling through Frankfurt-Hahn in October, but I really wanted to go back for real.
So this weekend, during a several day trip to Strasbourg, my friend Allan and I made the two-hour bus trip from Strasbourg (on the very edge of the French-German border) to Heidelberg. Although not quite as personally significant as Stuttgart, Heidelberg is a beautiful city with a lot of historical buildings -- rather unique in Germany, where so many cities were destroyed in World War II -- and, of course, a fabulous Christmas market. We got off the bus, partially expecting to be immediately welcomed into the historic inviting streets of ancient Heidelberg... this is what greeted us instead.
Is it a horse? A dragon? A giraffe carrying a shield? We'll never know. (And I mean that, because if 10 minutes of intense Googling couldn't identify it, nothing could.) The statue was unexpected, but surprisingly pretty in its own little way. As we headed into the Altstadt ("Old City"), however, things started getting a little more ... well, German!
A more appropriate first sign of things to come was my interaction with the Tourism Office. As we waited in line to request a map, I was relieved to hear the employees speaking in English, French and German to the tourists ahead of us. Although I had been studying up on my German on the bus, I had a feeling that I wouldn't get much further than my original request ("Haben sie ein Stadtplan?"). Well ... maybe my German accent is better than I thought. Or maybe the guy was just tired of speaking in foreign languages. But whatever his reason, he explained the map and the layout of the city in rapid-fire German.
The sun set quickly as we walked through Heidelberg: it was dark by the time we reached the historic Altstadt and started walking through the Christmas markets. We were a little disappointed, as we'd hoped to watch the sun set over the river ... but the Weihnachtsmärkte soon made up for it!
I just got back from the most amazing weekend trip -- four days exploring the sights and Christmas markets of Strasbourg and Heidelberg! I'll be uploading more pictures and anecdotes tomorrow, but here are some black-and-white snapshots to tide you over.
Samedi, 30 novembre. First off, I have to admit that the title of this post is slightly misleading: it's not just now beginning to look like Christmas. It's looked like Christmas for a while. The mall has been lit up and decorated for weeks and I swear they started hanging Christmas lights before Halloween! I hadn't anticipated this level of intense holiday decoration in France, but it's actually not surprising. Christmas lacks a truly religious significance for most of the population; rather, the marchés de Noël are touted as an economic as much as traditional celebration. And since there's no Thanksgiving to serve as the official debut of the holiday season, why not start profiting early?
I made my official tour of Polygone, Montpellier's big indoor shopping mall, last weekend. I took the chance to stock up on winter supplies -- gloves and a warm new scarf -- and even to try a Brioche Saint-Nicolas. (Yum!) Because photos of all the over-the-top decorations just wouldn't do them justice, I made a little video.
In addition to the mall, there are signs of Christmas all over the city -- and some have been less expected than others! To mark the final day of blocages, I headed to the zoo on Wednesday morning with Kait, Brooke, and Molly. The cold had scared most of the animals inside and we were starting to feel a little silly for having trekked out to the zoo for nothing, when suddenly ... IT STARTED SNOWING. We all started freaking out -- jumping up and down and laughing and acting very not French. But can you blame us? Snow is rare in Montpellier in the first place and to have even a few flurries in November is downright impossible! Still, the snow flurries came. They came just the same!
