In other words, Christmas markets are great places to shop for Christmas presents.
Many countries have Christmas markets, but Germany has the most, as well as the largest and oldest, and they are in big bustling cities as well as tiny medieval villages. They are festive events with local bands and choirs and food stalls serving holiday drinks such as piping hot gluhwein and seasonal cakes and pastries.
The city of Dresden (www.dresden-tourist.de) has been holding a Christmas market since at least 1434, making it one of the country's oldest. Now, as then, it is in the market square in the oldest part of town. Here, you'll find porcelain from nearby Meissen, fine glass from Bohemia just over the border with the Czech Republic, and handcrafted toys from the Erzgebirge Mountains.
A specialty of Dresden is the traditional Christmas cake called striezel in Saxony, but known as stollen elsewhere in Germany. Every year, bakers and confectioners bake an enormous striezel (weighing about 3 tons), which is brought in a procession to the marketplace.
A Christmas market was first recorded in Munich (www.muenchen-tourist.de) in 1310. Today, the Christkindlsmarkt, or Christ Child's Market, is held in the city's central square, the Marienplatz. Among the many Bavarian crafts on sale, probably the most popular are hand-carved wooden crches.
Also in Bavaria, Nuremberg (www.tourismus.nuernberg.de) has one of the largest markets, , attracting about 2 million visitors annually. In the main square, a large crche is surrounded by 200 food and crafts booths. Nuremberg is noted for its Christmas angel decorations and lebkuchen, gingerbread cakes, and cookies.
Cologne (www.koelntourismus.de), in the Rheinland, has half a dozen Christmas markets, including one on a riverboat. The largest, however, is in front of the city's magnificent Gothic cathedral with about 170 stalls.
