Hi igorek,

The reason so many hotels are booked during the "dead" period is that many German families are enjoying a holiday at that time. They don't necessarily need souvenirs or boutiques and can eat in the hotel. What they do, generally, is to take walks and hikes in the woods or lakes or mountains.

Hope you do have a good time --

s

Hm. Being stuck in a hotel room in a strange city on Christmas Eve is about the worst that could happen to the average German. That's why we feel sorry for you tourists who deliberately choose to do this. But obviously your expectations are different from ours!

If I wanted to have a gorgeous Christmas/ winter holiday, I'd go to Colorado. Or the Canadian Rockies. And I do live in Munich. You got better, more reliable weather over there. The snow is nicer, drier. More sunshine. Less crowds.

Weather in late December is totally unpredictable. It's long before we usually get somewhat stable winter weather conditions in late January.

"White Christmas" is the exemption from the rule here. You can have weeks of miserably mild rainy weather but no snow. Or you can have 3ft of snow and sunshine. Or a mix of both, changing every 3 days.
All would be totally within the normal range, and you definetely play the weather lottery at that time of year.

igorek:
What about the obvious?---Go one week earlier still, enjoy the festivals, avoid the long airport delays around Christmas proper and be HOME for Christmas?!
You can check a small listing of Christmas markets at
www.christmasmarkets.com/Germany.html OR More Inclusive yet at
www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/
ex: Nurnberg 25 Nov-24 Dec
Bamberg nov 24-Dec 23 (but only if you like quintessential german towns with half-timbered houses, 9 breweries, etc!!!
;-)))
Cologne 21 Nov- 23 Dec
Europa Park in Rust- 26 Nov-8 Jan (really, a winterfest)
Trier (beautiful Roman remains) 22 Nov-22 Dec
Bernkastel (along the Rhein) 20 Nov- 19 Dec
Frankfurt 23 Nov-22 Dec
Baden-Baden (Huge spa town) 22 Nov- 26 Dec
and Munich 26 Nov- 24 Dec just to start.
Any town that you are thinking about, just check their website to see if they sponsor a Christmas market and what the dates are...
My faves would be the nearby towns of Bamberg, Amberg and Nuernberg!
Happy planning what should be a GREAT experience (just a week or 10 days earlier!)

Oh, and don't forget Coburg as well (28 Nov-23 Dec)
Amberg dates = 24 Nov-23 Dec.
Let us know if you end up going--report back after so we can live vicariously!
Bamberg site in english and easy to find/book hotels:
www.bamberg.info/en

quokka,

As I said, they are rarely stuck in the hotel rooms! They are out, either walking or hiking. In the evenings, they are in a hotel bar or stübli or restaurant meeting folks, singing, drinking, & eating. Or that's what I've seen in Mittenwald and in Garmisch during the holidays!

s