Hi! We will be staying in Freiburg and visiting my DD who is studying there this year. I am looking for recommendations for a special place to eat Xmas dinner that will be open...anyone?? We are staying at teh Dorint. We also plan to visit Strasbourg and friends who live north of Stuttgart in Bartenbach. I am looking for one other stop; we have been to Heidelberg and Rothenburg. What do FF think of Baden Baden?

I love Baden-Baden, one of the most interesting and nicest spa towns i've been to and a short hop from Freiburg (by train the Baden-Baden train station is about 2-3 miles from town proper - can walk or take a bus)

Highlights for me were: The venerable old main casino which in the 1800s was where the royals of Europe often socialized in between taking the waters at nearby thermal establishments. The casino is a wonder inside - very ornate, etc.

Tours of the casino are only given until noon each day, before opening and the tours are fascinating.

There are lovely parks and gardens to stroll in. There is a neat town center. And i very much enjoyed some old convent (or manstery) about a three mile walk or bus ride up the valley - can't think of name but in a tranquil little village - tours and chance to buy some wicked alcoholic brew the nuns (or monks?) brew up.

Baden-Baden - something different and something very neat to me.

Have your daughter look into it, locally, the American tradition of Christmas dinner is not observed in the same way, and you may have trouble finding something from afar - eating in, in family seclusion, is the big thing there.

Christmas eve dinner is much bigger than Christmas day in Germany.

>Christmas eve dinner is much bigger than Christmas day in Germany.
It's the other way. Cristmas eve dinner is only small (but festive). The kids want their presents ;-) On Christmas day, lunch is the big meal with all the family attending.

While much smaller than Baden Baden, we fell in love with Gengenbach in the Black Forest. We stayed at the Hotel Sonne -- very clean and reasonably priced with good food.

Check out their website at www.gengenbach.de.

My experiences in Bavaria at Christmastime are more in line with Lostmymind's contention. Our German friends told us that Christmas Eve was when gifts were exchanged and the big dinner took place. Christmas Day was more of a day of rest and recuperation from the fun of the night before. In any case, you'll find that almost everything is closed on both days. Last Christmas nothing in th line of tourist attractions was open either day in Berchtesgaden where we were staying. We couldn't find any restaurants on Christmas Eve, but on Christmas Day a few were open for dinner. We found a couple of tourist shops open in Salzburg, Austria on Christmas Day, but every shop (except the Bosna sausage stand) closed at noon on Christmas Eve.

> almost everything is closed on both days
Shops are open on the 24th until 14.00 hours.
>big dinner took place
Big dinner on 25th, not 24th. (tradition)

Sorry, the correct website for Gengenbach is:

http://www.gengenbach.info/de/?PHPSE...614f93a024540d

This site is in English.

Would certainly have to agree that Christmas Eve is the big even in Bavaria.

We stayed in the small town of Oberammergau for Christmas two years ago. On Christmas Eve everyone in the hotel was invited to a special evening. There was entertainment, some religious stories and St. Nick came and delivered presents to all the children staying at the hotel. The last was a hoot as the hotel gave presents to our 3 teenagers. All the other children in the hotel were about 8 and under and when St. Nick called our the name of our 6 foot tall, 17 year old son he very sheepishly got to his feet and made his way to the front amidst much laughter. Everything was in German of which we don't understand a word but it didn't matter it was lovely to be included. The traditional Christmas Dinner was served immediately after that.

On Christmas Day the hotel restaurant was not even open for lunch and the evening dinner was basically order of the normal menu except that they had made special deserts for everyone.

For our Christmas lunch we wandered around the village and found there was very little open (one little cafe) but soon discovered the tradition, in this village at least, was for all lthe locals to stand around outside the main pub where they were cooking bratwursts and drinking hot gluhwein or bier. We joined everyone else and I think it was probably the most memorable Christmas lunch we have ever had.

Thankyou for your replies! I am getting so excited!
shandy: a bratwurst and gluhwein on the sidewalk sounds perfect!

To calm you down, think of the cleanness of the glass (no warm water there), and the amout of salmonella to expect. Or read the reports in the papers after the markets have opened. Have fun anyway, and please have you Christmas turkey on the 25th at noon as it's the tradition ;-)

We try to go to Baden-Baden at least 3 or 4 times per year. It's a beautiful resort town, perfect for relaxing. It has an excellent museum (Frieder Burda), an outstanding concert hall (the Festspielhaus), as well as other performance venues and draws in top musiciens from around the world. It's an easy day trip from Freiburg (while we are in BB in December, I'm going to day trip to Basel, Switzerland, another great place to visit close to Freiburg).
BB has its famous spas of course which are fun and relaxing, although they may be crowded. It's wonderful to be in the warm outdoor spa pools at night when it's snowing. The Dorint/Sofitel has its own very nice spa and if the public spas are crowded, you could buy a day pass for their facilities.
BB is best for strolling, shopping, eating. Over the past few years it has changed considerably, regaining its past glory (and then some) while still being au courant with the 21st century.

As for Christmas, a few years ago we spent Christmas with my husband's German relatives. We helped them decorate the tree on Christmas eve, went to church, then opened presents at midnight. On Christmas day itself, we opened some more presents when their daughter arrived (she had spent Christmas eve with her fiance's family). We then had a big lunch and played a German version of Parcheesi and some card games. Although DH's German relatives are pretty competitive, I grew up in a card playing family (my father was a poker and pinochle champ), so I demolished them. Then we all went for a walk around town. No snow, but a great holiday anyway.

Note: DH's German father and his German relatives like to have real candles on the Christmas tree. They're kept upright with special holders. It's a family tradition to light the candles on the tree, sing O Tannenbaum, take photos, then blow out the candles and heave a big sigh of relief that you've passed another Christmas without burning down the house.