Germany in December
 

Hello <BR> <BR>My husband and 2 adult daughters will be renting a car & touring parts of Germany for 8 days. We lived in Germany back in the 60's & have been back many times but not in the last 5 years. We are calling it our Christmas market tour. We're thinking of visiting Nuremburg, Stuttgart, Heidelberg (one of the daughters born there), Garmish area & maybe a couple days in Eastern Germany. Questions: Any other recommendations for Christmas market locations? We like to stay in family operated gasthauses - would appreciate anyone's experiences there. Also looking for a reasonable priced hotel near Frankfort to stay the night before we leave. Any general comments would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Sylvia, <BR>You will certainly enjoy the Christmas <BR>market tour. We spent 2 weeks going from market to market...anyone of them is fine and they are all different. <BR>As far as a reasonable hotel in Frankfort, we've stayed at the IBIS hotel near the bridge...and since we were there for the Christmas season we even got a discount because business people were home for the holidays. Good luck on your tour. We were able to stay with our German friends to celebrate a German Christmas...a real highlight for us.

Though a little further west than you have mentioned, I would highly recommend the markets in Strassbourg (France) and Freinsheim (in the Kaiserslautern area). The Friensheim market rivals the Nurnberg market in size, but is more of a local market so the feeling is much different. <BR> <BR>I would, however, skip the market in Rothenburg, as it is very small and crowded. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your tour of the markets. I wait all year just to go to the markets - they are great for putting you in the Christmas spirit.

Hi Sylvia. <BR> <BR>We were in Germany December of 1995. Our Favorite Christmas Markets were <BR>in Munich and Fussen. Try the Dunfnudle (?) and Gluwine. Have Fun <BR> <BR>Fred McKenzie

I lived in the former east Germany for 3 years and the market at leipzig is always pretty good. Try staying in the nearby city of Halle an der Saale as it is cheaper to stay there than in Leipzig - its is 20 minutes from the centre of Leipzig. The Dresden market is also quite good too.

We ended our Christmas market tour last December in Heidelberg. Got up early the last morning and had an easy drive to the Frankfurt airport. That is what I would recommend. Enjoy the market in Heidelberg and don't just park yourself in Frankfurt waiting for a plane. If you insist on doing that, just stay at the Sheraton Hotel on the airport grounds. You can dump the car the night before and walk across to the flights. Rothenburg has a nice Christmas market also. Small, but the ambiance of the town makes it fun. You can find a web site on the internet that lists all of the markets and their opening night ceremony dates. We did the opening in Rothenburg one year and Nuremburg another year.