Wow!
Can I just say that the Christmas Market in Nuremberg (Nürnberg) may just be the be-all and end-all of Christmas Markets for me?
Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if it would live up to the hype surrounding it.
I mean, when you think of some of the most commonly quoted “most disappointing destinations,” a lot of them call out Paris and other over-hyped cities.
Although as a side note, I wasn’t expecting to like Paris when I went two years ago, but ended up really liking it in the end.
Back to Nuremberg.
Right out of the train station, I am greeted with a handicraft market, which is filled with, well, handicrafts. But not of the paper-snowflake quality that I make at Christmastime. There were a lot of ceramics and woodcarvings as well as some gorgeous Nativity scenes.
After sifting through that smaller market (and fighting the crowds, as I managed to go the wrong direction through it) I made it out to what I am going to call the main street that led down through a number of additional market stalls. You then pass a church (St. Lorenz) with a few more stalls and ask yourself, is that it? I mean, I liked it, but how can this Christmas market be world famous if that’s really it?! I then continue on in the same direction that I was heading and THERE I SEE IT!
A GIGANTIC plaza filled with hundreds of Christmas market stalls in rows in front of a church (Frauenkirche). I can see a bit more on why this market gets so much credit.
I end up spending all of my time in Nuremberg at the Christmas market, actually, meaning that I will just have to return again someday.
After all, I did spin the golden ring three times, which is a clear indicator that you will return to the city sometime in the future. Can’t argue with that. (It’s on the gate in the pic below, with the person spinning it if you can make that out)
How in the world did I manage to spend 7 hours in that one market, you may ask?
For one thing, it’s huge. For another, it was crazy crowded. Thirdly, the crowds moved slowly. Fourthly, I took my time with each stall. Fifthly, I stopped for snacks regularly (I think I’ll have to write a post sometime soon about all of the fantastic food to find at Christmas markets). And lastly, it wasn’t just the one main market. They had the main one, the handicraft one, a kid one, a sister city one that included typical Christmas-y things from sister cities (like turrón and mantecados from Córdoba, Spain, and Coke, Jack Daniels, and candy canes from Atlanta, Georgia.)
The best thing about the market (aside from all of the amazing food), is that you cannot sell mass-produced goods there. So what you see is a lot of handmade decorations, toys, clothing, and foods. (I’ll have to do another post soon about the typical things to get at the markets, as I know if you have never been to a Christmas market before, you may not know what it’s all really about.)
When asked how it was, all I could really say to describe it was that it was impressive. This will be a hard one to beat, if it even can be beaten.
Into Uncertainty 