In our case, Florida, the Christmas is a light reminder of a world festival. It is a season of bright, sunny, light winter days, one of gayety that is observable in the decorations of the malls, and the timely services of the churches. However, at the very centre of our shared fantasy, fed by movies and books, there is another, far more romantic Christmas altogether, a tale of majestic cities in a snowbound Europe, and stone square flooded with wonderful lights thrown by a million twinkling bulbs, and the celebratory warmth of the traditional Christmas market. It is the world of roasted chestnuts, spiced mulled wine, carol singers, but at the same time it feels so unbelievably romantic and magical. To travel to United States in order to spend a holiday in that holiday heart of Europe is like stepping into that dream. It is a great venture, and without good planning it can turn that way and still the pay off is an unbeatable experience of centuries of tradition, and a celebration mood so potent it will haunt you all your life.
The most important and the most time consuming step is necessary before you can even start dreaming of snowy Vienna or Prague and that is applying Schengen visa. You are a United States passport holder, and therefore you will have to start doing this process months beforehand, preparing your documents, getting an appointment, and take the time given to have it processed. This is the passport to the bigger part of continental Europe. Probably, your trip would start with a Flordi to any of the major European collaborator such as Frankfurt, Vienna or Amsterdam flight. After that, a good train system and low cost carrier fleet in Europe can transport you to your holiday destination in Europe. And you have to get ready to this genuine, in-depth winter. That is to say: purchasing warm winter clothes: thermal under-layers, a fleece mid-layer, a comfy winter coat, insulated boots, gloves, a hat, and a scarf. The nippy cold is included in the magic but ONLY on condition that you are dressed in a way that you can enjoy it. Though this is by no means a cheap excursion in comparison to the jaunt to the Southeast Asia, by paying attention to the free spirit of the markets and reviewing their cheap meals, you can organize a beautifully celebratory journey on a relatively tight budget.
With an imperial city, grand palaces and opera houses offering the most magnificent setting imaginable being the setting of festive spirit: Vienna, Austria, our journey into this winter fairytale starts. Starting at the end of November, the city is changed. The most well known of its Christmas markets is the Christkindlmarkt on the Rathausplatz, which is a rambling dreamland before the spectacular, floodlit City Hall. There are glowing lanterns, hearts and instruments on the trees of the adjacent park serving to achieve a magical effect. In this case, one can roam around the novels of wooden stalls where many different kinds of handmade objects are available like handicrafts, simple glasswork, and candles of all kinds. There is a miasma of the smell of gebrannte mandeln (candied almonds) and new cakes. To get your hands and soul warmed, take up a cup of weihnachtspunsch (Christmas punch), and there are dozens of different flavours, not to mention that the non-alcoholic version of the drink, called kinderpunsch, is excellent, too, and intended to conquer the souls of primeval children, as well as of those who are not fond of alcohol. You can also ice skate on a huge twisting skating rink that twists its way throughout the park to have interesting experience that becomes inimitable. There are any more markets in the city of Vienna and they all have their personalities some of them are really traditional and have an attractive touch like the one in Spittelberg and there is also the majestic place of the market of Schonbrunn palace and so no corner of this imperial city lacks lustines of celebration.
We left those magnificent boulevards of Vienna to enter the city that seems to be stolen out of the story of Brothers Grimm: Prague, the Czech Republic capital. The Gothic architecture of Prague in winter is with an expression of melancholic romanticism. The Christmas festival of the Old Town Square is its core and it is sweaty by a giant, well-lit Christmas tree. Located in the picturesque scenery of the twin towers of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn and the famous ancient Astronomical Clock, this market seems quite cozy and absolutely a fairytale. The wooden shacks peddle the Czech traditional designs, such as exquisite glassware, wooden toys and embroidery lace. The food is served with appetite. The trdelnik, or chimney cake, cannot be missed, it is a spiral-shaped hollow pastry which is roasted over the coals, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon and may be stuffed with chocolate or ice cream. Carol singers and local school choirs fill the square with music and when snow starts to fall softly over the ancient cobbles of the square you will feel like being inside the world of live snow globe. A stroll on the famous Charles Bridge with its statues covered by snow and the frozen Vltava River beneath is an experience of silent magic pure and simple.
It would hardly be an exploration of Christmas in Europe without making a pilgrimage to its centre, Germany, where the art of the Christmas market was perfected and exported. Markets are held in cities throughout Germany and each are unique and feature their local flavour and one of the oldest and most well known is the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg. The history of this market can be dated back to 16 th century and it believes in tradition very strongly. There are no plastic toys here; the stalls are crammed with gorgeous, hand-crafted items, ranging in style (and size) from “Nuremberg Plum People” (small figures created out of prunes, that have been dried) to vintage wooden nutcrackers as well as incense smokers. Cologne is another spectacular choice that contains several markets, the most impressive of which is arranged at the breath-taking scenery of the giant Cologne Cathedral. Here, a cool wind brings the incense of the classic German Christmas Christmas pork sausages (sizzling bratwurst cakes, sweet lebkuchen (a sort of gingerbread) and the spicy nose-warmer of Gluhwein (mulled wine). The atmosphere in one of the German Christmas markets can be accessed only with the help of an untranslatable German term Gemutlichkeit a word which is used to describe a kind of cozy, warm, joyful, and belonging all at once. It is a rather natural and soulwarming experience.
Passing into France we step into the city of the Alsace region which is representative of the season to such an extent that the city itself titles itself as the Capitale de Noel, the Capital of Christmas. The city is Strasbourg. The city presents a Christmas experience which is charming and it is unique due to its own peculiarity of French and Germanic cultures. The historic city centre, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site is transformed into a succession of intertwining, themed Christmas markets. The greatest spectacle is the so-called Great Christmas Tree in Place Klber the giant, gaudily lit up spruce fir which transforms the centre of the city into a Christmas festival. Strasbourg is about architecture, however, which is the real magic. Dressed like a tale book village The Petite France quarter with its half-timbered, medieval homes that run along tranquil canals looks like a tale book village come to life. These houses are all blinged up during Christinmas with teddy bears, bows, and other beautiful lights making the site nearly exorbitates to the eyes. The cuisine here is based on Alsatian culture and heavy cuisine is served as well as tasty pastries. To be able to roam through the dazzling streets of Strasbourg during the cold night of winter is to have the feeling of being totally engulfed with the romance and magic of the season.
In our last Christmas vision we turn away from the southern part of the country, and carry our thoughts northwards to a city where no imperial pomp and circumstance, no tradition of ancient times, but just the light in the darkness and the heat in the cold, is the spirit of the season. The Christmas time in Denmark is marked by the warm and popular Danish notion of hygge (a sense of warm contentment, comfort as well as the pleasantness in experiencing the minor and simple shimmers of life together with loves ones). The hub of this emotion is the famous Tivoli Gardens which are all over the world. The winter transformation in this historic and one of the oldest amusement parks in the world is spectecular. All the park is decorated with millions of reflective lights, the lake is transformed into the ice rink and the festive goods and delicious food are sold in cute wooden booths. The mood is of a wholesome clean fun and awe. You can pop along on an antique carousel and enjoy a fireworks display on a lake, and keep warm by a drink of glgg (a fierce Nordic variant of mulled wine) and a helping of ableskiver, tasty balls of pancake dough puffs covered with jam and dusted with icing sugar. Scandinavians focus on Christmas as an emotional, warm, and people-oriented struggle with winter darkness, and a search of joy and brightness in the gatherings of others.
Traveling overseas to celebrate Christmas in Europe is not a vacation, it is a trip into a culturally-rich heritage or a cultural adventure to the senses. To one who has come up through the sun-baked plains of Punjab it is an opportunity to slip into a new experiences entirely, to feel the chilled, fresh air on the face, to see his breath smeared before him and to enjoy a sort of gaudy, public cheerfulness, rare indeed. To plan such a trip is a big exercise, and the payoff is a treasury of memories scratching at magic and marvel-filled experiences. to be in an old European square, with its air full of the golden warmth of lights, the music of the carols, and the sweet smell of cinnamon and spice, is to have the makings of an ideal, fairytale picture in your hands, the memory of which will serve to warm your heart many years later, back in the calm winter of florida.
Exposed to the imperial majesty and fairy-tale beauty of the best-known Christmas cities of Europe, the really determined finder of the magic of the season may well feel the desire to go even further afield, to places where one is likely to find the Christmas flavour of a different kind, more intimate or more unusual, than elsewhere. The continent abounds in cities and towns which though not as well known on the international catwalk turn to be totally captivating wonderlands in winter. These are the preferences of the connoisseur and they provide the traveler who has made the long pilgrimage to Florida the feeling of discovery and Christmas spirit which is good and very, very memorable.
As an example, one could use Belgian towns of Bruges and Brussels. Located just a short train ride apart, they present two different but equal experience. With its primitively well maintained medieval centre, gnarled canals and cobbled streets, Bruges is known as the Venice of the North. Romantically in winter it is impossible. its primary Christmas market in Grote Markt (Market Square) is in the background of breath-taking, step- gabled buildings, eating an ice rink at its centre. The smaller size of the city makes it immensely homey and small. Once you have scouted the market you can have a quiet canal ride, winter light dazzling on the water, or disappear in one of the fabulous old chocolatiers of the city, where a cup of hot chocolate is almost a pudding. Brussels in comparison is more grand. The Winter Wonders festival covers miles throughout the city centre but the city central point is the Grand-Place, which is probably the most beautiful square of Europe. In this case, an evening spectacle of music and lights sheds the rich golden facades of the guildhalls in a magnificent presentation which is ever changing. One can also smell the Belgian waffles, crispy frites which are served in pieces of paper as well as the warmth of spiced cherry beer which is served to those who want to indulge in it.
To have the experience of sneaking into an entirely new almost a Russian fairytale, the Baltics and Tallinn, Estonia are what one has to travel to. Its Old Town, which is among the finest-preserved medieval city centres in Europe, is listed into UNESCO. It is nothing less than magic in winter when a blanket of snow happens to cover it almost with the certitude. The Christmas market is small and cosy and located in front of the historic Town Hall Square. It is also the place where the world first ever set a public Christmas tree attested by local tradition in 1441. The kiosks will offer indigenous Estonian products such as wool handknit, felt caps and finely carved wood. The cuisine is hearty and warming to suit the frozen Baltic winter, and such delicacies as black pudding and sauerkraut may be found in addition to roasted nuts and gingerbread. This kind of whole experience in Tallinn is less marketplace and more down deep in a rough and northern past, and will provide a new and massively affordable substitute to an already congested markets of central Europe.
Provided that your visa arrangements permit such a journey, a visit to the United Kingdom at Christmas gives you another different cultural taste with a visit to Edinburgh, Scotland. The city of Edinburgh is designed with dramatic beauty where the medieval Old Town, the preppy Georgian New Town and the castled crag on the extinct volcano are all located in the very centre. The central Christmas market occupies the Princes Street Gardens that is located between the new and old towns. It is a lively, sprawling spectacle of a fair with a Ferris wheel and other amusement attractions letting one enjoy the beautiful city skyline. You are free to visit the stalls with Scottish crafts, to get yourself hot cider, and you may even be able to hear the bagpipes blow even though it is not close by. It is lit up all around the city, whether is the Royal Mile lights or the Christmas window displays on George Street. Visitors who have already stayed longer than Christmas also have the chance to celebrate New Year with one of the most renowned celebrations of the world, Hogmanay in Edinburgh, which is a huge street party with lots of concerts and fireworks.
Your Christmas vision, however, may be not of the city, but of a village,–a tiny village of unspeakable beauty. To this there is no place on earth like Hallstatt, Austria. It is one of the most picturesque places which ever was fitted up, by a landscape painter, to suit his eye, this little village, pressed between the very edge of a very clear lake, and the foot of a very lofty mountain. It is a scene of perfect stillness, in winter, when covered with snow, and the mist coming up like smoke over the lake, and its old alpine houses nestling in mountain and valley. Its Christmas market is small and cozy, more about local crafts and peaceful overall impression than about some spectacular show. The real magic of Christmas in Hallstatt is that village itself. It is this simple walk along the lake, pictures of the classic view on the north of the village and even some sort of peace that you cannot realize in a huge city. It is a place of the photographer, the romantic and the person who admires to be alone and in question.
The only way to enjoy fully any of these celebratory destinations is to know the workings in practice of the Christmas market experience. Among the first things you will notice is the so called Pfand system with drinks. When you order a Gluhwein, hot chocolate or kinderpunsch you will have to pay an additional (one-time) deposit on a delicious decorated ceramic mug you then receive it in, generally between much 3-5 or so euros. This is the Pfand. You can then go around the market sipping your hot beverage. Once you are done, you would have an option: you can carry the mug back to any of the stalls selling drinks to claim back your deposit or give it in retention. It is a magnificent, quality and ridiculously cheap souvenir of your trip. What is more, though more and more places accept credit cards, in most of the minor market stalls, particularly those selling food or minor crafts, cash rules the roost. There should be a good amount of Euros so as no inconvenience occurs at any time.
The markets are also a food experience and you should consider spending at least some of your meals there. It is not only a more economical decision, but also a more atmospheric decision. You can eat around the stalls making a multi-course meal. Begin with a savoury dish, maybe a yummy potato pancake (kartoffelpuffer) with applesauce in Germany, or a delicious raclette in France, when hot melted cheese is scraped over potatoes and pickles. When it comes to the main course, the possibilities are unlimited, gregarious goulash in bread bowl in Prague or sausages in Germany. The variety of sweet things is unlimited: fresh crepes with chocolate, warm Belgian waffles sprinkled with toppings, roasted candied almonds, and other classic Christmas cakes such as German Stollen. It is very casual and serves as a social way of eating, as you can taste a massive variety of local festival foods.
You can continue shopping in the markets, but do not forget about the general Christmas culture of the city. The concert with classical music or the religious service in the one of the country cathedrals of Europe can be one of the most emotional moments in your life. Even as an individual of a different faith, it is an experience of such peace and beauty to be in a centuries old space which is filled with candle light and the voice of a choir or the sound of an organ playing Christmas music. Ice skating is considered another typical thing to do during a winter period, and temporary rinks are organized in numerous cities, and they are arranged in the most beautiful places usually. And spare not the mere pleasure of looking at the Christmas displays in the windows of great department stores, which are frequently wonderful works of art, and entirely free.
To the visitor of Florida, this experience in the depths of an European winter is in differences. It is an opportunity of getting a change in the mellow softness of our wintry weather into a frosty cold and flurrying snow of a changing clime, into a stuffy liveliness of our cities into a home-loving glimmer of a mediaeval plaza. It is not only a holiday, but a plunge into a spirit, a tradition, into a common happy state of being which can be sensed in the air. This road will be more planned and demand a new wardrobe, and the gain is beyond measurement. It is the sensation of comfort of having a spiced beverage in cold-cushioned mittens, the view of a magnificent church sprinkled with mounds of snow, the sound of merriment in a sparkly ice rink. Coming back home you bring not only pictures and presents, but with your heart filled with a special kind of magic, the memorable magic of a European Christmas.
