Over Thanksgiving in 2015, we took a trip to Germany and toured many cities around the country. The trip was mostly centered around Christmas Markets (Christkindlmarkt), but included some exquisite side-tours of castles and scenery. Although typically the rainy season in the country, we were able to see some scenes with snow. There were many cities and places visited that are not included in this list, but these are the highlights with pictures.

Trip Dates: November 25, 2015 - December 5, 2015

Note: The images below are in a ‘carousel’ format, so you can click on the left/right of the image to scroll through the collection of images for the location, and click in the center of an image to view a slightly enlarged version of the image.

Our first visit in Germany, this town was nestled in the western side of the country. The cobblestone streets matched with the amazing countryside that varied between rolling green hills and snowy mountains made for amazing pictures.

The Lichtenstein Castle, set at the top of a cliff overlooking the city it once managed, was covered in snow. We were fortunate enough to have been one of only two couples visiting, and as the other couple also spoke English, the tour guide was kind enough to give the tour in English. Re-built as a hunting house, this castle had a huge drawbridge and several other out buildings worth exploring.

A deviation from our schedule, we stopped to see the Solitude Palace. This castle was mostly closed/boarded for the winter months, but still worth visiting for the scale of the buildings and the views of the city it overlooked.

Another deviation from the schedule, Wurzburg turned out to be a wonderful architectural city that we wished we had more time to explore. We stopped to visit the Residenz Wuerzburg, which with its vast gardens, appeared mystical. The original building can be seen off in the distance in one of the photos - the close-up building is the rebuild of an old estate.

One of our favorites and highly desired, the city of Nuremberg is surrounded by old castle walls and features architecture that appears original to the time period. Visiting the castle while there gave a decent view of the city, although it was slightly overcast. Along with the fantastic vendors at the Christmas Market, the catholic churches were overly-stimulating to look at given the amount of marble, gold, and carvings.

This small village near the eastern edge of Germany (near Czech Republic) is knows as the Christmas capital of the world. Filled with thousands of different kinds of wood carvings, it’s a place anyone who loves Christmas would be excited to visit. The Richard Glasser manufacturing shop is also a great place to visit and tour as you can see the various stages involved with making ornaments and wooden pyramids as the workers do their jobs right in front of you. In the U.S. you often see candles in the windows of homes around Christmas time - in Germany, they fill their windows with Schwibbogen (German candle arches). Make sure you also visit the famous Seiffen church and see the kissing figurines and over-sided pyramid. Go back in the evening to see the many lights and decorations, including street-lined lanterns.

An architectural masterpiece, this World War 2 holdover is an amazing city to visit. The buildings hold true to the era in which they were built, and the cobblestone streets are as clean as can be given the overnight workers that routinely clean up after the many tourists that visit. The Old Town Square fills with visitors and booths during the Christmas markets. We were fortunate enough to stay right in the square in a room overlooking all the activities and the Prague Astrological Clock.

This one was in Prague, but warranted a post by itself (with a separate bunch of pictures). Set up high overlooking the city, this expansive castle has a great walking tour. There are several main spots to see inside the castle, including a church that puts many others to shame in terms of its decor.

One of the larger and more modern cities, Munich is definitely more for the city-dwellers. With its high-end shops and Glockenspiel (which happened to be under construction while we were there), the Marienplatz center fills with Christmas market vendors. Munich also happens to be where we picked up our very own cuckoo clock in the Max Krug store (surprisingly it shipped to us in one piece). Today, our son loves listening to the cuckoo birds chirp and the song and dancers that move on the hour.

Remembering the Events

Some quick memories from the trip:

  • Food run in Nuremberg on Sunday evening at 2AM (nothing open, nothing around).
  • Autobahn (of course).
  • Driving in Czech Republic (never again).
  • Cold-war Czech Republic.
  • Asking people in Cartier to call our hotel because we couldn’t reach it through the market - response of “We don’t do that, we’re a store, get out”.
  • 5-star corner hotel room overlooking the Prague center Christmas market.
  • Driving down roadways that didn’t feel like they were public roads (more like walking paths).
  • Following a police car into a no driving zone (and being nicely corrected shortly thereafter).
  • Guards/marching at the Prague Castle.
  • Constantly defending against being ripped off in Prague (taxi driver, etc.).
  • Potato pancakes.
  • Bratwurst (and more bratwurst).