Weihnachtsmärkte in Deutschland

It’s time to get into the Christmas spirit! This past week a large group of my friends and I traveled to Germany to experience the famous German Christmas Markets! Early morning of the 6th we took an extremely early bus to Porto to catch our plane to Cologne where we planned to begin our trip. After spending some time waiting for our departure, we were off! A downloaded Netflix movie later, some turbulence, and a couple hours of crying babies we landed in Cologne. Here, friends and family, is where the world started to feel a little smaller:

As we were deplaning and walking into the airport I happened to see a guy my age wearing a University of Oregon shirt—where I attended college. Being a proud alumni, as I walked past a gave a traditional “Go Ducks” quip and asked where he was from. This is where it began to get strange! As Travis and I began talking, we found that we had both graduated from the UO earlier this year and grew up in Oregon...specifically Bend, Oregon. Now, just to make this clear, Bend is not a large city! However, that is not the end of this uncanny coincidence. During our conversation I noticed that he was wearing a RC Celta scarf and put together that we were both living in Vigo at the moment! He told me that he was not in the Language and Cultural Assistants program, but staying with his girlfriend’s family learning Spanish. HOLD ON, IT KEEPS GETTING CRAZIER. The thing is, after further discussion it turns out that I knew his girlfriend as well from the UO! As I was an exec in the International Business and Economics Club and took a large role organizing our annual Black Tie Dinner featuring Spain, his girlfriend was one of our panelists from the student body we recruited to share their experiences growing up in Spain. Having exchanged numbers, we now all have plans to meet back up in Vigo to celebrate the New Year and Three Kings Day together! What an incredibly small world where Ducks seemingly flock together!

Still reeling from that experience, I regrouped enough to help our group figure out how the rail system worked in order to take us to the center. Walking out of the bus station in Cologne’s city center was breathtaking. As you take a left out of the station, you walk right into the Cologne Cathedral. First constructed in 1248, it now hold the relics of the Three Kings-- the three wise men who visited Jesus Christ after his birth bearing extravagant gifts. Located in front of the altar, the gold box containing the  relics can be viewed by the public. Having explored the insides of the church, we headed in the direction of our hostel to grab lunch and a Kölsch. We then spend the rest of the night exploring the Christmas market by the cathedral, drinking gluhwein, and eating bratwurst.

On our second day in Cologne, we woke up early and returned to the cathedral to climb 533 steps up the stone spiral staircase of the southern tower for a great  view of the city and the intricate architecture of the Cathedral from up-close. After our morning workout, we explored Cologne’s several other Christmas markets. Within the markets local artisans sold handmade goods, food, and drink, that put everyone in the Christmas spirit! We tried both red and white wine based gluhwein and even sampled some absinthe for fun--which surprisingly tasted a lot like black licorice. My favorite meal from the day consisted of a delicious smoked salmon sandwich cooked over an open flame at the Angel Market called Fischbrötchen. We ended our night by going on a beer crawl where we explored the lesser known areas of Cologne.

Even though we were out late the night before, we woke up early on our third day in Germany and headed to the nearby town of Aachen. While the city boasted only two Christmas markets, the location was incredible! Housed in the town square, the markets were fixed between the gothic structures of the Aachen Cathedral, the town hall, and the Palatine Chapel. For lunch we stopped at an authentic German pub called Âachener Brauhaus where we drank another Bierlager aus Köln and ate sauerbraten-- a German pot roast-- with red cabbage and potatoes. With good food in our bellies, we followed in the footsteps of Charlemagne. Built in 792, Charlemagne began the construction of the Palatine Chapel. Today, the inside of the Chapel features brilliant golden mosaics, Charlemagne’s throne, and even holds some of the Roman Emperor’s remains. Returning to the market we attempted to escape the worsening weather by camping out under a makeshift cabin drinking hot cocoa with amaretto. As our bus was fashionably-- 2 hours late and left us in the pouring rain-- we arrived back in Cologne late and turned in for the night.

On our fourth, and last full day in Germany, Lindsey and I took a morning train from the main station in Cologne to Düsseldorf. For breakfast I tried Dampfnudel-- a sweet, pillowy steamed bun filled with cherries and topped with more cherries and cream-- for the first time! We strolled through the markets and enjoyed the scenery of the Rhine River. Lindsey and I stopped for lunch at a brewery called Bum Schlüssel where I ordered Bierkutscher-- consisting of a pork knuckle marinated in beer with potatoes, sauerkraut, and red cabbage-- for lunch. Over the course of our exploration of Düsseldorf we spent some time escaping the rain a stopped to listen to Christmas music put on by a brass marching band and a Swiss alphorn group. We finished the night with salted pretzels and more hot cocoa with amaretto before taking the train back to Cologne for the night.

While public transportation was not running due to a city-wide protest, we took an expensive taxi to the airport. Upon boarding our plane back to Porto, I ended up SITTING NEXT TO my new UO friend Travis...UNBELIEVABLE! After much laughter at our furthering instances of uncanny coincidence, we were up and away back to Spain.

I had such a heartwarming adventure with my friends in Germany these past few days. While most of the markets had the same type of handicrafts, food, and drink available, they each brought their own charm. By far, Cologne had the most Christmas Markets and each one was warmly created in the holiday spirit. While Aachen had fewer markets, their were just as jolly-- however more crowded-- as the ones in Cologne and the square featured stunning views everywhere you looked. However, even though Düsseldorf had many markets they were not as cozy nor merry as others in Cologne and Aachen. In the future, I would love to once again visit Cologne and Aachen during the Christmas time as a way to celebrate the season in true yuletide fashion.