Christmas Market Season

It's....

...Christmas market season!! Christmas markets originated in the Late Middle Ages in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy and South Tyrol - which means that we're right in the thick of it. If you find yourself in this region in the month of December, you can't miss them. We put together a short list of our favorites:

Lienz, Austria - for "The Potato" 

"The Potato" is something that we dream about in July. It's a baked potato with a really crispy skin that gets split open and filled with a bacon and onion mixture and a sour cream - garlic sauce....and it's heaven. We usually have to hit this market twice in the month of December because once is just not enough. (http://www.tyrol.tl/en/highlights/christmas-markets/lienz-christmas-market/)

Munich, Germany - for the ornaments

This market dates back to the 14th century and has amazing ornaments (a lot of the ones on our tree come from here) and gingerbread. And a bonus - this market, too, has an amazing potato dish - but their version is flat like a pancake and you dip it in to a different but still amazing sour cream - garlic sauce. (http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/munich_christmas_market.php)

Salzburg, Austria - for the glitter

It's not December without a little lot of glitter and Salzburg's market has tons of it. I snagged as many glittery ornaments as my husband would allow (and yes, they have a good potato here too). Also, if you like Christmas music, Salzburg is a very musical city and has tons of Christmas performances - some are outside, right in the middle of the Christmas market, some are in church basements and some are in fancier halls. (http://www.salzburg.info/en/art_culture/advent_new_years_eve/advent_christmas_markets/salzburg_christkindlmarkt)

Bolzano, Italy - for the best warm drinks (and Italy's largest market)

Vin brule (gluhwein) is a staple at all Christmas markets but Bolzano takes it one step further with the Bombardino: it's a popular apres-ski drink in Northern Italy (although not so much in Cortina) made with Advocaat or eggnog and brandy and topped with whipped cream. At the Christmas market, they serve it in a small ice cream cone. (http://www.christmas-markets.it/en/christmas-market-bolzano-south-tyrol.aspx)

Innsbruck - for the odd doughnut and sauerkraut snack they thought up

This is fried dough that you can eat plain or with a sauce like vanilla cream or Nutella - but the most popular way to eat it is topped with sauerkraut. It's oddly tasty and definitely worth a try. (http://www.innsbruck.info/en/experience/events/detail/article/christkindlmaerkte.html)

And last but not least....

Cortina - the hometown favorite

Cortina's Christmas market is tiny compared to the ones listed above but when it opens, it's fun (and festive) to buy a cup of vin brule and stroll through town. Our favorites are the lavender hut and, of course, the chocolate hut which sells fancy chocolates with pistachios and hazelnuts. (http://www.dolomiti.it/en/bellunese/cortina/events/christmas-market-in-cortina-/)

Rainy Christmas Markets & Mozart

Vacation time! This year we have two mini-vacations in December, so for the first one we headed up to Salzburg for two days and nights of sightseeing, Christmas market-ing, and meat and potato eating.

Salzburg is known for its music scene and Mozart, so most of what we saw and did revolved around music: we visited the Mirabell Gardens, where parts of The Sound of Music were filmed (!) - while the actual gardens are more colorful in the summer, it was still beautiful and filled with impressive statues. We went to the house where Mozart grew up and lived until he was 17 (and below is a picture of the house where he was born). One rainy afternoon we went to an Advent concert in a tiny hall at St. Peter's church which was beautiful, cozy, and Christmas-y.

The Christmas market there was one of the best and was filled with sparkly ornaments and all things Christmas.

We battled the rain, drank gluhwein to stay warm, and ate this local treat (below) that everyone loves, which is fried dough topped with sauerkraut, which sounds so weird but is so good!

 

On Tuesday morning we took the tram up to the castle which overlooks the city and has gorgeous views. Here's the view from below looking up:

We walked around and stopped in the museum inside, but mostly just admired the view looking down on the city, and enjoyed the sun that had finally come out.

Next up - on Saturday we're headed to Prague for a few days!