OD on Christmas markets this year
Published: November 22, 2011
Are you planning to check out a few Christmas markets this season? Since virtually every city or town in Germany hosts one, you may find yourself at a loss when it comes to choosing the best ones to visit. The markets in Cologne and Nuremberg are among the most famous, but at times the crowds there can be overwhelming. Although it’s nice to experience them once in a lifetime, you might find the smaller markets, with their more intimate atmosphere, a much more appealing option.
If you were to get up early enough on a Saturday or Sunday morning during this Advent season, you could hit anywhere from four to six markets in one day. It would be an ambitious itinerary, to be sure, but doable. And a good way to market-hop? Take the train.
German Rail has a pamphlet pointing out the top picks in Christmas markets in the Rhineland-Palatinate. “Die schönsten Weihnachtsmärkte in Rheinland-Pfalz” includes suggestions to visit the markets of 14 cities --- Koblenz, Cochem, Trier, Saarlouis, Saarbrücken, Homburg, St. Wendel, Mainz, Bad Kreuznach, Bad Dürkheim, Deidesheim, Neustadt, Speyer and Landau. With a Saarland-Rheinland-Pfalz day ticket, you and up to four friends could make a full day of it. The pass costs 21 euros for one person plus 3 euros for each additional passenger (as of Dec. 11, each additional passenger will pay 4 euros). With this particular pass, you could reach all the markets mentioned above, as well as those in Bonn, Siegen, Limburg, Wiesbaden, Mannheim and Karlsruhe, and even the ones in Lauterbourg and Wissembourg, France. (You’ll need to stick to the RE, RB and S class of trains, but think of the journey time as a chance to warm your toes between market visits.)
Here’s a sampling of how your busy day might unfold with a Saturday departure from Kaiserslautern:
• Depart K-town’s main station at 8:58 a.m.; arrive in Wissembourg, France, at 10:28 a.m. (change trains in Neustadt)
• Depart Wissembourg at 1:33 p.m.; arrive in Landau at 2:02 p.m.
• Depart Landau at 3:24 p.m.; arrive in Edenkoben at 3:34 p.m. (note this town’s Nikolausmarkt is open only on the first two weekends of Advent, Nov. 26-27 and Dec. 3-4)
• Depart Edenkoben at 5:14 p.m.; arrive in Deidesheim at 5:40 p.m. (change trains in Neustadt)
• Depart Deidesheim at 7:15 p.m.; arrive Neustadt at 7:26 p.m.
• Depart Neustadt when you’ve had your fill, perhaps stopping off for dinner there, and be back in Kaiserslautern within the space of half an hour. If you happen by on Dec. 10, the stores and market there will be open until midnight.
Based in Wiesbaden? You could plan a similar day out using the Hessenticket, which costs 31 euros and is good for up to five persons traveling together. Why not:
• Depart Wiesbaden at 8:41 a.m.; arrive in Offenbach am Main at 9:53 a.m. (change trains at Frankfurt Hbf)
• Depart Offenbach am Main at 10:57 a.m.; arrive in Erbach, Odenwald, at 11:58 a.m.
• Depart Erbach at 1:50 p.m.; arrive in Michelstadt at 1:53 p.m.
• Depart Michelstadt at 3:58 p.m.; arrive in Hanau at 4:49 p.m.
• Depart Hanau at 7:09 p.m., arrive in Frankfurt at 7:28 p.m.
• Depart Frankfurt when you’re ready to drop from exhaustion, and you’re only 35 to 42 minutes back to Wiesbaden.
Out in Vilseck? You could hit four very well known markets in just one day with the Bayern-Ticket, which costs 29 euros for up to five persons traveling together.
• Depart Vilseck 8:35 a.m., arrive in Nuremberg 9:23 a.m.
• Depart Nuremberg 11:45 a.m., arrive in Bamberg 12:31 p.m.
• Depart Bamberg 2:39 p.m.; arrive Schweinfurt 3:14 p.m.
• Depart Schweinfurt 5:15 p.m.; arrive Würzburg 5:50 p.m.
• Depart Würzburg 8:43 p.m.; arrive Vilseck 11:44 p.m. While there are faster trains available, you can’t use them with the Bayern Ticket. You’ll have an hour to stretch your legs in Nuremberg en route home.
Sure, you’d be exhausted after such a long day on your feet, but what memories and what photo ops! No one ever said being a traveler extraordinaire is an easy task.
What’s your not-to-be-missed Christmas market?
