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DISCOVER GERMANY

Seven unmissable Christmas markets that open this week in Germany

Following two winters of fully or partially closed Christmas markets, Germany’s famous 'Weihnachtsmärkte' are opening their doors again - and are mostly free of restrictions. Here are seven you won't want to miss.

Published: 17 November 2022 17:52 CET
Updated: 21 November 2022 16:14 CET
Dresden Striezelmarkt
The illuminated entrance to Dresden's historic Striezelmarkt. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Kahnert

While some are limiting their opening hours in order to save on electricity costs, it’s again possible to gather in a group with a steaming glass of Glühwein, or sift through the many stands selling homemade goods and sweets, be it Lebkuchen (gingerbread) or gebrannte Mandeln (roasted almonds, usually laced with cinnamon and sugar).

While some Christmas markets have become more commercial in recent years (we don’t recommend to head to Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz as your only Weihnachtsmarkt stop), there are still many that retain a traditional character, serving up local specialties in a gemütlich (cozy) atmosphere. 

Here are seven of our top recommendations of top markets starting the week of November 21st.

Streizelmarkt, Dresden, November 23rd-December 24th

No Christmas Market list would be complete without the Streizelmarkt – Germany’s oldest Christmas market in the “Florence on the Elbe”.

This market, situated in Dresden’s charming city centre, first took place in 1434, and since then it has acquired quite a reputation. The ancient festival is home to the tallest Christmas pyramid in the world, as well as its largest nutcracker.

Amongst the dozens of traditional stands, visitors to this market must also indulge themselves with a Dresdner Christstollen: the famous fruit loaf that is baked according to a traditional recipe with chopped dried and candied fruits, nuts and spices and dusted with powdered sugar.

Visitors can also take a ride on the historic Ferris wheel and gaze down upon the lovingly decorated huts of the Striezelmarkt.

READ ALSO: The secrets behind Stollen, Germany’s beloved holiday treat

Mainzer Weihnachtsmarkt, November 24th-December 24th

Recently crowned Germany’s ‘most dynamic city’, Mainz also boasts a fascinating history stretching back over a thousand years. It is also known for one of Germany’s most charming old towns, making it the perfect setting for this market. 

Visitors can’t miss the eleven-metre high, ornately decorated Christmas pyramid, which lights up the entrance. Just a few steps away, hand-carved, life-size nativity figures glow in front of the Gotthard Chapel of the famous St. Martin’s Cathedral.

READ ALSO: The unlikely place crowned ‘Germany’s most dynamic city’

Medieval Market and Christmas Market, Esslingen, November 22nd-December 22nd

The Medieval Market and Christmas Market in Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg, with its backdrop of medieval half-timbered houses, offers visitors a trip back in time, with traders and artisans showing off their goods from times gone by.

The stands show off the wares of pewterers, stonemasons, blacksmiths, broom makers and glass blowers, as well as some old-fashioned merchants selling fun themed goods like drinking horns and “potions” in bottles. 

Esslingen Christmas market

Crowds of visitors peruse the stalls at Esslingen Christmas market. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Jan-Philipp Strobel

Christkindlesmarkt, Augsburg November 21st to December 24th

With its origins in the 15th century, the Christkindlesmarkt in Augsburg is one of the oldest in Germany, and the Renaissance town hall provides a particularly beautiful backdrop to this winter wonderland.

As well as a wide variety of stands selling handcrafted nicknacks and tasty treats, the Augsburg market also has some especially magical features, including the “Heavenly Post Office,” and “Fairytale Lane”: an animated fairytale depicted in ten scenes in decorated shop windows around the marketplace.

Maritime Christmas Market on the Koberg, Lübeck, November 21st-December 30th

Centred around the gothic, middle-aged church of St. Jacob, this market in the so-called “Christmas city of the north” celebrates the city’s historical sea-faring residents by creating a cosy harbour atmosphere with old wooden barrels, nets and a stranded shipwreck as well as a Ferris wheel with an unforgettable view of Lübeck’s old town and harbour.

Culinary stands offer visitors sweet and savoury dishes, and beverages such as hot lilac punch, mulled wine and, of course, rum.

Erfurter Weihnachtsmarkt, November 22-December 22nd

It may come as a surprise to some that this Christmas market in the lesser known eastern German state of Thuringia consistently tops lists of the country’s (and even Europe’s) best Christmas markets. 

The enchanting Erfurter Weihnachtsmarkt encompasses over 200 stands, many of which sell local culinary specialties such as the Thüringer Bratwurst. There’s also a particularly large selection of arts and crafts, be it pottery or folk art from the nearby Ore Mountains. Kids will especially enjoy riding on the glowing Ferris wheel with its panoramic views of the Medieval Old Town. 

Christmas market Erfurt

Erfurt’s Christmas market in 2021. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Martin Schutt

Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt, November 25th-December 24th

One of the oldest and most famous Christmas markets in the world, this market is practically synonymous with the Christmas season in Germany. Numerous stands sell local woodcrafts as well as the two sweets the city is known for: Lebkuchen gingerbread and Spekulatius almond cookies, in addition to many other delicacies. There’s also a special market for children, which includes a carousel and steam train. 

If you make it for the opening day, you can see the market’s namesake Christkind give an opening speech and gift-giving ceremony.

READ ALSO: German word of the day: Das Christkind

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DISCOVER GERMANY

‘It’s a lifestyle’: How you can learn to sail in Germany

Sailing or boating is a great way to experience Germany's lakes, rivers and seas to the north. The Local spoke with a German sailing instructor to find out his favourite things about sailing and how to earn a boating licence.

Published: 6 September 2024 17:01 CEST
'It's a lifestyle': How you can learn to sail in Germany

Since he began sailing, the hobby has pushed Wahid Ajouaou Saidi to seek broader horizons. 

Eventually his goal was to cross the Atlantic Ocean – something he achieved last year when he captained a boat on a journey from France to the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. But the Tübingen native has always enjoyed sailing at home in Germany’s lakes and waterways.

Ajouaou Saidi teaches sailing and boating as well as occasionally leading expeditions or delivering boats overseas through his business, Medlantic Watersports.

Through a partnership with another Berlin-based sailing school, he carves out a living by sharing his passion with eager students – some of whom want to eventually cross the Atlantic themselves, while plenty of others are content to just take a boat out on the Spree or a lake nearby.

The Local spoke with Ajouaou Saidi about the best places to sail in Germany, and how to get a German boating licence (with or without German speaking skills).

Where and when to sail in Germany

Wahid Ajouaou Saidi grew up in southern Germany and still treasures the region’s lakes.

“My most beloved place in Germany in general is Lake Constance, or Bodensee as we call it in German. It’s so huge and you have a view of the Alps from there – it’s really beautiful in the summertime,” he said.

But in recent years, Ajouaou Saidi has settled in Berlin, so he’s taken to navigating different waters.

“Wannsee and Müggelsee are really great for sailing,” Ajouaou Saidi told The Local. “And of course the Baltic Sea is also not that far away.”

There are also plenty of rivers in Germany – many of which are open for sailing.

When he’s teaching courses in Berlin, Ajouaou Saidi initially takes his students out on the River Spree.

“There are huge differences between sailing on rivers or lakes,” he said, adding that he generally prefers lakes for their wide open space and lack of current.

The sailing season in Germany is generally from April to October, give or take a few weeks depending on the weather.

Flux Ahoi

A view of the FluxAhoi sailing school on the Spree in Berlin. Photo by @Haenselbert

Do you need a licence?

Generally, boats with engines up to 15 horsepower can be freely operated by anyone–which is why anyone can rent small boats on the Spree, for example.

But for all boats with engines above 15 horsepower, including both sailboats and motorboats, you need a boating licence to legally operate the vessel in Germany.

If you’ve earned a boating licence in another country, your foreign licence also works in Deutschland–at least initially.

But similar to a driver’s license, eventually you’ll need to get the German equivalent to keep boating.

“If you live in Germany for more than one year, you need to have the German licence,” Ajouaou Saidi explained.

How to get a boating licence in Germany

Again, similar to driver’s licences, the path to earning a boating licence generally involves taking a course which includes both theory and practice hours, and then passing a test.

The tricky thing about earning a German boating licence for non-native speakers, however, can be the language barrier. 

Ajouaou Saidi said that he realised there was a market for English-speaking sailing courses because, living in Berlin, he met quite a few people who were interested in learning to sail but weren’t confident enough in their German-speaking skills to sign up for a standard course auf Deutsch. 

Eventually, he partnered with Stefan Grosenick, who runs the FluxAhoi sailing school in Berlin, and together they adapted the basic German sailing course for English speakers.

“For now we are offering the inland waters pleasure craft licence (Sportbootführerschein) in English,” Ajouaou Saidi said. This is the basic licence that anyone who wants to get into boating for the first time should start with. From there you can move on to other licences for bigger vessels or specific skills.

But you’ll still need to learn the basic terms in German to pass the theory test.

“The course is in English, but you’ll see the terms in German also,” he says, adding that the boating licence exam is multiple choice, so by learning the basic terms in German most students can pass, even without excellent German speaking skills.

“Of course, you need to have some basic to intermediate German skills,” Ajouaou Saidi said, “But you don’t need to be a native speaker. It’s completely fine if you have A2 level German or higher.”

While Ajouaou Saidi’s courses are primarily offered in Berlin, he also offers an online theory course. 

So if you’re seeking an English sailing course and living elsewhere in Germany, you could start with that.

The best thing about sailing

Asked to explain one of his favourite sailing experiences, Ajouaou Saidi spoke excitedly at length about his journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

“At night, if it’s a full moon the whole horizon was lit-up, or when it was dark you just see the stars like you never saw them before…You see whales or dolphins almost every day because they love to swim in the bow wave…and if you’re into seafood, you can have great seafood everyday that you just catch yourself, said Ajouaou Saidi.

“This is what I really love about sailing. It’s not only about navigating a boat – it’s a lifestyle.” 

For more information on courses and sailing excursion offers see the FluxAhoi website, or contact Ajouaou Saidi here.

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