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Christmas Adventures 2024
  • Jen Ritchey
December 2024

Christmas Adventures 2024

A 11-day adventure by Jen Read more
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  • Trip start
    December 5, 2024
    Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Regensburg

    December 5, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    Today we headed off on Christmas market adventures! First stop was Regensburg, which was just a stop as it was as far as I thought we could get after Raymond finished work. The drive was much quicker than I expected so we got here in time to spy on the Christmas markets. We also arrived with perfect timing! There is a tiny courtyard that fits 4 cars that you can park in if there is space or else you have to park in the parking garage a little ways away. Well we got here and it was full so we parked and unloaded and checked in and at check in the lady was like well someone is leaving if you go let them out you can park where they are! So that was perfect and right after we got here another car tried to pull into the courtyard too so if we were a few min later we would not have gotten a spot! So that was really nice.

     We are staying in an old building in the old town that overlooks the one Christmas market! The last photo is the market from our room. They are all pretty small, but there were lots of really nice pottery booths and other artwork which was nice. We wandered through them all, got some alcohol free apfelgluhwein which was really tasty - tart instead of super sweet which I liked. Then wandered around a little bit more and by the time we came back by the Christmas markets they were already closed up! We didn’t wander that long and there were so many people at them it was surprising that they were so empty! It was a nice little wander and tomorrow we head on for our first Krampus run! I am very excited for that!!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Regensburg Day 2

    December 6, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    Today we woke up to lots of rain, but by the time we were finished with breakfast it had stopped which was nice. We had a lazier morning and then went out to explore Regensburg in the daylight. It was nice to wander around, but we have been to too many old medieval cities that were way nicer so it was just okay. Not somewhere I would be like we have to go back! But it was a nice morning wander.

    We did find a place that had vegan strudel so we got a couple to try - we had some vegan curry ones for lunch. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I thought it would be lots of flaky pastry with a little bit of filling and I had wondered if we should have gotten something else to have with it for lunch on the way to Salzburg…only we stopped for lunch and it was just a little bit of the flaky pastry and so much filling. I know the photo showing the inside is not great, but it was all filling! And super tasty! Definitely didn’t need anything else!

    We also got a quince one which we had with dinner and was also really good. Not too sweet and delicious!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Salzburg

    December 6, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    After our morning wander we headed on to Salzburg for some Krampus fun! The forecast showed it was supposed to rain all day and this morning on the radar was just tons of rain so I was like we will see what it’s like when we get there…if it is too wet we don’t have to do much. And we got there and no rain! It was perfect!

    We wandered around the Christmas markets and saw Santa and a couple different Krampusse with him, but online it said there would be a parade at 4:30 so that was what we were waiting for…only at 4:30 there was just the one with Santa! I did notice they all had two balls on their booties that had jingle bells in which was fun. They would jump around and wiggle their booties and make the bells jingle. I never saw/heard of that before for Krampus! I wonder if the ones tomorrow will have them too!

    We wandered around town and had some apple pear kinderpunsch and had a good time. When we started back towards the car we went by the one Christmas market again and there was a sign up then saying the Krampus parade was at 6…and it was 5 and cold and starting to rain so we decided to head on as we still had about an hour drive into the mountains and we weren’t sure what the drive would be like…it was already after dark the temp was going down and we were going up into the mountains... Well I am glad we did! On the way here it started to rain and snow mix and was getting foggy and slippery already. Then here in Bad Goisern where we are staying it started to snow so much! I looked outside about when we would have arrived and so much snow! All the cars are going so slowly up and down the hill to get into town and I am glad we were not trying to get here then! It’s still snowing now which is great! Tomorrow I have some small mountain towns to spy on as long as it is not too cold/snowy/icy to drive! Then a big Krampus parade in town which I am super excited about!! Should be a lot of fun!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Bad Goisern & Bad Ischl

    December 7, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ -2 °C

    The morning we woke up to a blanket of snow over the town! We had breakfast and went to wander through Bad Goisern which was nice little town. The clouds kept coming up the mountains then going away so that was fun, though by the time we got back to our place it was sunny! In the stairwell where we are staying are these fun lights like “lake you a lot.” And I found a new Christmas sweater at the grocery store!

    After a little break we headed over to Bad Ischl to spy and…it was a bigger town, but not that great. The water was nice, you could see the mountains from there and we had lunch there, but overall it was disappointing. Plus there was no snow! It wasn’t that far away, but no snow :(    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Gosau

    December 7, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    After Bad Ischl we headed up into the mountains farther to Gosau for their Christmas market and it was so nice!! Driving up in the mountains was gorgeous! I was so glad there was snow everywhere as it was gorgeous! The market was tiny, but we had fun and had a hot beverage while listening to the brass quartet play. A really nice area and we will definitely have to come back when it is warmer to go hiking!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Bad Aussee

    December 7, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    After Gosau we headed over to one more little Christmas market in Bad Aussee. This market was super tiny and the town as well, but I enjoyed it. They had a hot strawberry drink which was delicious! My favorite drink I have ever had at a Christmas market! It was also another drive through the mountains and so nice! I loved all the snow!! Now we are back at our place and waiting until it is Krampus time! We are right by a parking lot and there is a kids Krampus parade first and I thought that just meant kid friendly, but there are kids dressing up like Krampus getting ready outside! So fun! I wasn’t going to go out for that one, but now we have to go see the tiny Krampusse!Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Kid Krampusse!

    December 7, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    Since we saw the kids getting ready for the kids Krampus parade were of course had to go spy! It was kids 4-12 and oh they were so cute!! Some of them were so tiny! I loved it so much!! Then after that we came back to our place (it was like a 2 min walk) and had some dinner and then went back for the normal Krampus run! I added two videos from that cause I couldn’t decide and can only add two or post.Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Krampusse!

    December 7, 2024 in Austria ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    I was very excited for the adult Krampus run after seeing the kids and seeing some of the masks off to the side…so cool!! I loved this! So so much! It was so much fun! I don’t have the best photos as I was watching and just pointing and clicking and seeing what I got once we got home, but oh it was so fun!!! Some of them were so creepy it was so cool! And some were just ridiculous oh I loved it! It is a Krampus run and we were standing on some steps right at the beginning which was cool cause they do it by groups from different areas and when they announced the next group they would all run out and cause chaos!

    Also the different groups had different styles so it was cool to see them all. There was lots of metal music, lots of smoke, lots of flares and fires and stuff. It was cool cause then it was all the Krampusse in the smoke and spooky! A lot of them had small lights in their eyes so in the smoke you would just see the glowing eyes and the horns I silhouette which was awesome! It was so much better than I expected it to be! We will definitely be coming back for this again cause it was amazing!

    There were a lot of crowd control like people who really had their work cut out for them! They “controlled” the Krampusse if they got out of hand (only saw that once I think), but they also had to pick up the metal barriers all the time cause they would shake them around and they would fall over. Plus they kept the groups separate so they didn’t all pile up in one massive group. And the weather was perfect! Not too cold, it sprinkled for a min, but then was fine. Oh, Krampus run was the best!! We have another one to go to tomorrow in Munich, a smaller one (I think this one has something like 800 Krampusse!) so I am excited to see what that one is like.    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Hallstatt

    December 8, 2024 in Austria ⋅ 🌫 2 °C

    Today we got up and headed to one last small mountain town to spy in their Christmas market (it was today only). It was a bit cloudy, but a really cute little town right on a lake. The Christmas market itself was tiny (and had a nativity scene with an odd figure…) and I wouldn’t go back just for that, but we had a fun wander.Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Munich Krampus 1

    December 8, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    After our morning wanders we headed on to our next stop - Munich! For another Krampus run, though this one was much different than last night. It was much more family friendly and interactive and there were a lot of laughs had (though I was standing next to a lady who was afraid of most of them and that was kind of fun).

    They went by much slower so you could really see them and they interacted with a lot more people. More of them took people’s hats and things and played keep away until they gave them back to you with a hug. Lots of high fives and lots of them would just be walking then all of a sudden break into a run towards the crowd and scare people. It was a lot of fun, everyone had fun, but very different from last night. No smoke, no fire, no metal railings to keep them apart from the crowd.    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Munich Krampus Part 2 & Market

    December 8, 2024 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 4 °C

    Since we had a good spot near front and it was light and you could see them I have way more photos so I am doing 2 posts for Krampus. The costumes are really cool and I loved all the different bells and things.

    After the Krampus run (this one was half as long as the one last night) it has started raining and we were going to go spy on the Christmas market, which we did, but it was WAY too chaotic with people so we didn’t stay long and headed back to our place.

    Then we finally got Afghan food from the place here which is so freaking good! This was the place that we tried to go to on the way home from Croatia, but the weather was too bad to stop. Really every time we were even remotely close to Munich we would try and stop, but this is the first time we were able to (I used to get it every time I came to visit my friend when she lived here as it was our favorite!!). It was one of the main reasons I put Munich on the to stop list…and then found the other Krampus run so said for sure!

    Today was a great day and I really enjoyed all of our Krampus adventures! Now it is on to just boring old Christmas markets ;)    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024
    1

    Esslingen am Neckar

    December 9, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    Today we got up and went for cinnamon rolls for breakfast! This was another favorite from when I visited my friend in Munich and it wasn’t far from where we were staying so why not? So tasty!

    Then we headed on to Esslingen am Neckar to spy on their Christmas market. I thought it would be small and I really wasn’t expecting much, but we loved it! The town is really fun to wander and the market was great! It was small, but had lots of different things, nicer things that were enjoyed spying on. Most of the market was medieval Christmas market which was fun. Plus they had a lot of vegan treats that were not fried or super sweet! That is harder to find at the Christmas markets so that was great. We got some fresh Turkish delights and this bread on a stick that had sun dried tomatoes and spices (I forgot to take a photo and forgot what exactly) and it was so so good! We ended up spending more time there than I expected. It was so nice to wander. I was talking to Raymond about how this was so much nicer than Regensburg in every way, but Regensburg is a much more popular tourist spot. I would definitely come back to Esslingen if we are in the area again!

    Since we spent so much time there we didn’t get to our place for the night in Stuttgart until later so we will explore those markets tomorrow!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Stuttgart Part 1 & Bad Cannstatt

    December 10, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    Today we had a relaxing morning then went out to spy on the Christmas markets for lunch! Stuttgart is not the prettiest city, but the Christmas market was fun to wander through they had lots if vegan options - so many we had to pick and choose what we wanted! We ended up getting some spinach spatzle, vegan currywurst, and a ginormous germknödel (yeasted dumpling) with plum filling and vanilla pistachio sauce. It was so much food! The gerknödel was WAY bigger than we thought it would be. Really We thought the portions of everything would be way smaller! But it was all really tasty! I also found a Holunder cranberry punch which was tart and tasty while Raymond had a really good apple cinnamon one.

    After eating all the food we headed out to the outskirts of the city to Bad Cannstatt as there was a market there…only it was not much of a market! Like three stands, though there were some nice lights on the Main Street. We did find a record shop that had cheap records and I ended up getting a bunch - there were bins that were outside 1€ each or 10 for 5€…I had more than 10 and whittled it down to 11, but I couldn’t give up another one so said that’s fine. The people working there were super nice. There were a couple guys hanging out and we talked records for a bit and they gave me my 11 records for 5€! Now I have new music to listen to when I get home :) So I was glad we ventured out there even if the Christmas market wasn’t a win.    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Stuttgart Part 2

    December 10, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    This evening we headed back to the markets for dinner and to spy on the lights that we had seen in the big square earlier. I was really glad we had spied on the markets earlier in the day as they were so busy! Way too many people so we just snuck in to get what we wanted and then got out again. We had some vegan multaschen which are like big ravioli and were pretty tasty, and some Kürbis soup which was really delicious. Then we went to spy on the lights and we got there right at 7 and a light show started! We had a seat and watched it and then just hung out watching the lights as they still changed colors outside the show. We actually sat there a half hour and another, different light show started! It was really nice and I was glad we went to spy on them! We headed back to our place after the second light show as it was getting cold, but what fun! Tomorrow we head on!

    Overall Stuttgart was a good stop, though I don’t know that I would come here if there was not something happening, like the Christmas markets. I really enjoyed our day, but if we didn’t have the markets to spy on I’m not sure what we would have done all day…I did love Esslingen though and would definitely go back there if we are in the area!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Ludwigsburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber

    December 11, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 3 °C

    Today we got up and headed off to Ludwigsburg for their Christmas market (the first 8 photos). It said it was a baroque market, but it was just a normal one…but it was nice to wander around. I’m sure at night all the lights are gorgeous! They were a lot of fun!

    They also had a holunder lime punsch which came in a giant cup and was delicious! Best holunder one I have had!

    They also had lots of food options so we again had to pick and choose - we got a crazy corndog with sweet potatoes on it (delicious!!), another bread in a stick (tomato, olive, bell pepper which was not as good as the other one we had, but still tasty), and some cinnamon sugar fried balls with applesauce - everything was so good and small so we did not have too much food!

    After our wander there we headed on to Rothenburg ob der Tauber which I was very excited for. The town is really cute and it was nice at Easter time when we were last there so I thought Christmas would be super magical…but it wasn’t! Like the main square was nice with the market and part of the Main Street was decorated a bit, but the rest of the town was not…and even on the Main Street like not all the shops were decorated or anything. It was disappointing! It is a tiny town and I expected more! Oh well, we still had fun. It was freezing when we got there. Actually below freezing and damp so it felt so cold! They had a pear holunder drink so I got some of that to warm up and it was pretty tasty. Then the only vegan food they had was 2 bratwurst in a bun so we tried that which was not bad. It was a nice wander around the little town until we froze then we headed on.

    Our last stop was Nuremberg (the last three photos) where we are staying. When I was looking to see where the markets were it said there was only one on the north side of town, but there weren’t many places to stay up there so I got a place on the south side and we would just walk up (the main downtown is not that big. It’s very walkable). Well we arrived at our place and there is a Christmas market right outside! So we got settled in and went to explore and found Vegan bibimbap which we got for dinner and it was so so so good! We will probably get it again tomorrow it was so good! Raymond was all ready to go to all the markets, but it was cold and I was getting tired and I was like we have all day tomorrow to explore the other ones! So we headed back to our place to relax.

    All in all today was a great day! I can’t wait to see what else Nuremberg has in store tomorrow!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Nuremberg

    December 12, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 1 °C

    Today we had a relaxing morning then went to spy on the Nuremberg Christmas market. I was really looking forward to this one as it said online it was one of the oldest and most famous markets! So we went to spy and…it was fine. A bit disappointing as it was like a ton of repeating stalls. There were tons of lebkuchen strand and other decorations that all had the same things. I was especially disappointed in the food options - even for non-vegan there weren’t many. You had the lebkuchen, but for hot food you had sausages and fish sandwiches and there was like one other stand with veggie sandwiches and that was it. I really expected more especially since smaller markets had way more variety! This is one I would not come back to as there was nothing special. We still had fun of course, but it was disappointing.

    We did get bibimbap for lunch and some tteokbokki - rice cakes in a sweet spicy sauce. I had never had them before and they were so good! It all was!

    Then this afternoon at walked around the outside of the city following the city wall which was nice. It goes most of the way around - there was just one section that was missing. Then back to wander through town to see the lights and it was not as nice as the other places we have been to! Oh well now we know. It was still a fun day!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Erfurt

    December 12, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    Today we headed on to Erfurt - Our favorite Christmas market from last year! Really I was wondering if it would still be as magical since it snowed the whole time we were here last year and snow makes everything magical, but it still was! Even without snow! The town is just really fun to wander around and the markets are so pretty and we love it! Like this is a place I would come back to without the Christmas magic and still enjoy it. We are staying downtown by the markets which is great and we had a nice wander with some treats when we got here - fresh hot soft pretzel! Yum!

    Last time we were here the cathedral was closed so we spied inside since it was open. We wandered all around and then took a break to warm up and went out after dark and it was freezing! Well below freezing again and so cold so tomorrow we will have to bring some hot beverages with us on our wanders!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024

    Erfurt day 2

    December 14, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    Today we had another wander around town to see all the things. We explored farther out than we did last time and we just really love it here!

    We found some pea soup for lunch which was really tasty and another fresh hot soft pretzel. I don’t know why more places don’t have fresh soft pretzels! They are so good!!

     There is a small waterway we followed north a bit to a park where apparently all the ducks congregate! So many ducks all over the place! Along the way we saw a grey heron which was fun. It was super cold again today, but kept snowing a little bit all day which I loved. This was a very nice stop and I am glad it was just as amazing as last year! Tomorrow we head home, but stop at one last Christmas market along the way!    Read more

  • Jen RitcheyTravelerChristmas Adventures 2024
    1

    Halle

    December 15, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Today on the way home from Erfurt we made a quick stop in Halle. I didn’t really know much about the town, but why not check out another Christmas market?

    The main market was pretty small and didn’t have the best offerings (there were a lot of rides instead), but we did find a couple things and it was a nice walk around exploring. We had parked by this castle/fort looking building so when we headed out I wanted to go spy on that first and there was another market in there! It was all crafts which I loved and some of the tables were set up inside (which is now an art museum!). It was a lot of fun! And i found a cute Christmas dinosaur ornament! So it was a nice stop and was almost halfway home so perfect.

    The whole trip was pretty great. I was talking to Raymond about it and he was like it was pretty relaxed which was nice. I didn’t make him march all over the place. Which is true - we did a lot of walking every day, but not crazy amounts :) We will definitely be going back for Krampus fun next year and maybe stop by some of the markets that we enjoyed.    Read more

    Trip end
    December 15, 2024
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