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Christmas Market Trip 2025!
  • Jen Ritchey
  • Jen Ritchey

Christmas Market Trip 2025!

Et 31-dagers eventyr av Jen Les mer
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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Münster Day 2.1

    1. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    Today we explored Münster aka the city with all the big fancy churches! Last night in the dark it was hard to tell just how many there were!

    We woke up to a gorgeous sunny day. A bit cold but not too bad. We are staying just outside of the downtown area and there are so many fancy houses everywhere! It is fun wandering and seeing what we will find!

    Nearby is the Heilig Kreuz church which was our first stop for the day. Lots of nice stained glass windows and located in a traffic circle! Then on to the park that circled the city (where the city walls once were) and the old tower.

    We then walked by the Diocesan Library (the largest theological north of the alps) that is right next to Uberwasserkirch. We went to spy inside and there was an art exhibit inside! Not what I was expecting!

    Across from the church is Antiquariat Solder, a rare books store which turns into the Antiquariat Wilsberg for the long running Wilsburg Krimi TV show set here! Apparently the private detective works out of his rare books shop. I’ve never heard of the show, but we might have to check it out when we get home.

    Then on to the St Paulus cathedral, which the main part wasn’t as nice as I had thought it would be, but the area around behind the alter was really cool. There was an astronomical clock from the 16th century and lots of interesting stained glass windows. It was hard to get good photos of them, but if you zoom in you will see like lines sketches on them? I’ve never seen anything like that before so that was fun. There is a large square in front that holds the weekly market, but we will miss that as we aren’t here on market days.    Les mer

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    Münster Day 2.2

    1. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    After the cathedral we headed over to my favorite Christmas market (it was full of crafty things) for lunch and spied on the buildings along the way. We got some grunkohl which I was very excited about as I love grunkohl (kale), but this was more like potato soup with some grunkohl. Good, but not what I was expecting or wanting! We also got a baked potato with lentil salad, jackfruit, sweet chili and barbecue sauce with tortilla chips on top. This was really good, but I took like two bites and Raymond was like wait! And he stabbed a cube of something with his fork and tried it and was like I think there is mango in this…so he asked and yes the lentil salad had mango in it! I never thought to ask about that as it is not a context where I associate the potential for mango! So I went back and got a different one (the guy running the shop was very nice and when he gave it to me was like here you go! You can eat everything on this one! Which made me laugh). Mine was corn, salsa, seitan chili, and tortilla chips. Also very good, but lunch ended up being much bigger than we expected!

    After lunch we went by St Ludgeri church which was very blue and yellow inside! The windows were all very yellow and blue and it was very unusual! Nice and different.

    Then we stopped by the Christmas market at the Rathaus and I got some ginger pear juice (it was very gingery and pretty tasty!) and Raymond got a baked apple punsch which he enjoyed.

    We tried to spy on the inside of the Clemenskirche (the round building), but unfortunately we could not. The pictures look interesting and is in a Rococo style inside.

    Then on to St Servatii which was very dark (I know the photo doesn’t look like it but it was) as those windows in the front were so dark pink and purple and blue it just pulled all the light out somehow.

    Then a quick spy on Erbdrostenhof, a municipal building for this entire region. Super fancy for that! Then to the ruins of an old cloister and there were benches on the other side so we decided to have a sit. Across from us was a cafe and Raymond was like they gave a sign on the wall that says “oat milk crew” so they might have vegan treats…so I spied and they did! They were all vegan! So we got a tiny chocolate cake and a cinnamon roll. We tried the cake with dinner and it was pretty good! Cinnamon roll will be for later. Raymond was like I keep finding all the random treat places, which yes he does, but also we don’t need more treats! :)    Les mer

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    Münster Day 2.3

    1. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    After our break we went by the public library building, a modern building in the old town. Next to that was the Krameramtshaus - the original seat of the merchants guild and one of the oldest guild houses and where the Dutch emissaries stayed during the negotiations of the Peace of Westphalia.

    Then on to St Lamberti church where Cardinal von Galen (the Lion from Münster) preached his sermons criticizing the Nazis! The inside was more simple, but the windows behind the alter were very busy! And everyone was very impressed with the ladder inside (which is also on the outside spire and you can see it in the photos from yesterday).

    The last two stops were an old cloister (now a registry office) and Zwinger - an old military outpost that was converted by the gestapo to a jail for political prisoners. This was also in the park where the city walls were.

    All in all today was a pretty good day! Gorgeous weather (though it did start getting cold by the last church as it started getting windy and the wind was cold!), lots of fun churches to spy on, sing good food and drinks, and it was really nice. This was a stop because a friend had recommended it as he came here last year and I’m glad we stopped to check out Münster!    Les mer

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    Bamberg

    2. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    Not much for today. We had a long drive to Bamberg and then when we got here I tweaked my back slightly so I’m resting it and hoping it will be better tomorrow!

    We did go for a short walk and stopped by the Apotheke and spied on the Christmas market (much smaller than I thought it would be!!) and picked up dinner on the way back to our place - pizza with lots of roasted veggies and a fig cashews pesto which was delicious! And a Rosemary bread just to try. We were in Bamberg a few years ago with a friend for Easter and we ate at the same pizza place and I remembered it being really good and it still was! And we were glad there were so many veggies on it!

    I’m hoping my back will be better tomorrow so we can wander and see all the things, but we shall see! It’s not too bad right now, but I’m taking it easy the rest of the night :)    Les mer

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    Bamberg Day 2.1

    3. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    Today was a more relaxing day than we have been having. I slept in which was good as I didn’t sleep great with my back, but luckily it was starting to feel better this morning (and is doing better still now). Still a bit sore, but not nearly as bad as last evening so that is good. Going to keep taking it easy on it until it is all better. We have a long drive tomorrow again and I am hoping that doesn’t make it worse.

    So we lazed around this morning and then after lunch headed out for a short walk. We first walked up to the monastery on the hill, though there was scaffolding all over it, but you still had views over the city.

    Then it was on to the cathedral which was interesting as there were no stained glass windows! Just normal windows. We hadn’t gone in last time as it was closed so that was fun. Then we wandered through town spying on some treat places. We did up getting some whole wheat cinnamon rolls and some cardamom buns. I love cardamom buns! So tasty! Though I forgot to take photos of them.    Les mer

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    Bamberg Day 2.2

    3. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    After spying on all the treat places we went back to the Christmas market to get a hot beverage since it was freezing out! It was a high of 3 and a little windy so back to being cold and wearing all the layers!

    On the way to the Christmas market we walked down tours street with trees with tags on them which I thought was like gifts for families that don’t have much. There were a lot of these trees full of tags and I noticed one of them looked like a cat…so I stopped to look and they were all full of cats? With what they want for Christmas on the back. It was odd, but I guess kitties need presents too! And some of the photos were great. So fun (though I just noticed that 3 of the tags in the photo are the same Kitty so maybe not as many as I had originally thought!)!

    At the Christmas market I had seen one place that had an apple pear drink for me, but they just had plain mugs with nothing on them so I was like fine! I will get a kinderpunsch at a place that has fun mugs as I want a fun mug! And Raymond got something with alcohol, but this kinderpunsch was the best in have ever had! Normally I think it is grape juice with something else and super sweet. Like one small cup is almost too much for me sweet. This was delicious and I almost got a second cup! I think it was cherry flavored but with something else I couldn’t identify and I loved it! One of the best hot beverages I have ever had at a Christmas market! So that was a really nice surprise!

    Then back to the house to hangout and relax. On the walk back Raymond pointed out the people in the second to last photo and at first I was like yeah? I guess it is odd people are out on the balcony as it is so cold, and then I realized they were statues!

    I had been thinking it would be nice to have a more laid back day as we have been walking so much every day, but then today would have been perfect to do nothing but I was like must go out and wander! Raymond kept being like don’t overdo it!!! Still a much shorter day than normal which was good. My back will hopefully be better tomorrow and all will be well :)

    I really enjoyed Bamberg a lot more than I did on our first visit. I think part of the issue the last time was we had just come from one of the prettiest, nicest, cutest old towns in Germany (Rothenburg ob der Tauber) so this paled in comparison. But without that I thought it was really nice and enjoyed our wanders.    Les mer

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    Berchtesgaden Day 1

    4. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    Today we got up and headed to our next stop - Berchtesgaden. We could check in early which was nice so we headed straight here. I was a tad nervous that the seats in the car would makes my back worse as it was feeling pretty good this morning, and I had Raymond drive, and the passenger seat is awful too! So I ended up sitting in the back which was much more comfortable! I don’t know why those seats in the front are so bad! Raymond even complains about how awful they are and he is usually fine with whatever. But we made the long-ish drive and got here and my back was still doing good so that is good!

    We are staying just outside the town of Berchtesgaden (the address is just inside Schönau am Königssee) and it should be surrounded by mountain views, but it was so foggy all day you couldn’t see anything. I’m hoping tomorrow it will be a bit clearer! It was only a half hour walk into town so we headed off to see what we could see. I planned this stop specifically for tomorrow - they have an interesting Krampus run with them covered in straw so I wanted to see that. I didn’t expect the town to be very big or interesting as a lot of the small towns we went to last year weren’t but they had nice views.

    When driving here we stopped for lunch and it was freezing! Literally! I was like why is it always so cold when we stop for lunch?? So when we got here and there was still some snow on the ground we figured it would be super cold like or lunch stop and bundled up…only it wasn’t? We were like how is it so warm when we are literally walking through snow?? But now we know not to bundled up so much tomorrow!

    On the way into town we kept seeing all these spiderwebs covered in ice which I don’t think I have ever seen before! And we walked down a path through the forest and Raymond was like we should probably go get flashlights as it will be dark by the time we are coming back…but I had planned to come back via the road so we were good (it would have been way to dark to go back that way!). We just went the forest way to go spy on the Krampus route for tomorrow! I don’t really know how many people there will be, there are no signs or anything about it happening, so we shall see! But there were tons of super cute Krampus things all over town!! I loved them all!

    The town was bigger and nicer than I expected. Lots of very nice art places and craft stores and I loved it. The Christmas market also was pretty good! Small, but not as small as we expected (and bigger than Bamberg!), but all the stands were super nice things or different foods. They even have 4 or 5 Vegan options which I was not expecting! So we are going to plan on having lunch there before the Krampusse come!

    All around town were also these giant wooden sculptures like those wooden Christmas ornaments. That was fun to try and find them all. We did go in St Peter und Johannes der Täufer (John the Baptist) church and it was very pink inside from the lighting! Not what I was expecting!

    The place we are staying had Christmas market mugs here as a gift for us and for us to use to get hot beverages if we want so we had brought them along and got something before we headed for home. I tried the blood orange punch which was better than I expected (I thought it would be just like hot orange juice, but it wasn’t really) and Raymond had a gluhwein which he enjoyed. It was nice having a hot beverage on our walk back!

    I did find a fun Krampus Christmas ornament that I love and some Krampus tree toppers (even a straw one!) that I am thinking about getting…they are kind of expensive, but handmade ceramic so it makes sense so we shall see. I forgot to take photos of them, but we shall spy again tomorrow and see if I bring one home with me.

    We also stopped at a cafe that had a couple vegan things and got a piece of walnut cake which looks delicious! That is for later, but it should be good! And I made some of my curry lentil soup which we love. I make it all the time as it is easy and quick and delicious! (https://jessicainthekitchen.com/vegan-coconut-c… this is the recipe I use if anyone is interested, but with yellow curry paste as I like the flavor more. It is not very spicy either so you can always add more spice if making it for people who don’t like spicy things).

    Today was a surprisingly good day! Berchtesgaden was really nice, the Christmas market was wonderful, and all the Krampus stuff was so cute!! I can’t wait to see them tomorrow!    Les mer

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    Berchtesgaden Day 2.1

    5. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    Today was an amazing day!! But long! We left the house around 10:30 this morning and didn’t get back till almost 6! We were out all day! And barely any breaks so I was impressed with how well my feet did. Normally without breaks my feet start hurting, but we haven’t been taking breaks like normal on this trip so I guess they are getting used to it!

    We woke up to a bit of fresh snow on the ground and incredibly foggy! Worse than yesterday! But after the sun came up the fog started lifting a bit and you could start to see bits of the mountains. Last night when we were sitting here Raymond was like is this place we are staying expensive? Cause like if we wanted to come back and go hiking…and I laughed cause you can’t even see the mountains and he already is ready to come back! Though we have hiked a bit in the area - Königssee is like 4km from the place we are staying and a few years ago on our first campervan trip we stayed there for a few days and did lots of hiking (and it was gorgeous!!).

    There was a pamphlet in our place about a historical walking tour that started and ended in Berchtesgaden downtown. It said it was 5km so we were like that would be perfect to do this morning! Yesterday we had seen a pathway up higher in the hills and I was like how do we get up there?? And well you follow this path (or one of the other ones in town)! We started off and spied in the cemetery with the oldest ever Berchtesgaden resident (Anton Adner who lived to 117), then on to the Franciscan church, then stared heading up in the hills. The clouds were starting to clear up a little bit which was nice (they kept clearing up and then coming back again all day). The one pathway that we met up with is the lantern trail with all these lanterns along the way which I enjoyed. The upper pathway was also along the salt brine pipeline path (over 200 years old and carries the salt brine to another town where it is further processed) and had some nice views over town. In the mountain photos the right most mountain (top is still covered in clouds) is where the Eagles Nest is (we hiked up the opposite side last time!)

    We only got about halfway through our walking tour when it was getting late for lunch and I was trying to decide if we should continue on or take one of the shortcuts back to town and get some food…it was almost 1 and the rest would probably take an hour and we had to be back to town by 2:30…and 2 was probably going to be too late for me to eat so we decided to go into town and maybe come finish the trail later.

    We got some vegan currywurst for lunch which was pretty good. It was right next to the tree topper stand and while waiting I went to spy…and my straw one was no longer there!! So sad for me. I was definitely going to get it as I loved it so much, but oh well. Maybe next time. I did take a photo of the ones they did have and some of the Krampusse are fun, but not as fun as the straw one!    Les mer

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    Berchtesgaden Day 2.2

    5. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    After our currywurst lunch we went by a giant pretzel stand and decided to try one. I love soft pretzels, but this was one of the worst ones we have ever had! It was like all air? It was weird. Flavor was fine, just not a pretzel really? Raymond said it was like if you took a normal pretzel and inflated it like a balloon. So strange.

    Then we wandered around town a bit spying on things until it was time for the Buttnmandl and Krampus run! So here in Berchtesgaden area they have a slightly different tradition with the Krampus - the Buttnmandl that is covered in straw! I saw this last year when I was planning our trip, but it was on the same day as the big Krampus run so we went to that. When planning this year I discovered they are two days apart so we get to go to both! And I am glad we got to be here for this! It was so much fun!! The straw was so big it was ridiculous!

    They come from an army barracks outside of town and we had headed out to a park along the path a bit early and people were already starting to congregate (but not nearly as many people as the ones last year!) so we hung out there waiting for them. First came some angels on horses, then some donkeys with baskets of gifts, then some horse and carriages with little girl angels that threw candy out for all the kids. They were super cute (and there were a ton of kids watching!). Then finally St Nicholas and the Buttnmandl and Krampusse! We were right on the side in the front and the straw guys would walk close, but not that close and it was still like ah! Straw in my face! It was hilarious. And they kept stopping and jingling their bells and it was so much fun! We kept watching them go by then running up ahead again and watching them go by again and again until we got into downtown cause everyone else was doing that as well and there were a ton of people already waiting there for them and then it was like WAY too many people so we called it good and headed away from the crowds. We had been following them for over a half hour so I got to enjoy them! And I loved it so so much!    Les mer

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    Berchtesgaden Day 2.3

    5. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    After our Buttnmandllauf Raymond was like now what? And I said I would like to go up to a viewpoint that we didn’t get to this morning. It wasn’t very far and the clouds were clearing up so it might be nice.

    Now when I was planning this online it said that that Buttnmandllauf are usually just for the people in the towns, there is no info on them, but there is the one that saw that was for everyone to enjoy. Well as we were walking up to the viewpoint we came across one of the secret ones! They were hanging out for a bit and there was a handful of people waiting for them to head to the next place so we waited with them. Their costumes were a lot nicer than the first ones we saw. The straw was like even more which was great! Though the Krampusse you had to watch out for as they would come and whip you in the leg! Especially if you are taking photos (I did get hit once and it hurt, but not as bad as I expected!). So then I was more careful to not be where they could get me and I kept running behind others if they were coming for me (in the one video at the end one of then comes right towards the camera and I am pretty sure he was coming for me! Raymond was secretly filming so they wouldn’t go after him and I ran behind him when that one came and then he gave up). But it was fun seeing the “real” one! I know some of the Krampuslaufs can get crazy, but the ones we went to last year were not so this was like a tiny taste of what they can be like (and I don’t really want to go to the crazy ones! This little bit was enough for me!).

    After they went by we walked up to the viewpoint and it was gorgeous! And you could hear the Buttnmandl and Krampus bells in all the small towns in the area! Sometimes it was hard to tell where exactly they were coming from. But I loved it! Bells all over!

    Then we started heading down the way we came and you can follow these Buttnmandl as there is a path of straw everywhere they go! So we caught up to then again and got to watch them go by a second time! Then they took a beer break and sat on the side of the road and we had to go down that way…but didn’t want the Krampusse to get us…so we hung out for a bit and cars kept coming by and the one was stopped for a min waiting for the car ahead and the Krampusse opened the trunk and doors and rang their bells for the people inside and it was pretty funny. Definitely up to their mischief! (Though they did close everything up again afterwards)

    Then we realized we could go up a bit and then back to town via the lantern path we took earlier so we did that.. but when we were getting near town there were couple Krampusse that came around the corner and I was like are they coming this way?? And Raymond spied and they were taking a break (no straw ones in the group just a ton of furry ones) so we walked through them. It was pretty cute seeing them all sitting there!

    Then a walk back to where we were staying and you could hear bells here too! I kept spying when I heard them and you could see them walking by the streetlights across the way and then the last time they walked right by the house! So fun! Apparently St Nicholas and a couple of them visit each house with children which is kind of fun, but also maybe not depending on the kids!

    All in all this was an amazing day! I loved our straw covered Buttnmandl and Krampus! I also really loved hearing all the bells all over. It was nice seeing a bit of the actual tradition in the area! We might have to come back next year! I really really enjoyed it! The next Krampuslauf is on Sunday so I can’t wait!    Les mer

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    Gosau 1.1

    6. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    Today we got up and headed on to our next Krampus stop Bad Goisern! It wasn’t that far from where we were so we had lots of time to kill before check in. This is the same place we went last year for Krampus and I remembered going to the small Christmas market in Gosau and how beautiful the area was. So I looked to see if there were any nice not too long not too hard hikes in the area and found and 8km one walking along this valley with gorgeous views of the mountains! So off we headed for that.

    When we woke up it was so foggy, even worse than yesterday! I thought oh that will be sad if we can’t see the mountains, but as soon as we got over the first set there by Berchtesgaden it suddenly was clear! And sunny! And stayed mostly sunny all day!

    The drive was gorgeous! Those first four mountain photos are on the way that Raymond took (the first photo is the cute decor the place we were staying at had!). We got to Gosau and headed off for our hike and it was wonderful! The mountains were so pretty, there was snow, it was cold but not too cold, it was perfect! I loved it! Wandering through the woods, through some small towns, it was great! We walked a ways towards the Christmas market we had gone to, and we could have walked the whole way there but it would have been 16km round trip and with it getting dark so early we definitely did not have the time. Plus yesterday was a long day so we wanted an easier one today.    Les mer

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    Gosau 1.2

    6. desember 2025, Østerrike ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    So for our hike we walked down the valley a bit up higher on the hillside until the next town on the main road (and right before a ski hill! So many people were out skiing today!). Then we walked back to the car on the other side of the valley along a small river. The whole thing was really nice and we both really enjoyed it! I love hikes where I can just see the mountains the whole time! And the snow! Though lucky the path was mostly clear as it was pretty slippery when it wasn’t as lots of people had walked on it and it got slick.

    After we got back to the car we headed down to the small Christmas market I enjoyed so much last year…and it wasn’t as nice as I had remember. It was fine, but we got there later and there were so many people and we didn’t end up staying long. I was glad we hadn’t made a special trip just for it! I did take some most photos of the small lake right there to compare to last year (we were trying to figure out of there was more snow this year and I’m not sure. It was colder as there was snow and ice on the lake, but it had just snowed last year so it was all fresh and white). Then off to our place in Bad Goisern (the last photo is from near where we are staying). Tomorrow night is the big Krampus adventure so we are going to take a short hike from here and see what we see and then relax until Krampus time! Should be fun! I hope the weather is as good as it was today!!    Les mer

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    Bad Goisern

    7. desember 2025, Østerrike ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    Today an early post. We had a lazy morning then headed off for an easy hike in the area. First through town (watch out for kids and cats!), then cross the river and hike up through the woods a bit to a nice viewing over the surrounding area. We had lunch at the snowy panorama (there were benches all over the trail which was really nice!) then back down to the river which we walked along a bit until we got near our place. It was a pretty nice walk and I was glad it was an easy one (even though I was very tempted to do a harder hike that looked amazing I kept telling myself don’t do it! I need a more relaxed day especially with Krampus tonight!).

    Then relaxing at our place and about a half hour after we got back it started raining and the mountains were covered in clouds! It’s still raining now, but should stop by the time the kid Krampus run starts and be clear the rest of the evening. The forecast had said no rain until tonight so we got really lucky with the weather - hopefully that luck holds for this evening!    Les mer

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    Kids Krampuslauf

    7. desember 2025, Østerrike ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    Tonight we had our second Krampus adventures! This was the same Krampuslauf we went to last year and it was still just as much fun! The kids Krampuslauf was supposed to start at 6 so we headed out just before…and missed almost the whole thing! It started early for some reason so it was a quick outing and then we headed back to our place to eat quickly before heading back for the main event!Les mer

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    Krampuslauf!

    7. desember 2025, Østerrike ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    After we ate dinner we headed back out to get a good spot for the main Krampuslauf (we tried to get the same spot as last year and were successful! On the steps at the start of the run. It was perfect last year as you could see everything, but for some reason not as many people were over there and it was the same this year!) It was good we went out early as it started 15 early too!! Last year it was right at 7 or just after, but 6:45 and they started coming out! So we had basically just gotten there and it started which was perfect! I think there might have been more as we got home the same time as last year so maybe that is why they started early?

    I feel like last year I was so excited to finally be at a Krampus run I didn’t really focus on all the different masks as I was too excited if that makes sense. This year I just pointed the camera in the right direction and clicked to take photos without really paying attention to it and paid way more attention to all the details of the masks and man there were so many amazing ones! Some were absolutely gorgeous, but most of my photos were super blurry…oh well! We had so much fun and at first I was like it is way warmer than last year! I had all my coats unzipped and no gloves as I was too warm…but then by 8 I started to get chilly and by 8:30 my feet were ice cubes! The rest of me was okay, but standing there for so long my feet got cold. And we were back at our place by 9. So much fun! I loved Krampus stuff so much!!

    While watching this one I did realize that there were not as many bells jingling as the straw ones! They have different bells and here it seemed like they had to really pay attention to ring them (for the most part) and they were more running around causing chaos! They did pull lots of kids out that were standing on the other side of the barrier and dragged them along at times, they stole lots of hats (and then gave them back), it was fun. At one point there was this lady with a little baby and she walked by and was trying to stand right in front and I thought you are crazy for standing there with your baby!!! Like the Krampusse run around and when they come at the crowd the crowd jostles around and tries to get away and I cannot imagine thinking it would be fine to have my tiny little baby right up front for that!! She eventually moved to the other side of the barrier, so in with the Krampusse, and one of them came up to the baby and baby did not care at all…but then one of the crowd control people came and was like you need to get back farther and she argued with him, but eventually moved. I thought she is crazy! That baby could have easily been injured accidentally!

    I was glad we had a more relaxing day so I wanted too tired for all my Krampus fun! And glad the rain held off while we were out there!    Les mer

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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Augsburg

    8. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Today we had a lot of driving to do, but also some Christmas markets to stop at and explore! First up was Augsburg, the oldest town in Bavaria! We got here and the first stand were saw had vegan Bosna - an Austrian sausage sandwich popular in Bavaria too! We had seen them in Berchtesgaden and also the small Austrian one we went to, but no vegan ones so we decided to try it out. It is a sausage, onions, ketchup and curry powder. So like a currywurst in a bun with onions. The place we got it baked their own rolls too! It was pretty good and I was glad we got to try it!

    We wandered through the markets which were nice, then had to have a hot beverage in the fancy mugs! I had a forest berry punsch and Raymond a gluhwein. Mine was okay, but not amazing. Not super sweet which was good.

    The town itself wasn’t super pretty, it was nice but not the best old town we have been to, though the one little area we walked around was nice. I did think we should stop by again sometime and see what else there is to see as I enjoyed our wander.    Les mer

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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Esslingen am Neckar

    8. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    After Augsburg we headed on to Esslingen am Neckar. This one is just outside Stuttgart and we went to it last year and enjoyed it. It is mostly a medieval market which is fun! Lots of different things there than other markets and they had so much good food options for us that we decided to eat dinner there!

    We got some kräuterknodel - bread dumplings with herbs and I got a tomato ragout and Raymond got a mushroom ragout and these were way bigger than we expected! But really tasty. Another German food that I have never had before!

    Then some hot beverage - apple holunder for me (they always get me with the holunder but it usually doesn’t taste at all of that…this was just like hot apple juice which is fine, but I wanted holunder!!) and a gluhwein for Raymond. Then some squash soup which was really really good! I wish I knew how they made it at it was much better than mine!

    And finally some herb & tomato bread on a stick. We had this last year and it was delicious and it still was! So good! But so much food! There were other things we had thought about maybe trying as well, but no room for them! The market is one of our favorites and we will definitely be back again! And the town is really nice to wander.

    After we were done there we headed on to our overnight in Stuttgart. I did think about walking down to see the Christmas light show in the big park if they have it again, but it was a long day so we will do that tomorrow and see what else we get up to. But today was really nice. Lots of driving, but broken up nicely with some market adventures!    Les mer

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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Stuttgart

    9. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Today we had a lazy morning then headed to spy on the Christmas markets here in Stuttgart. We had stopped here last year as well, and I remembered they had a couple vegan options I was very excited for and also a Christmas light show every half hour in the one park.
    So we headed down to the market and…The main food thing I had wanted (a yeasted dumpling), they didn’t have! I was so sad, but we wandered the market and it started to get to lunchtime so we quickly went through looking at all our food options and there were so many! We ended up getting a lentil curry soup…only it came in a bread bowl so it was like barely any soup! Way too expensive for what it was as I didn’t want to just eat the bread! Oh well.

    Then on to some schumpnudel which is so good! We had some in Freiburg also and it is so tasty! Good enough I did say I would come back and have it again for dinner, but by dinner time we weren’t that hungry so just made some things here. Then we also got a vegan currywurst which was really good! It came with a ton of fries, but the sausage they used was better than normal (Raymond really loved it!). So that was good.

    We then went and explored the markets further as we didn’t really spy on things when we were looking for lunch and I got some cherry caramel punsch and Raymond got an apple cinnamon one, both were very good! Mine actually tasted like the things it said!

    In our wanders we also found a steam powered little train for kids to ride around (in a model train area). I’m sure this was here last year, but I don’t think we realized it was actually steam powered! They were loading it with coal and then had to wait for it to get hot enough to run. That was fun.

    Then we went to spy on some treat places and found one with a hazelnut cake and an apple roll and the lady had heated up the apple roll so Raymond was like why don’t we’re try it? And it was pretty good, though then I was like I’m just going to try the hazelnut one and oh man that was amazing! And very light! The was like a meringue with hazelnut cream and hazelnuts and it was really good.

    After that we headed back to our place and man we didn’t get back until much later than I anticipated! I don’t remember walking around here all day last year, but it was really nice. The market overall was really good and it was so warm today!! I was only wearing a light sweater and light jacket and my light pants! Crazy! And it was sunny all day and if you were in the sun it was very warm! It was perfect for wandering!

    We were going to head back down to the market this evening to see the light show…but there is none! They didn’t have any lights in that square this year :( we looked it up and it was to save money, which makes sense, but it was one of things I was most looking forward to! Oh well, at still had a great day!    Les mer

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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Ludwigsburg

    10. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Today we got up and headed on our way - first stop Ludwigsburg! This is another one we went to last year and it had lots of vegan options so we decided to stop again. I don’t remember enjoying the market as much as I did this time! Lots of nice things and lots of food options as well! The one place said “loaded fries” with vegan wurst and bbq and onions so we decided to try that…and it was really currywurst with onions. Good, but not what I was expecting! Really most of their “loaded” fries just had a little bit of sauce on them as we saw what other people got. We also had some hot beverages - gluhwein for Raymond and cranberry hollunder for new which was very good!

    Then we had a sweet potato covered corndog! I had remembered this from last time and it was still just as good!

    There was also a booth for this organization that helps families with children who are sick or were born premature and they had vegan waffles so we had to try them! Plus they had these really cute nativity scenes that I loved so I had to pick one of them up too - and the money went to a good cause! Not that I need more nativity scenes, but I do love them! Raymond was like where are you going to put this one?? Which…I don’t know! I’ll figure something out!

    This was a stop I debated going to as we had gone last time, but I am so glad we did! There were way more food options than we even remembered from last time and lots of nice things to look at. I was glad we made the trip and if were are in the area again we will probably stop by again :)    Les mer

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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Würzburg

    10. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Our next stop was Würzburg which I had originally planned to stop on our long drive to Bamberg, but it was out of the way and would have made for more driving so I cut it. I saw that we would be driving right by it today so said okay! Let’s have a spy!

    I feel like this is on lists of top places to go so I was expecting a pretty nice market and city…and it was just meh? The city itself if we spent more time and planned out what to see more is probably fine - you could walk over in the castle or walk along the water, but it was a bit rainy today (very light rain, but still gets wet after awhile) so we didn’t explore that much. I thought the Christmas markets were going to be bigger and take more time…but they weren’t and weren’t very nice. One of the worst ones we have been to. It was all just like carnival junk with a few okay stands. Not at all what I was expecting! Though I did find a pottery stand and found some spoon rests I liked! I have been searching for some I like during our travels forever, but a lot of pottery places over here don’t even have spoon rests! So that was one good thing. It was a quicker stop than I expected, and we were going to get a treat there, but they didn’t really have anything for me! Oh well. Now we know not to go back for the Christmas market!    Les mer

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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Erfurt!

    10. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    Our last stop was our overnight, and one of our favorites, Erfurt! This is the third year we have come here for the Christmas markets and we love it so much! The city is just so nice and we love wandering it! I probably have some of the same photos as other years, but I love it so! We got in and ate some dinner and then headed out for a little wander. We did go by the fresh, hot soft pretzel place and had a pretzel (and a salt and pepper breadstick) and it was so good! I don’t know why more places don’t have these stands! It is always busy wherever we go by and who doesn’t want a fresh, hot pretzel? Especially ones that are so good! We will definitely be going back for more!

    Tomorrow we are here in Erfurt and we will see what we get up to!    Les mer

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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Erfurt Day 2.1

    11. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Today we woke up to a beautiful day! Perfect for exploring Erfurt! The first photo is the view from our balcony - we are right on the one small waterway! We had a lazy morning then went to spy on all the Christmas markets. We didn’t find that many treats this year (it seemed like there were less stalls than normal), but we still had a good time. We got another fresh soft pretzel and did find some vegan klöße (potato dumplings) which are not what I was expecting! A bit gummy and not sure I would get them again, but I’m glad we tried them.

    After lunch we wandered and spied on the cute shops and I found some winter plates that I love! I had gotten some Halloween ones this year and I liked having them for the holiday so I was looking for Christmas ones and found these! I don’t normally buy very much when we travel, but I keep finding things I have to have on this trip!

    The photo with the bread guy - he is some German TV character. This city is where a big German kids network is so some children’s character sculptures are around the city which is fun.    Les mer

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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Erfurt Day 2.2

    11. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    After our wanders through town we went to explore the citadel. We had gone up there the first time we came, but not since then so that was fun. A lot less snow this time! The tree is an art installation made of metal with 70,000 olive leaves the sign said! Crazy! It looked like a real tree until you looked at the trunk closer and then I was like did they put metal in there to help the tree grow? And I was so confused by it until we found the sign! Because it does look like real leaves!

    While we were up there we got a message from the guy who owns the place we are staying that was…interesting. He said he tried calling me 14 times (!!) but I did not answer and am not answering any of his messages and he required a call back by 4pm!! We are not answering and we have the apartment key! I was so confused as I had no missed calls (later found out he somehow got the wrong number) and we are not leaving until tomorrow so I asked why he needed in the apartment and such and he doesn’t need anything I just didn’t reply to his message he sent yesterday with the where to get the key (though if we have the key it stands to reason that we got it). I was like umm…that’s kind of an unhinged response to that. I don’t normally chat with people in the booking messenger unless it is needed. So that was fun.

    Then this evening we ordered ramen for dinner…and an hour after it was supposed to be here after talking to them again and again and then telling me it was on the way they canceled the order for some reason. By that time I was a hungry monster, but luckily one of the other places I had on my list is 2 feet away and I thought it should be quick (it was) so we went over there and got a vegan plate that was delicious! We had talked about getting it for lunch and Raymond was like I didn’t think you liked this kind of food and I was so confused by that. He was like I didn’t think you liked falafel which falafel is delicious and I have made it myself before! The plate was a stuffed pepper, stuffed grape leaves, roasted veggies, hummus, eggplant dip, tabbouleh salad, and a salad with a side of pita bread and it was so good!! Afterwards I was like I think I know why Raymond said that earlier - because most places you can get falafel in Berlin it is only falafel and french fries with maybe a tiny iceberg lettuce salad. I want things like this with all the foods not just all the fried foods!

    So that was our day. Pretty good overall, but a bit frustrating here and there. Tomorrow we move on to our last overnight stop!    Les mer

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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Erfurt Day 3

    12. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C

    Today we got up and loaded up the car and then went and wandered around Erfurt some more. We didn’t have a long drive so we had time to kill before checking in to the next place so we wandered around since we love this town so much!

    We wandered down new to us roads and found some fun things! I thought we had found all of the kids TV characters our first time here, but we didn’t see dragon before! It was another sunny day, but cold! It was 1 when we started walking (and might have gotten up to 3 by the time we left) so all the layers once again!

    We stopped and got a pretzel before we headed on and it was fresh out of the oven and so hot! I love my fresh soft pretzels!    Les mer

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  • Jen RitcheyChristmas Market Trip 2025!Reisende

    Jena

    12. desember 2025, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    After wandering through Erfurt we headed on to our next stop - Jena. While we were driving we saw a large tower on the hill - just the tower in a clearing of green and I was like what is that?? Raymond looked it up and it is a memorial for the victims of the Buchenwald concentration camp (online it says the largest memorial for a concentration camp in Europe - https://www.buchenwald.de/geschichte/historisch… here is more info in German). It’s not very far from our overnight and almost on the way home so we might stop and check it out on Sunday.

    Jena was a much bigger city than I expected! And lots of odd sculptures all over!

    The Christmas market was small, but there was a small medieval area by the one tower and the main one did have a few things we could eat (though we brought lunch with us so we ate that). There was a nice park along both sides of the water that goes through the town so we ate lunch there and then wandered a bit which was really nice.

    There is also Jen Tower we walked by, the tallest that was in East Germany! Most of the floors were a university which was interesting. Then it was time to head on.    Les mer

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