Striezelmarkt Dresden

Christmas Market overload. There are a lot of Christmas/Advent markets in Dresden. A Medieval market in the Stallhof (the old horse watering courtyard) in the Residenzschloss, the Adventmarkt at Neumarkt, the market at the Frauenkirche, there's a Finnish market somewhere and across the Elbe is the Augustusmarkt, which is apparently the international market.

Then, there's the mother of all Christmas markets, the oldest in Germany (though the city of Bautzen has something to say about that), the Striezelmarkt in the Altmarkt. In 1434, the Elector of Saxony Friedrich II and his brother Duke Sigismund granted the city the right to have a one-day meat market. It expanded as time went on, adding Christmas bread, and other goods. The market continued even during the DDR, though at different locations around the city.

So we're here, celebrating the big 590th Anniversary. It's big. It's bright. It's chaotic at times. Everything I expected from a Christmas Market.

I noticed a lot of wild game in all of the markets, and so far we've tried goose wurst and oxenbrot-- an ox meat sandwich.Read more