Viennese Christmas Markets

We have been in Vienna for 7 days and we have been to at least 9 Christmas markets. Every day we have chosen a different Christmas market to go to, but sometimes along the way, there’s another one. There are lots of stalls with people selling all sorts of handcrafted toys and christmas decorations. We tried some hot chocolate and some kinder punch and it was some of the best hot chocolate I have ever had. All of the drinks are sold in really nice Christmas mugs. You can keep the mug if you want, or you can return it and get your deposit back. Every Christmas market has a different mug. Me and Neve got to keep mugs in the shape of a stocking.

There are also lots of people selling food like Christmas cookies, giant pretzels and candied nuts. We have tried the candied nuts multiple times which come in different flavors like chocolate or chilli. There are all kinds of different nuts too. When I walk by the stands, it smells so good. We have also tried some Christmas cookies. They are in the shapes of bells, cats, dogs and gingerbread people and they have iced on designs. A lot of people hang them on their Christmas trees and then eat them after Christmas is over. There is also a lot of people who sell marzipan, which my mom really likes.

Little gnomes called tomtes or nisse are really popular here. They are a mythical creature with a long beard and a pointy hat. We got a few of them to hang on our Christmas tree next year and a few for decoration. They come in lots of different sizes. I saw some that were a foot tall, and some that were only two inches tall. The tomtes come in lots of different colors and different styles. Some of the gnomes are skiing, and most of them don’t have arms or legs or any eyes. They are super cute and I wanted to buy all of them to bring home with me.

We visited most of the Christmas markets during the day, but at night there are lights in the streets and on the stalls. The lights make the Christmas markets really cozy and pretty. Lots of locals go to the Christmas markets after work with their friends.

At one of the most popular markets, Rat Haus, me and Neve went skating. There’s an outdoor rink with a pathway around it and you can skate for the whole day if you want to. It was really fun. It wasn’t too busy in the afternoon, but it got really busy at around 4:00 when school was done for most kids. Rat Haus is in front of the city hall and it looks really cool with all the lights at night. Tomorrow evening we are going to our last Christmas market. I wish we were spending our Christmas in Vienna.

SophieRead more