Dortmund Christmas Market

Dortmund feels kind of magical during the Christmas time. Actually, every German city I've been to feels special during these months. Yes, months. German cities start to host Christmas markets all over their streets since the 1st of November, right after Halloween. And they stay until the end of the Christmas holidays.

Last year I was on the Erasmus exchange in Germany during the first semester, so I had the chance to visit many cities and many Christmas markets, but Dortmund is the one that I liked the best.

Was it for the Glühwein? Was it because we could get there whenever we wanted? Or maybe it was really just because of the happy atmosphere that we could breathe in each time.

I remember that once we went there all together. It must have been during the first week of December because everyone needed to buy Christmas presents for their loved ones.

This is my attempt to take a picture of all my friends without letting them know. As you can see, it's dark and blurry so we might as well say that I wasn't successful. Despite these imperfections, I really like it because it reminds me of that specific happy moment.

One thing I remember very vividly is the giant pine tree decorated for Christmas. It had a luminescent writing saying "Dortmund 2016" and a golden angel on top, as well as other decorations. When I first saw it my heart bursted out with joy. Feeling the Christmas atmosphere made me so happy! Here's the picture.

The Dortmund Christmas market is where I bought my Christmas lights. It went something like this: my friend was looking for the right gift for her best friend and she couldn't make up her mind. Then we saw a market shop which was selling coloured lights, the ones that people generally use to adorn their trees, rooms or balconies with. My friend thought that it could have been the perfect idea to make a present for her best friend, so we all went there with her. She chose 4 different colours and created a coloured lights string. It fascinated me.

Since I had nothing personal in my flat apart from some pictures, the next time I went to Dortmund I thought that I could use some coloured fairy lights to light up my room. So I went to the same shop and bought a red and green set of coloured fairy lights. I loved them so much that when my Erasmus exchange ended, I brought them home with me - and I still have them!

There's something typical that they eat in Germany during Christmas holidays, and I first tried it in the Dortmund Christmas market. I'm talking about Lebkuchen. It somehow resembles gingerbread and it could be a kind of cookie or a kind of bread. Either way, it's delicious. Once I discovered it I started tasting everything that involved Lebkuchen. Plain cookies, chocolate cookies, cookies with cinnamon, salty bread, they even had beverages with Lebkuchen! I simply loved it - and I still do.

Source

Looking at this picture or even just thinking about Lebkuchen makes my stomach go hungry again!

To whomever might be in Germany during these months, I deeply suggest going around the cities and have a look at their Christmas markets. They'll make you fall in love with Christmas even more!