Weihnachtsmarkt/Christmas Market

This weekend, as well as a visit from my mother and my little brother, it was also the first day of the Christmas Market in Konstanz. For this reason, I felt like writing an article about it, and to add a few photos too (which you can find at the bottom of the page).

The Christmas Market started on Thursday the 26th of November and the last day will be Tuesday the 22nd of December. There are many well decorated little cabins (both the exterior and interior) and many products are on display. I had only ever been to the Christmas Market in Clermont-Ferrand, and in comparison this market is a lot bigger and also has more of a Christmas magic feel as well as being more festive. I read that there are around 200 vendors at the Christmas Market. The setting at Konstanz really is great because the majority of the Christmas Market is located along the side of the lake, but also on the Marktplaz (which literally translates to the "place of the market").

There are lots of cabins which sell food - both normal day-to-day foods and foods that are a little more special and specific such as Spit Cake and Christmas chocolates. There are also traditional treats such as "Lebkuchernherz" which are spicy bread cakes in the form of hearts. These cakes are really well known in Germany (There is a photo of them at the bottom of the page).

It is also very easy to find cabins that sell "Glühwein" (German hot wine). It was really nice to be able to drink hot drinks like that while walking around the Christmas Market because it was really cold at the weekend! Also, it was possible to buy the cup that the wine was served in, which was a good little souvenir because they were personalized for the Konstanz Christmas Market (I also have posted a picture at the bottom).

Afterwards, we saw lots of cabins that were selling gloves, scarfs, hats, christmas decorations, advent calendars, and also cabins that were selling candles, jewelry, toys etc. I have posted several photos so that you can see what my family and I discovered at the market. It was really varied and I loved that I finally had the opportunity to see a REAL Christmas Market, even though it was really crowded in the town. My next goal is to visit the famous Christmas Market in Strasbourg!

The unique thing about the market in Konstanz is that not only is it next to the lake, there are also vendors actually on the lake on a big boat. It is really great because it allowed us to not be outside all the time and gave us an opportunity to warm-up a bit. The cabins close at around 8pm and due to the fact it gets dark around 6pm, you have a wonderful opportunity to walk around the market and see the town all lit-up. It shows that even at the end of November, the Christmas spirit is already well and truly present in Konstanz.

To finish my article, I feel like I should talk about the street musicians who play Christmas carols. I think that these musicians are essential for creating the festive atmosphere. There was a little band not too far from the lake, with an accordion, a contrabass and a guitar, who were playing and singing Christmas songs. Many passersby stopped to dance and sing with them because they were really demonstrating the magic and joy of the Christmas period. To all my friends who are musicians, I encourage you to go and play Christmas carols in the street, it is such a lovely idea!

So there you have it - my article about Weihnachtsmarkt in Konstanz, and don't forget to look at my photos at the bottom of the page to get a better idea of what the market was really like.