Even cities that are a hop, skip, and a jump away show
some differences in their markets, e.g., whether there’s a theme, which types
of crafts or decorations appear more often, what type of sausages or version of
mulled wine are served, etc.
I was excited after visiting the Munich markets
to see what other areas in Germany had to offer. Sadly, most of my top choices
were too far to justify the trip. Lucky for me, I came across a couple of close
gems:
Ludwigsburg
Getting there: 2.5 hours each way, Deutsche
Bahn. 10-minute walk from the train station.
The market: The Ludwigsburg market was
advertised as a “Baroque” market. Not because of the decorations and crafts
offered, but because it was situated on a plaza between two Baroque churches.
In true German fairy tale style, one church was
painfully plain, while the other was an over-the-top beauty. The market décor itself
was also quite lovely, with oversized angels positioned around the square,
soaring skyward.
The stalls featured the wood carvings, glass
ornaments, leather work, and warm clothes you see at most German markets. Ludwigsburg
did offer more crafts made of straw than most places, including some adorable
reindeer.
I followed my usual up-one-side,
down-the-other-side approach so I didn’t miss any stalls, then enjoyed what has
become my Christmas market treat to myself: a lunch of grilled wurst and a warm and tasty Glühwein (white instead of the usual
red).
The trip: Other than my subway and walking
trips around Munich, this was the most uneventful market travel experience I
had. My Munich trains and Stuttgart connections were on time, and without
incident.
The part of Ludwigsburg I saw was a typical town
with a mix of asphalt and cobblestone. No really old buildings, but no modern
eyesores, either.
On the walk back to the train station, I
stopped into a couple of stores to scout some Christmas gift ideas. I came away
with a better plan on that front, and a new backpack that would be great for my
upcoming travels!
Fraueninensel, Prien
am Chiemsee
Getting there: 1+ hour each way, Meridian. Then took
an old-fashioned train and a ferry on the way. On the way back, took the ferry,
then walked to the train station.
The market: The great appeal of this market was
that it’s Germany’s only Christmas market on an island. The 38-acre Fraueninsel (women’s island) is one of
two populated islands on the Chiemsee
(Chiem lake), and home to only 300 people, including residents of the island’s convent.
In all my many market trips I’d had one secret
goal: to find blown-glass ornaments like the ones my mom bought in Germany 40+
years ago. This was the only market where I found anything even close.
There was another specialty glass blower and
the other usual market fare. Instead of my bratwurst lunch, however, I tried a pulled pork
sandwich. It was easily among the top three I’ve ever had.
Winding across the island's 100+ stalls and even
going inside the church attached to the convent, I worked up an appetite for
dessert. That turned out to be a heavenly apple tort swimming in a warm vanilla sauce, topped
with cinnamon.
A group of men from the ferry, in full Bavarian finery, turned out to be the brass band playing on a stage not
too far from my dessert stop. The only thing left to do was check out the remaining
stalls in the courtyard of the local guest house, and a massive nativity
scene made by a wood artisan.
The trip: There were several things that made
this trip special. The first is that I brought a friend with me.
Normally I like the freedom of acting on a whim and exploring for as little or as long as something grabs my attention. But a couple we
knew in Hamburg recently moved to Munich via Berlin, so it was nice to
reconnect with a familiar face and have some company on this pretty straightforward adventure.
Second was the weather. It started as a
miserable, drizzly day in Munich, but as soon as the train pulled out of the
station, the rain turned to snow.
Lastly, this was the final stop in my two-week
Christmas market blitz, and I was ready for a slower-paced, low-hassle kind of
day.
 |
| The local train that ran from the train station to the ferry dock. T he seats inside were wooden benches. |
To that end, we got a Bayern ticket, which allowed us to travel anywhere in Bavaria all
day on any regional train. Which was good, because there was no telling how
reliable the local train and ferry connections would be, and no way to know how
long we’d be out on the island.
Other than some confusion when we first got to
the train station (take a local bus to the ferry dock? take the local train?
where do we find them?), and some concern on the way back about waiting in the
cold for the next slow-moving choo-choo, our day went rather smoothly.
(Since the regional trains only came once an
hour, we decided not to risk the train-to-train connection, and walked the
1.5-km trail beside the tracks back to the train station. Definitely a better
choice than standing in the snow for 30 minutes!)
Upon reflection: I wouldn’t have changed
anything about either experience. The Ludwigsburg trip came after one of my
international trips but before all the others, so it was a good recharge of my
itch to see new places.
As I mentioned, the Fraueninsel market was the last one on my entire itinerary. It embodied a
true community effort—true to the spirit of the season—and was a great way to wrap
things up after so many instances of long traveling days.
Speaking of, my next several posts will focus
on my trips to Austria, France, Italy, and Switzerland!
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