Christmas Market Madness: Switzerland (Bremgarten & Zurich)

This was only my second trip to Switzerland, and I was excited. But in my haste, I forgot the country is not part of the EU, and I didn’t change any money. Turns out it was just as well, because the Christmas market fare was mostly costlier versions of what I’d already seen on my other trips.

Getting there: 3.75 hours each way (direct), Deutsche Bahn IC Bus.

The bus arrived in Zurich, then I took a local train to and from the Bremgarten market.

The markets: Bremgarten was one of those markets that was only open over the course of a few days at a time, on a limited run during the market season. 

Most of those markets I tried to avoid, reasoning they’d be overcrowded due to demand. But Bremgarten received such high praise that I had to check it out.

I also knew there was a Christmas market in the Zurich train station. I figured I’d hit that when I came back in from Bremgarten. 

But with the local train ride (40 minutes), and the 320(!) stalls slated to be on site in Bremgarten, I feared I might have to skip the Zurich market to make it back to my bus on time.

The opening ceremony seemed to be still going on when I arrived, and I wandered the small cluster of nearby stalls, listening to the chatter and the Alpine horns. 

The vendors were selling normal goods, some crafts, and food, and I was all prepared to take my disappointed self back to the train.

Then I realized the market stretched across the street and wound away down a hill and out of sight. 

And kept going. To a covered bridge across a river. And still it kept going.

Mixed in with the stalls of traditional ornaments and decorations, most Christmas markets I had seen up to that point had one or two stalls of Turkish or Middle-Eastern-inspired wares. This market had multiple ethnic influences in both household goods and food. 

It was definitely the largest Christmas market I’ve seen to date. And the old town area was incredibly charming perched above the river.

By contrast, the Zurich market (not the city’s main market, mind you) was in the main hall of the train station, anchored by a huge tree decorated in Swarovski crystals.

In Bremgarten, I saw no extra security or police presence. In the Zurich train station, it was noticeable, but still not to the level of Strasbourg.

The food and crafts in the Zurich station market were in an all-too-familiar vein, so I quickly made my rounds and headed off to catch my bus.

The trip: In the morning, there was a guy across the street from the bus depot, electric guitar and amp going strong. A much-needed power start to the day!

Seat reservations were mandatory for this bus, so I picked a window seat at a table, knowing I’d be bringing my Surface tablet with me. Just past the halfway mark, we left the Autobahn, and with it went our smooth ride and consistent Internet service as we crossed some foggy fields and a snowy river into Switzerland.

The bus had to stop at the border for officers to walk through and check passports, but other than a border guard briefly disagreeing that a tablemate’s passport photo, residence card, and real-life appearance all matched up, there were no incidents.

Christmas pony rides for the kids in Bremgarten.
Later in the day, this seemed like a surer travel
option than navigating the traffic jams
on the Autobahn.

If only all of my travels over the course of the day were so easy. I had to run to catch every single connection on the local train to and from Bremgarten. Apparently syncing local train schedules is not a priority.

And my trip to the Christmas market in the Zurich train station got me a bit off-track. It was at the opposite end of the station from where I left the local train, and there were no signs over there for the bus depot.

I started back in the direction I’d come, on the lookout for my handy landmark—Burger King. After spotting two BKs with the wrong configuration, I finally found a station map. 

Turns out there are four Burger Kings in the Zurich train station! I ended up going outside and using Google to navigate around the outside of the station until I got to familiar territory.

On the ride back to Munich, the bus was much more populated, and the crowd seemed to be less vacationers and more businessmen on travel. No passport check this time, but there was a lot of stop-and-go traffic that made things rather less than smooth sailing. 

Ever efficient, my DB app sent me a “you have arrived in Munich, thank you for traveling with us” message. The message was clearly sent to coincide with our scheduled arrival time, but with all of the traffic jams we'd hit, we didn't roll into Munich till about 25 minutes later.

Upon reflection: The Switzerland trip was my most stressful in terms of timeline and getting around, but Bremgarten was a worthy experience. Of course, if I had it to do again, in my head I’d book a multiple-city tour of Switzerland markets. But I think that would be more about seeing the cities and soaking up the atmosphere, then to expect any Christmas market surprises.

Upon further reflection: I didn’t enter this extensive itinerary with an actual hypothesis about cultures and Christmas, just curiosity. 

I found more similarities than I expected, perhaps due to proximity. But I also found slight differences—mostly in atmosphere—that probably speaks to how each country celebrates in general.

While I was in northern Germany I hit Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover, Lübeck, Lüneburg, and took a crazy day trip down here to Nuremberg. 

Now that I’ve exhausted my southern Germany bucket list (thankfully this place wasn’t on it), I’m looking down the line to weekend travel possibilities for next year, including the Black Forest, Dresden, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Zagreb, and Tallinn.

Seems like a good range, but if you're in the know, are there any other places around Germany or Europe I missed that you’d suggest?