Epic Christmas Market Trip 2023

We embarked upon an epic Christmas market spree in December that took us through the Black Forest, Switzerland and Alsace region of France for a variety of markets. Let's dive in...

Rottweil

Rottweil is the oldest city in Baden-Wurttemberg and was the first market of our journey. It was along the route to Ravenna Gorge, so it was worth a pit stop. If you have driven in this direction you may remember the giant tower that looks like a drill bit. We still don't know what that tower actually is, but we can now stay we've been to the town where it's located. 

Rottweil has a small, quaint market that greeted us with local musicians, gluhwein and quesadillas (the latter being quite unexpected). Their mug celebrated the 30th anniversary of the market, so we made sure to keep one to add to our growing collection.

Charles tried the quesadillas and thought they were tasty enough. Good Mexican food is quite hard to find in Germany. I loved the quirky styling of their booth.

Ravenna Gorge

Ravenna Gorge often makes the top of Baden-Wurttemberg's Christmas markets. A few people I know had been in the previous year and warned me that, while it's magical, it is crowded. I was hesitant to go because that, but figured it would be good to visit while we had the chance. We went on the final day of the market and booked a ticket with shuttle pickup from Hinterzarten. 

The warning about the crowds was right on point. We opted for the 4-6pm time slot and it became more and more packed while we were there. It was shoulder to shoulder in some parts making it a little hard to navigate and view booths. I did not love it. But I had a delicious variation of gluhwein called a Schwarzwald Marie which included a cherry liqueur to mimic the flavor of black forest cake.

We stayed one night in Hinterzarten which was an adorable Black Forest town. It was a Sunday which typically means shops are closed in Germany, but a few gift shops were open so we visited before our shuttle to the Market.

B&B Zartenbach: Our hotel was very quaint and comfortable. We booked a very small room since we stayed for only one night; it was snug, but perfect for our short stay. The included breakfast was the perfect fuel for our onward journey towards Switzerland!

We arrived at the market before dark, so it was fun to see it transform as the darkness set in.

Konstanz

We had visited Konstanz earlier in the year to see Mainau Island, but did not explore the city very much. The market lines the lake and was a nice size, not too busy and had a variety of booths. I was excited to eat Tirol Knodel which reminded me of last year's epic Christmas market trip to the Dolomites.

Winterthur

Winterthur was our first market in Switzerland and was just a quick stop before arriving in Zurich. The market was very small, but we enjoyed some delicious apple rings with vanilla sauce. 

Zurich

Zurich boasts several markets spread throughout the city and we visited them all (I think). Zurich proved to have an impressive array of food options that made my heart very happy. To name a few: Indian, empanadas, tacos, arancini, Ukrainian, African, Portuguese, Asian, Swiss (of course) and so much more. 

I adored the Weihnachtsalle market the most. Throughout the market were little booths styled like living rooms where you could sit and enjoy your gluhwein and food. I, sadly, did not snag any photos, so you'll just have to take my word for it. This market was also close to the one located in the train station which exceeded my expectations, as well. 

25hours Hotel Langstrasse: I was in LOVE with our Zurich hotel! It was right down the street from the Weihnachtsalle and train station markets which made it super convenient for this trip. Aside from that, the hotel was so fun! It was decorated with a modern-vintage mix and had some really cool special touches. For example, there was a Polaroid camera in the room. You could buy film in the little lobby shop and use the camera around town. This hotel is now one of the benchmarks that I'll use to judge future hotels on our travels.

I have been dreaming about arancini since visiting Sicily. When I saw it at the train station market, I had to have one!

Breakfast on our first morning in Zurich was spent at Babu's Bakery and Coffeehouse. The hotel offered a breakfast add on, but it was a bit pricier than we wanted, so I opted to look for other spots in the area. Charles hates waiting in line for a restaurant, but I took a chance on this place despite the almost guaranteed wait. It was well worth it for this breakfast sandwich and my latte.

Our second morning was spent eating breakfast at Bank which had really cool latte art! I had a croissant breakfast sandwich that was good, but not as drool worthy as the previous day.

Mulhouse

After stopping in Basel, Switzerland and being very much disappointed in their market, we continued to the Alsace region of France for the next round of Christmas markets. Our base for the next two nights was Mulhouse (it's pronounced very differently from how it looks for English speakers). 

La Maison Hotel Mulhouse: I had some high expectations for our hotel in Mulhouse. The website made it seem very hip and funky (we were worried that we were too "square" to stay there). But it was kind of a mixed bag. The common areas like the lobby and breakfast room were fantastically decorated for Christmas. If you enjoy a vintage, maximalist vibe, these rooms will make your heart sing. Our room was a bit of a disappointment in comparison, but still very comfortable and right around the corner from the Mulhouse Christmas market. 

The Mulhouse market was on the smaller side, but in the shadow of the beautiful cathedral. The town is beautifully lit up for the market and hosts a little Christmas train that plays music as it drives you around the city. We could hear the train's music from our hotel room as it drove by. It was adorable!

Mulhouse is also where I discovered that vin chaud blanc is far superior to gluhwein. I have since reached out to my local community for a recipe so I can recreate it at home.

A slight letdown about the markets in Alsace is they use plastic cups versus mugs for the hot wine. They were beautifully designed, but harder to hold with the hot beverage inside.

We found a booth selling Canadian poutine at the Mulhouse market and ordered the Authentique poutine. It hit the spot!

Eguisheim

Eguisheim is a small town in the Alsace region. I had visited back in March with friends and loved it. With it all decked out for Christmas, it was just as magical. The market is very tiny with just a small selection of booths. But we enjoyed some vin chaud and window shopping. 

Side note: The Eguisheim vin chaud booth charged a deposit (pfand, if you're familiar with the German term) for the plastic cup. However, they did not take the cups back so we were stuck with it.

Turkheim

Sadly we did not fully get to experience Turkheim's market. When I was researching for the trip I had noted that its market opened at 11am. We arrived around 12:30pm, but sadly it did not open until 2pm. We walked around the area and saw the shuttered whimsical and colorful booths. We did get to say hi to some sheep, so it wasn't a total loss.

Colmar

I visited Colmar twice in 2023, each time with different sets of friends. Colmar is an adorable town and often tops the Christmas market lists. There are a variety of markets spread around the town. Since I had been before, Charles left me in charge of navigating around which was a huge mistake. I am directionally challenged to say the least. We ended up walking in circles the whole afternoon. 

Charles enjoyed a meal in the gourmet market. Aside from a yummy croissant bagel sandwich and tasty hot spiced apple juice, I was not in love with the Colmar market. It was just too spread out and crowded for my taste.

We had hoped to visit at least one more market on our 2023 Christmas Market spree, but it was unpleasantly rainy on the day of our departure from France, so we visited the Cora grocery store to stock up on some French goodies like crepes, butter and soap before heading home to relax after so much excitement. 

I hope you have a chance for your own Christmas market spree in 2024! 

Edinburgh, Scotland

Our tour of Scotland was fast approaching its conclusion when we arrived at our last stop--Edinburgh. We began the visit with an introduction to our next Rick Steves guide and an orientation walk around the Grassmarket and the Royal Mile. 

After the walk, we ended up at a pizza place for dinner where I finally had the chance to try some Scottish cider. 

The next day we started off our time with a guided tour of the city where we saw a lot of highlights.

After our tour and time at the castle, we were hungry. With it being chilly, comfort food sounded good and we found a place called Mum's Great Comfort Food that hit the spot. 

As a kid visiting Scotland I remember seeing and hearing bagpipe players on the street corner. I'm not sure if it was in Edinburgh or another Scottish city, but I was really hoping to experience that again on this trip. Edinburgh was THE spot! We saw several pipers in the few days we were there and it filled my heart with so much joy each time. Were they all super good? Probably not, but it didn't matter to me.

On our final day in Edinburgh (and Scotland...sadness), we visited Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament. I fell in love with the Parliament building, but did not take any pictures. The design of the building was so well thought out with the intention to really represent Scotland and be a place for the people of Scotland. It was beautiful. 

After lunch in the Parliament café and a bit of a stroll, we took a walking tour of the Edinburgh new town (circa Georgian period) with our Rick Steves guide and another couple from the group. It was an optional tour that most people skipped out on. But it was neat to see the difference in that part of town compared to the side that most tourists stick to. 

Our tour ended at the Georgian House. The whole time we walked through the house I felt like a Bridgerton. It was a neat museum to compare with the Tenement House from Glasgow. 

It was really hard to leave Scotland to return home. I would return in a heartbeat as there is so much more to see and experience.

Perthshire, Scotland

Our next day was spent exploring more of Perthshire. Starting from our hotel, Loch Rannoch, we bussed to the Crannog Center. This Iron Age outdoor living history museum was filled with lots of interactive areas despite its current small size. I love museums like this so I was very excited for the visit. It was really interesting to learn about pottery, textiles, food and other things from the Iron Age. This museum is currently expanding to a larger site to include rebuilding a replica crannog. This will be high on my wish list for a return visit to Scotland!

We also visited a park with a beautiful waterfall! Unfortunately, this was a quick stop so we did not have a lot of time to explore the trails. It was a beautiful day for a walk in the woods, though!

For lunch, we stopped in Dunkeld. Charles and I enjoyed our sandwiches and soup at a little café with a charitable cause. The café also had a super cute shop where we picked up some postcards and a souvenir for ourselves.

After lunch, we had a walking tour that included the Dunkeld Cathedral and surrounding area.

Inverness, Scotland

After our two nights in Glasgow, we headed to Inverness to start our tour with the Rick Steves tour group! We had originally booked a train from Glasgow to Inverness, but after some record-breaking rain, the trains were cancelled. Luckily Charles did his research and booked bus tickets as a backup before they sold out. 

We arrived in Inverness and quickly walked from the bus station to our hotel to meet up with the group for an orientation. We were supposed to arrive an hour earlier, but arrived right at the start of the orientation so we had to go in soaking wet from the rain. We met everyone, including our guide, and received a nice introduction to the tour. We checked into Glen Mohr for our two nights and relaxed for a bit before our group Inverness Orientation Walk and dinner at The Mustard Seed.

Our hotel was situated right by the river. Due to the heavy rainfall, the river was dangerously close to the banks. 

The next day was filled with lots of activities! After our breakfast at the hotel, we were off to Loch Ness for a boat ride to Urquhart Castle. Unfortunately, no one spotted Nessie. 

This little bird was happy to hang out while tourists (like ourselves) snapped his picture. 

Another stop of the day was to Clava Cairns. Have you heard of Stonehenge? This place is similar. No one knows the purpose of these stone mounds and structures. Our guide encouraged us to come up with our own theories while walking around the area. I am amazed that this place is completely free to visit. 

Another stop was to Culloden Battlefield. Honestly, my expectations for pretty low for this stop. Why would I care about a battlefield? However, after spending an hour with our battlefield guide, this became one of my favorite stops of the trip. She provided us so much interesting history about the Jacobites and the history of the battle. It was also interesting to think about how history could have been completely different if the outcome of the battle was different. Would America be what it is? Would the French Revolution happened? 

At the battlefield, stones were added to represent several clans that were part of the battle. These were added much later on and not necessarily historically accurate. I looked for clan markers for my ancestors, but did not spot them. Mixed clans it is!

Throughout the tour, our guide gave us snacks and treats to try. This was our first taste of whiskey and Scottish tablet. Tablet is the Scottish version of fudge.

Glasgow, Scotland

To celebrate fifteen years of marriage, we booked a trip to Scotland! When I was a little kid, my family visited Scotland and I fell in love with the green landscape and bagpipers on the street corner. Ever since I have been dreaming of my return. 

Most of our trip was spent with our Rick Steves tour group (more on that later), but the first day was spent in Glasgow on our own. We flew into Glasgow airport, took the airport shuttle bus downtown and explored the city. I wish we could have spent more time in Glasgow, but that just means we will have to return in the future to see more. 

Our first excursion was meant to be a spooky tour of Glasgow the first night we arrived. However, with 100% chance of rain (and a lot of rain at that), we opted to skip out. It sounded like it was going to be a really interesting tour, so I am a little bummed that the weather was so poor. Next time... 

On our first full day, we headed to the Tenement House. It's a small museum for a slice of life in Glasgow's recent past. We visited something similar in Bulgaria so I was curious to see this place. It did not take very long to go through it all, but it was fun to look at all the old everyday items that were showcased throughout the museum. They also had a fantastic gift shop! 

Glasgow is known for its plethora of street art. Next time I visit, I hope to take a street art walking tour to see more of it. However, just walking around we saw quite a few pieces. This one is said to depict their patron saint, Saint Mungo. 

When in the UK, you almost have to do two things: ride on a double decker bus and drink tea. Well, we crossed off both of those in one go with an afternoon tea experience ON a vintage double decker bus! It was a rainy day, so this was a convenient way to see the city while sipping on delicious tea and enjoying little sandwiches and desserts.

After our ride around Glasgow, we walked over to the Glasgow Cathedral to see it. We have visited many churches and cathedrals around Europe. This one had the most number of people working (or volunteering?) inside. 

One really great thing about visiting Scotland is that it's an English speaking country. I love visiting other places in Europe, but there was something so convenient about not having to translate restaurant menus. For our final dinner in Glasgow, we opted to visit Stack & Still for pancakes. They offer both sweet and savory options. We ordered one savory and one sweet and shared.