The Christmas Market in Bamberg, Germany.

The Christmas Market in Bamberg, Germany was nothing short of enchanting.  We first visited in the evening with one of Mr. Meena’s bosses and loved it so much we took the train back to enjoy it again the next week.

We were quickly drawn to the smell of German bratwurst at the Christmas Market.  The Bamberger Bratwurst is two long sausages on a slightly shorter bun; they are currently my second favorite bratwurst variety (after the Nuremberger bratwurst).  Food in hand, we began to survey the Christmas Market stalls.

 

 

The Christmas Market in Bamberg quickly became a favorite – especially after our less than impressive experience in Würzburg and being totally overwhelmed by the crowds in Nuremburg.  There was an incredible variety of food and drink in Bamberg for us to choose from.  I wrote down just a few of the many glühwein options:  Turbo-glühwein (which means it’s even stronger than usual), Heidelbeer-glühwein, Christkindl-glühwein, Kirsch-glühwein (cherry), Rosé-glühwein, and Bratapfel-glühwein (apple).  In addition, they had Eier-punsch, which is similar to eggnog and was an exciting discovery for Mr. Meena.  There was also Schoko-Jäger (yes, chocolate jagermeister), Lumumba (as far as I can tell it’s a blend of cocoa, cream, and rum), a liquid apple pie cocktail, and Schokolade mit amaretto or Baileys (hot chocolate with Baileys or Amaretto).  And that’s just what I was able to write down while Mr. Meena was ordering!

 

 

There was even a booth called ‘Feuerzangenbowle’ – signifying the German drink that takes rum-soaked sugarloaf, sets it on fire, and then puts in into mulled wine.  I was not brave enough to try it.

My favorite food item was called ‘Quarkbällchen’.  It’s akin to a donut hole but fluffier and with a hearty helping of the German cheese called quark.  It’s flat out amazing, and only 70 cents!

 

 

The Christmas Market in Bamberg offers everything from a Finnland booth where you can sample anything you want (but no double dippers, or you have to buy the entire thing), loud Christmas music in English, a route with 36 nativity scenes, and a big chair where you can pretend to be Santa for a photo.

 

 

 

And of course I have to mention the great lengths that Bamberg takes in decorating the city.  It’s gorgeous during the day with sites like this one.

 

 

I don’t know how that tree stands up to the weight of the ornaments.

 

 

After we sampled everything our hearts desired at the Christmas Market in Bamberg we decided we should probably get some exercise and see the nativity scenes.  I had read about the nativity trail and was excited to walk the streets of Bamberg and see them – but here’s the deal: it’s not actually a nativity trail.  It’s a map (that you can get at the Bamberg Tourist Center) that combines 36 different nativity scenes that are spread-out within the city in a completely random and unhelpful order.  We did our best to see some of the route while squinting at numbers and German words on a tiny brochure.  Oh well.  Here’s what I can tell you about the nativity route:

• If you really want to see all 36 stops you should probably invest in a bus pass for the day so that you can traverse Bamberg more easily.
• The first nativity scene is next to the brochures in the Tourist Center.
• Don’t expect all the nativity scenes to be worth the effort you put into finding them. Some of them will disappoint (the nativity scene with two dolls in a dark corner of one church comes to mind).
• We started at the Tourist Center and meandered around finding the nativity scenes until we reached the train station. Here’s the order that we saw the scenes (according to the map) and information for the ones we saw:
  • #9: St. Stephan. This was a very plain nativity scene with small sculptures.  I wouldn’t bother unless you want to see the church anyway.
  • #8: Obfere Pfarre. A very German nativity scene; definitely worth our time.
  • #32: Dohlushaus.  This was the first one we saw outside.  It was well done.

 

 

• #7: Karmelitenkirche. Mr. Meena and I were very pleased with how realistic this nativity scene was (although we couldn’t find Jesus); it even had a glimmering fire.
• #11: St. Jakob. I do not recommend this stop.  The nativity scene is so small and has such a bad location that we almost left before we found it.
• #6: Historisches Museum. This scene cannot be viewed from the lobby of the museum (aka the free area) so we just viewed it’s likeness on the sign out front.
• #10: Dom. This was my favorite nativity that we saw.  It’s rather simple but it has a waterfall feature – plus, the Dom is a site that you should visit anyway.

We also got lost after visiting #7 and ended up wandering in the countryside of Bamberg.  At first we were frustrated but then we realized that it had been months since we had the freedom to walk in an open area!  Living in a hotel and not having a car will do that to you, I suppose.

 

 

We were able to find our way back to the Christmas Market in Bamberg as it got dark.  Every building, street, and stall was lit up with Christmas lights!  I was completely mesmerized and wanted to stay in Bamberg all evening… I surely hope that you have the fortune of getting to visit Bamberg at Christmas time.