Unfortunately not all countries have what I’d call a real Christmas market – the best ones are to be found throughout Germany, Austria and Hungary, but they also exist in Holland, Belgium and a few other places. And this year one of my birthday gifts was a visit to one of the biggest Christmas markets in Germany, not far from the Dutch border – in Oberhausen (see the photo gallery below for some impressions).
Even though our trip was plagued with bad luck, we managed to do all those things which are almost compulsory to really get the feeling of such an event – we drank mulled wine, ate local specialties, bought cute presents for our families and enjoyed the decorations.
So if you need a pick-me-up in the middle of the autumn gloom, go to a place of magic – a Christmas market – and enjoy their unique atmosphere (and mulled wine, of course ;-)