Christmas time is in the air

An exploration of the Christmas Markets in Munich :)

A view of Munich town hall in the background of Marienplatz Christmas Market

Christmas in Munich, already just sounds like a dream, and trust me it did not disappoint. There is always a debate around when Munich is busiest: is it during Oktoberfest? The summer period with hiking and Bavarian palace exploring? Or is it Christmas? Because despite the cold weather and dark days, the city is completely illuminated and alive at this time. Not only do the shops and cafés decorate, but the city is full of Christmas markets and choir singing. The festive energy is truly everywhere and I have never seen it as strong as I have in Munich.

I feel like I was seeing advent calendars already being sold as October was starting. I do agree that is much too early. I could go through three and it still wouldn’t be Christmas yet. As a strong catholic place, the Christmas period is not only a commercial and marketing strategy, but also a truly strong cultural and religious celebration. Today I will talk about what truly made Christmas in Munich stand out: the abundance of christmas markets. I will talk about a few that are memorable to me.

We often view Christmas markets as a small installation in cities, often inspired from Germany and sometimes not all very inspiring. The amazing thing about the markets in Munich was that there were more than one. In fact, there were around 20. So many that I didn’t even visit all of them. I learnt about a few more even after they has closed, but when you’re balancing university presentation deadlines, exploring the city and preparing everything to go home for the Christmas period, you don’t have time for all.

A boot shaped mug serving Glühwein and Hot chocolates in abundance

The most popular Christmas markets were in the old town. The most famous one, and arguably the most ‘iconic’, was the market at Marienplatz: the main square in Munich. This one was obviously very pretty, but too busy in my opinon, and one could tell that it attracted crowds and tourists more than others. What I liked about this one is that it had a good balance of all types of sellers, and naturally the scenes were so sweet, with music constantly playing and the view of the city hall looming over the fairytale environment. I discovered a few new foods here, including some fried potato rings on a long skewer and a variety of Käsespatzle that is served in a wafer. So comforting and sweet.

The second Christmas market I found interesting was the one pretty much adjacent to Marienplatz, at Rindermarkt, because it had really tasty, sweet hot chocolates served in a Christmas boot shaped mug with lots of cream. So delicious! They also had a circular bratwurst stall. It was rather funny because the sausages were extra-long but that was the whole point, to share with others.

My favourite market was the medieval Christmas market located at Wittelsbacherplatz. It was a fully themed market, with sellers dressed up in medieval dress, stalls decorated in gothic styles and a small procession of children dressed up as knights following dressed up jesters and horses. We had gluhwein which was served from a giant copper cauldron, and flammkuchen on buckwheat with cheese and lardons. What I found interesting was the mix between classic medieval aesthetics like knights, fortified castles and monks, with the more romantic view of medievalism with myths, fairies, princesses and heroic poetry. With stalls with spices, potions and witch costumes. It felt like a complete change of scenery, and a break from the classic commercial Christmas decorations.

A little gathering of people enjoying Mulled wine in Medieval themed chalices.

 On the site of the Oktoberfest and Frühlingsfest beer festivals, the Theresienwiese, is located the Tollwood winter festival. This feels like more of a ‘funfair’ as it is much larger and slightly away from the city. It had a much larger range of offers, including

The Pink Christmas Market in Glockenbach :)

A final shoutout to the Christmas village located in the Residenz palace, where I ate a delicious pork skewer and drank a sweet blueberry mulled wine; and the Glockenbach pink queer market. Yes, everything was pink. Highlights were the DJ dressed up as Santa (in pink of course) and the shop selling hilariously funny figurines.

This truly felt like a magical series of weeks. I’m very grateful to have experienced Christmas in Munich, and so lucky to have had many close friends visit me over this period. My photos feel like postcards, and my memories bring up so many lovely emotions. I will look back at my time here and fondly remember this period as one of the sweetest, a time of comfort despite the cold winter days.