I have gotten better and better at finding those as my German searching skills have improved and as I have gotten to know the towns in our area. Today we thought we'd try to find a market or two in the direction of the Pfalz and started by checking if the smallish (but rather touristy, owing largely to their huge fall Wine festival) town of Bad Durkheim has a market. They don't, but I found a website saying that nearby Freinsheim did, and after a quick google search to confirm it was up and running this weekend, off we went.
Dave and I always debate about actually eating a meal at the markets. The food is good, cheap and plentiful, but also cools down really fast in the outside air, which we don't enjoy. So, we agreed that if we found an interesting looking restaurant in route we would stop, and if not we'd have market fare. Just as we were heading into town we hit the jackpot of inexpensive, charming and tasty restaurant food (with easy parking even!):
Weinparadies Freinsheim is actually a winery (open on Sunday, which does not kill the "no errands" vibe since, really, when is wine tasting tedious?) that also has a cute little Italian restaurant with very good wood fired pizza and a killer (and huge) salad with chicken (plus many other things, but that is what we ate). http://www.weinparadies-freinsheim.de/startseite.html
So we started with lunch:
Before heading into the shop for samples. They have a bright, airy tasting room and shop with pretty displays and a variety of wine related gifts (like jellies made from the wine grapes, etc). This is definitely a place to know about and bring guests; we are so glad we stumbled across it:
Thirty minutes and two cases of wine later, we headed further into town in search of the Weihnachtsmarkt--JACKPOT! Oldtown Freinsheim is yet another little storybook village. The market is big enough to feel worthwhile yet small enough that tourists have not found it (I think we were the only non Germans there). At least 80% of the stalls were quite clearly staffed by local artists or crafters selling their own creations --more than anywhere I have been (and one of those which was not was a local farmer selling her own things as well as spices and dried beans and rices---I was low on rice and salt and wanted more fresh garlic, so this was an exciting find). This was exactly what I wanted (there are photos of the houses around the market as well as the market itself, just because I thought it was all so picturesque):
(dedication statue outside the library)
(the simple and small but sweet little fairy tale forest)
(kids could go in and have a Christmas story read to them)
(some vendors were set up in an old barn--I loved the ceiling and chandelier)
(there is ALWAYS a ride, at every markt)
(I love quirky, angled houses like this in old European towns--look how narrow that is on this end!)
Freinsheim is probably too small and too local to take visitors to, but it was EXACTLY what I wanted in a Christmas Market and I have a feeling I will be going back for many years to come.
On the way home we stopped in Grünstadt to visit their market. It was smaller, and the downtown area more modern, but still a pleasant stop also almost entirely local crafters and artist and charities selling food and drinks, and we got to hear Christmas Carols played on Alpine Horns, which was pretty danged cool! We had some particularly good Gluhwein and were able to buy an entire bottle to bring home.
(I've never seen a market projecting video onto the outside wall of a house before. It felt a little odd seeing that giant fire up there!)
All in all yet another excellent day visiting the Wiehnachtsmarkts--with a bonus of finding a great little winery and restaurant that is perfect to take visitors to.
If you happen to be getting sick of Christmas Market posts, I'm sorry. I have a great love for the things, but they'll be gone in another week and a half or so and then you can safely open the blog without being inundated by my gushing about yet another market.
--Hadley
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