Wednesday World Travel - German Christmas Market

image from germany-tourism.com

Now that the holiday season is seriously upon us, I have several themed travel ideas for this month. To start, how about a river cruise through Germany to soak up all the goodness of their traditional Christmas markets? The above picture is from Erfurt, Germany, one of the more famous locations. It's a little winter wonderland straight from a fairy tale!

image from Flickr member tim ellis

I swear, the Christmas spirit must run amock in these places. Look at this whole village made out of gingerbread! Sweet!

image from Flickr member tim ellis

So, while being infected with the holiday spirit, you can also chow down on some serious German food. I'll take 2 bratwursts, please, and a large beer.

image from Flickr member pterodakyl

And did I mention the shopping? The glorious, glorious shopping! Good news is, a lot of cities in the US (especially ones a lot of Germans settled in) have their own Christmas Markets. If money or time gets in the way of travelling to the real thing, check here to find a market a little closer to home.