Christmas Markets in Nordrhein-Westfalen

Munchies:  Herzwaffel (Heart-Shaped Waffle) with powdered sugar, Eierpunch (Spiked Egg Nog with Heavy Whipped Cream)

The Weihnachtsmarkt wrapped around the Rathaus, shown here.  This shows the front square, the statue of Charlesmagne being visible just right of the front door.  It was amazing -- people by the hundreds were streaming in from all directions, and the market hadn't even opened yet!  

This is the backside of the Rathaus, pointed towards the Cathedral roughly an hour later.  As you can see, the aisles were crammed, but it still wasn't too bad, the people were moving.  There were dozens of tour groups, many English-speaking, who were there to visit the Cathedral, but the Cathedral was closed due to a wedding service until mid-afternoon.

Munchies:  Grilled mushrooms with creamy garlic sauce, reibekuchen (hashed potato pancakes) with applesauce

This is the Rathaus Square in the Altstadt, one end of the Nicholasmarkt.  It wasn't quite as busy as Aachen's, at least not until about mid-afternoon.  However, the regular department stores and factory outlets (of which there were many) operated extended hours and were quite full until early evening.  When they started closing, people by the thousands poured into the streets to get a bratwurst.

The Nikolausmarkt extended along Flingerstrasse and into this somewhat hidden market square on Grabenstrasse.   I loved the display of the Christmas trees with the red ribbons and the strings of flexible lights around the trees the covered the sanitary modern urbanized setting.  This picture was taken around 4, when the sun was beginning to set and some of the stores were closing.

Munchies:  Backfisch (deep-fried battered whitefish) with remoulade (creamy dill sauce) on a bun.

Here's a shot in the Domplatz with the Dom in the background.  What you don't see here is the huge Christmas tree that stood above the square with lights streaming down to the huts.  There was also a huge sound stage where some excellent musicians sang popular Christmas tunes all the way until closing time. 

This was the other Christmas, in the Neumarkt to the west of downtown.  It was simpler and more traditional that the one in the Domplatz, so I spent more time there.

One interesting thing about Cologne's fest is that they commission local artists to do yearly edition artistic gluhwein mugs.  Most cities simply use the same mug design each year and just change the year.  Not Cologne, where you can actually buy "vintage year" mugs back to 1997.

Munchies:  Szegerbinde Gulasch (Hungarian goulash made with sauerkraut, pepper, and chunks of pork) served in a brown-bread bowl topped with sour cream.

The Bonner Weihnachtsmarkt snaked around four different market squares, starting at the Munsterplatz, passing around the Sterntor (Old City Gate, shown here at left), and ending at the Kirchen Pavillion, where another artificial ice rink was erected just like in Dusseldorf.  The very decorative Bonn Rathaus was converted into an Advent Calendar for the occasion, with 25 numbers located among its many windows, a new one being turned on each day.

This is a shot of the Munsterplatz, with the Weihnachtsmarkt stage in center.  Originally when I arrived, a puppeteer was entertaining the children.  When I returned to take this picture, a pan-flute band had taken his place.  This was about 2:30PM and the crowds were getting much thicker.