Max Pizhevsky on chocolate bolts and mulled wine in Berlin
In Berlin, December is beautiful, bright and festive. Christmas markets, which open in huge numbers in December, create a special atmosphere. If you wish, you can visit ten fairs, or you can choose just one and spend the whole evening there. Finding a Christmas market in Berlin is not difficult: they are everywhere. The easiest way is to get out of the metro at Alexanderplatz and walk to the Brandenburg Gate along the central streets. Along the way, you will encounter at least seven fairs. At Alexanderplatz, there are probably the most tourists. It's a thoroughfare: the famous city clock is invisible against the backdrop of numerous Christmas pavilions, houses and stalls. The Christmas market at Charlottenburg Palace is rightfully considered one of the best in Berlin. In the evening it is especially beautiful: the fair and the palace blaze with Christmas lights. But at Moritzplatz, the market is very small, not touristy and not as standard as many in the center: most of the sellers are simple German guys who sell what they made with their own hands.
What is sold at Christmas markets in Berlin is a topic for a separate article. I, for example, was amazed by the seemingly real rusty tools, keys, horseshoes, gears, bolts and nuts. In fact, they were made of pure... chocolate! In general, at the Berlin fair you can buy any souvenir – from gingerbread to a Christmas tree. Well, so that buyers don't freeze, mulled wine is sold everywhere.
Natalia Anisimova on honey, glögg and Joulupukki in Helsinki
In December, rows of small red houses – stalls – are set up on the Esplanade (the central boulevard leading to the Market Square on the shore of the Gulf of Finland). On the counters are all sorts of Christmas souvenirs. From woolen leggings, knitted hats, mittens, socks, bags to jewelry. Just don't come here on Saturday! Crowds of tourists create traffic jams in the narrow passage. You won't be able to see anything properly. And you won't be able to grab a bite of fried fish or warm up with a hot sausage in the cold either: there are queues everywhere.
Honestly, I have hardly ever bought anything here. Pragmatism in my head greatly outweighs romanticism (souvenirs are quite expensive). I can definitely advise stopping at the honey stalls. Finnish honey is an unsurpassed delicacy in quality! There I also saw tubes of Sauna – Hunaja – this honey is used in saunas. Don't pass by the confectionery stalls. If not a gingerbread glazed house, then a box of homemade ginger Christmas cookies, which are eaten with hot glögg, you must buy.
While walking along the rows, you can also meet the kind Joulupukki – the Finnish Santa Claus in a red coat and with a bag (he, by the way, often speaks Russian). People come to the Christmas market in Helsinki not only for shopping, but also for smells and tastes. And never leave here without drinking a glass of aromatic glögg with spices.
Natalia Simonenko on trdelník, mulled wine and souvenirs in Prague
I used to think that Christmas markets are more oriented towards tourists and visitors, but Czechs themselves often visit them, because at such markets you can buy relatively inexpensive Christmas souvenirs. You can also drink mead, "mulled wine" (mulled wine), eat tasty snacks: from standard hot dogs to fried potato pancakes with garlic and cheese, sausages, roast pork (usually a whole pig or ham is roasted right there on a spit).
Sweets are represented by Christmas gingerbread, candies of various shapes, nuts in sugar. Special attention deserves trdelník or trdlo. It is a pastry: a layer of sweet dough is wound onto a hot iron roller and baked, it turns out very tasty.
At Old Town Square, in addition to trade stalls, a small pen with animals is also set up, and children can easily pet a goat, donkey, rabbits or a lamb. Right next to the animals, special feed for them is sold for a small fee, so you can hand-feed your favorite animal. In addition, a stage is set up on Old Town Square, where concerts are held throughout the month until Christmas (December 25 for Catholics).
Yulia Dovgopola on Saint Lucia, nativity scenes and lights of Barcelona Barcelona Christmas market bears the name of the blind Saint Lucia (stress on the "u"). Santa Lucia is the patroness of tailors and seamstresses and the feast in honor of this saint is December 13. Just before Christmas. The people of Barcelona greatly respect this saint and in the distant year 1786, in front of the Barcelona Cathedral, which, by the way, has a chapel with Saint Lucia, the first Christmas market was organized.
Figurines of nativity scenes were sold at this market. Now you can also buy miniature houses, utensils, furniture and characters for home Christmas theaters. Everything is handmade. Cute gifts and Christmas tree decorations are also sold here in large quantities. In general, at the Saint Lucia fair there is something to see and you can, if not buy, then get charged with New Year's mood. Barcelona in bright festive lights is a sight worth seeing at Christmas!
Natalia Kirichenko on sausages, pizza and sheepskin stalls in Verona
Wonderful time before Christmas: joyful bustle and anticipation of the holiday – the waiting is even more interesting than Christmas itself. Well, Christmas markets create a wonderful atmosphere of fairy tale and miracle. In Italy itself, there is no tradition of Christmas markets as such, but in Verona on Piazza Dante, an authentic market from Nuremberg has been 'visiting' for several years now. Here you can buy Christmas tree decorations, traditional figurines for the 'presepe' (nativity scene), food for the holiday. And I really like the 'sheepskin' stalls – here are hats, slippers, mittens, woolen socks, just skins, toys made from sheepskin...
Stalls with hot German food are very popular – sausages with 'krauti' sell like hotcakes. But the greatest success is wood-fired pizza; there's a queue for it even when there's no one at the market. Indeed, no matter what you feed an Italian, they'll still look at pizza. And of course, here you'll find the tastiest mulled wine. I make it at home too, and buy ready-made in the store, but it's always tastier at the market.
Tasha Gordon on chocolate, handmade goods, and light shows in Brussels
Europe at Christmas is incredible, especially when it snows. True, by our standards, the snow is "just a sprinkling," but it still adds to the mood. And on the streets are Christmas markets. In countless little shops, there's a sea of souvenirs, cute handmade items, and of course, tasty food and mulled wine. The shop windows and streets are fairy-tale decorated. And chocolate everywhere! To say that in Brussels it's on every corner is an understatement. This treat of all colors and shapes is literally everywhere: from small shops to luxurious salons. Belgian producers are legally prohibited from using artificial additives; only natural products are used, and you can taste it. A great gift for loved ones for Christmas and New Year!
And also in Christmas Brussels, I was captivated by the evening light shows on the city's main square. To Christmas melodies and classical music, buildings shimmer in all colors of the rainbow. Deer, fairies, Santas, and comic book characters race across the walls. The square transforms every second. It's really worth seeing.
Natalia Polyanskaya on punch and a glut of toys in Vienna
Before Christmas, Vienna turns into one big market – even the monumentality of the Habsburgs takes a back seat. Everywhere there are lanterns, stalls, punch, and crowds of people, but people are invariably friendly. Even when you're jostling at the popular tourist market at the City Hall, you still feel like you're about to fly from positive emotions. Your eyes run wild – so much beauty around. And on the tables of all the food and drink stalls, there are lanterns of various shapes. When it gets dark, they light candles inside them, and it's real magic.
The City Hall market is recognizable in all photos by its characteristic piles of Christmas tree ornaments. Sometimes it's unclear where in this monstrous accumulation of balls, bunnies, stars, and incomprehensible but generously glitter-dusted doodads the seller is sitting, from whom you can buy a couple of items. But there are plenty of other goods as well. Starting at least with traditional Christmas gingerbread. Or candles and wax products – positive and unusual. At smaller markets further from the City Hall, they sell not so much souvenirs and tree ornaments as handmade goods.
Among the tasty things, besides the inevitable sausages, potatoes, and other hot snacks, sweets and pastries are sold. But the most important thing at any Christmas market is, of course, punch and mulled wine! Firstly, it's delicious. Secondly, without drinking hot beverages, it's impossible to walk around the market for long: it's not particularly cold, above zero, and nothing is dripping from the sky, but it's terribly damp and chilly. So alcoholic drinks can and should be consumed! And for those who don't like alcohol, non-alcoholic punch is sold.