If you visit only one Christmas market in this part of Europe, make it Cologne’s. When I saw how crowded Cologne’s Christmas markets were, I wasn’t surprised that its four main markets attract over two million visitors a year. Cologne has the best Christmas markets I’ve seen thus far in Europe. The wares were diverse […]
Bonner Weihnachtsmarktes, or Bonn’s Christmas Markets
Bonn’s Christmas markets sprawl throughout the city center, across the main squares Münsterplatz and Friedensplatz and streets Bottlerplatz, Windeckstrasse, and Vivatsgasse. It’s very convenient that they’re all adjacent, especially when it’s raining like it was when I visited! 170+ wooden chalets offer local crafts, toys, decorative items, sweets and other gift items. There’s no shortage […]
Trierer Weihnachtsmarkt, or Trier’s Christmas Market
Trier’s Christmas market has a pleasant array of appealing vendors in its 95 stands. You’d be hard-pressed not to find some gifts. The booths offer decorative items, candles, ceramics and wooden and glass crafts, knitwear and wooden toys. Trier, Germany’s oldest town, is located about half an hour from Luxembourg. For more of its history, […]
Christmas in Brussels
The Electronic Fir is the best fake Christmas tree I’ve ever seen! If you’re going to forgo the real thing, you might as well go big. The 24-meter tall light installation that currently adorns Brussels’ Grand Place was created by Paris-based architects Pier Schneider and Francois Wunschel. The structure’s steel frame is covered with wood […]
Bûche de Noël
Bûche de Noël (you might recognize it as a yule log) is a delicious Christmas specialty, popular in Luxembourg, France and Belgium. These log-shaped cakes were traditionally made with sponge cake and chocolate buttercream and garnished to look like a log that would be ready to be tossed onto the pile in the ancient fire-festival […]
A Luxembourg Christmas
In Luxembourg, as in much of Europe, Christmas Eve is the big night. Families gather together around the Christmas tree in the early evening and later attend Midnight Mass. The most popular mass is at The Eglise Saint Michel at the Fëschmaart. A popular English-language mass is at The Anglican Church in the Konvikt Chapel […]
Gift Wrapping
One of the best parts of Christmas shopping in Luxembourg is the complimentary gift-wrapping service offered in every shop and mall. Of course, then you have to remember who gets which package…
Kleeschen, or St. Nicholas
In Luxembourg, there is no Santa Claus. Instead, Kleeschen, or St. Nicholas, descends from heaven on the evening of December 5th. He visits every child’s house and consults his trusty “Book of Sins.” If the child has been good, he will put sweets into the waiting shoes that the child thoughtfully placed near the fireplace […]