Since arriving here in Sicily, it seems like everyone we’ve met has talked about going to Christmas markets somewhere in Europe. This year, it was our turn! Last weekend, we packed the kids up and headed to Frankfurt, Germany and Strasbourg, France, to see them for ourselves. I’ll get to that second one in another post but for now — the Frankfurt Christmas markets.

First of all, if you go I recommend eating all the things.* Also shopping, but eating all the things too. Even Owen ate. Our kid who basically doesn’t eat anything (especially not pasta or anything with sauce, so it’s great that we live in Italy) was RAVENOUS the entire time we walked around the Frankfurt Christmas markets. Like he ate a giant bratwurst on his own, then half an hour later was asking for another. We thought he was joking, but once we finally gave in he devoured that too. Perhaps he was meant to live in Germany?? Anyway, sorry for the detour story on Owen’s eating but I seriously can’t explain enough how freaking astonishing it was.  

*It has just occurred to me to wonder whether I’ve talked more about eating stuff since getting pregnant? I suspect the answer is yes. Consolation prize for no beer in Germany or wine in France, I guess?

ANYWAY … back to the Christmas markets.

Why the Frankfurt Christmas markets?

Basically, we sort of lucked into it. Chris took charge of planning this trip, and he started by looking at what direct flights were available for the weekends we were considering going to a market somewhere. Once he saw cheap flights to Frankfurt, he started doing a bit of research and found that the city has several Christmas markets that looked fabulous. So, we were sold.

Where to stay in Frankfurt?

For the third trip in a row, we used points for our hotel stay. (I’m going to do a points round-up soon on all that, but the short story is we’ve had 20 free nights this year). This time, we stayed at the Hampton by Hilton Frankfurt City Centre Messe for a 25,000 Hilton points/night for two nights. It certainly wasn’t as fancy as the Hilton Malta or Berlin Marriott, but it was pleasant and close enough to a train station to be very convenient.

Visiting the Frankfurt Christmas markets with kids

Right off the bat, I’ll tell you that we primarily saw the markets during morning and early afternoon Saturday. We went back in the evening on Saturday night (after unsuccessfully attempting to eat at several restaurants — hot tip, if you are going to be anywhere near the Frankfurt Christmas markets on a Saturday night, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble by getting a dinner reservation somewhere ahead of time. D’oh!) but ended up heading home early after I started feeling really crappy and needed to get off my feet. The crowds were pretty large in the evening, no doubt related to it being Saturday night and people being gathered to hear the tower horns on the balcony of St. Nicolas Church that evening (they play Wednesdays and Saturdays at 6 p.m.)

Anyway, the markets: the Frankfurt city website is claiming the Frankfurt Christmas markets are some of the biggest in Germany. It covers a pretty huge area in central Frankfurt, but the main place — meaning the spot with the giant Christmas tree, which Frankfurt also says is the biggest in Germany — is Romerberg. It’s a big public square right in front of the Romer building complex, which has been the seat of the Frankfurt government for about 500 years. Nearby you’ll also find Old St. Nicolas Church (why is it called that? I don’t know, maybe there’s a newer one?) and Frankfurt Cathedral. We ended up not going into either, but if we ever go back I definitely will as I’ve subsequently heard that the Cathedral was the coronation spot for Holy Roman Emperors for 300 years.

So, what do we recommend?

1. Ride the carousel in Romerberg. If you are heading to the Frankfurt Christmas markets with the kiddos, make sure you hit the carousel! It’s a huge double-decker affair, but you’ll want to make sure you get a seat before it starts. Otherwise you will end up awkwardly jumping off with your two kids WHILE IT IS MOVING because we sure as hell didn’t pay like princely sum of a couple Euro to just stand on the thing. (We got first dibs on the second try).

2. Grab some kinderpunsch. Or, as the kids described it, “kid wine.” It’s warm, it’s delicious and it comes in a sweet cup (that you return to get your deposit back). I also had a fair bit of it, being deprived  of the delicious gluhwein (mulled wine) that Chris got. Side note for every adult visiting the markets: get some of the gluhwein. They heat it up on a giant copper kettle, then periodically pour rum over a huge hunk of sugar that melts into it. Don’t forget to grab a commemorative cup too.

3. Shop! 

Normally shopping isn’t my kid’s favorite thing, but this time they were tasked with picking out stuff for our various family members. For those family members who may be reading this: if some of your gifts seem a bit random when they arrive, this is why. I deferred to their judgement.

4. Eat. Well, this was probably predictable. But at least half the shops there was at the market seemed to be selling food, and for a good reason. It was fabbbuloussssssss. So, I’ll end with a list of what we ate and pictures of us doing it. You’re welcome.

5. Special events

Well, we heard the tower horns on the balcony at St. Nick’s on Saturday, but there are a lot of different events depending on when you are there, including Santa visits a bit closer to Christmas — check the website here.

Next up: our visit to Strasbourg, France!