The Lively Freiburg Christmas Market

AS A UNIVERSITY TOWN, THE FREIBURG CHRISTMAS MARKET IS A LIVELY ONE:

Merry Christmas banner

Freiburg im Breisgau is the gateway to the Black Forest region and on our way back to our Black Forest hotel and we call in at the lively Freiburg Christmas Market. The Freiburg Weinachtmarkt is held on the Rathausplatz (town hall square). The Christmas market also extends to Kartoffelmarkt, Franziskanerstrasse, Turmstrasse and Unterlindenplatz.

Sights of Freiburg

Freiburg is a vibrant university town and our Christmas market visit is a part of our German Christmas market tour. Although the Karlsplatz coach parking lot is a fair distance from the Christmas market, we didn’t mind the walk. Freiburg is a new destination for us and the walk allows us to catch some of the sights of the old town, even if only briefly. We walk across Münsterplatz where the mighty Freiburg Minster, (the town’s Gothic cathedral), towers over the central square. It is already dark when we arrive, but with the Christmas lights on, the square looks romantic. We are able to see the other beautiful buildings on the square, such as the Historical Merchants’ Hall and the Alte Wache.

The towering Freiburg Cathedral on Munsterplatz

From Münsterplatz we cross the brightly lit Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse shopping district, to arrive at Rathausplatz.

Best Salmon Sandwich

Our rather fast walk from the coach parking lot comes to a grinding halt near a market stall that sells roast salmon rolls. Freiburg happens to be our dinner stop and luckily for us, the roast salmon suits us just fine. In fact, the roast salmon roll turns out to be the best salmon sandwich we’ve ever tasted.

Roast salmon stall at the Freiburg Christmas market

The salmon is freshly roasted on a pit and it is a taste sensation, which explains the large queue at the stall. No visit to a German Christmas market is complete without having some glühwein and we of course have some with our meal.

Salmon on the pit

Freiburg Christmas Market Stalls

Being Friday night, the market is packed with young locals, presumably university students, out for an evening with friends. Our dinner taken care of, we stroll around the market stalls. There are the usual stalls selling candles, hats, jewellery, scarfs, souvenirs, etc. Having just spent the day at the rather extensive Strasbourg Christmas markets, we didn’t see anything here that is a must-have. The licht hauser (model houses that light up) are interesting, but they’re a bit delicate to transport.

Stall selling licht hauser

At the stall that sells nice hand-made wood products, Tony comes dangerously close to liking the large wooden bowls. Unfortunately, or fortunately, they’re a bit heavy to carry home.

Stall selling wood products

Our stroll around the Christmas market stalls comes to an abrupt end when it begins to drizzle quite heavily. On our way back to the coach station we stop to check out the Karlsplatz shopping arcade and then return to the coach as by now the rain is coming down quite heavily.