Bad Wimpfen Christmas Market
Oh this one was magical! The real, little Christmas trees over the doorways all along the cobbled streets reminded me of York, and the winding streets with chalet after chalet of gifts and food and lights felt magical even before it grew dark.
Bad Wimpfen Christmas market happens the first three weekends of Advent and was one that was high on my list for this year. Christmas markets can get really crowded (think constant shoulder to shoulder) so our strategy has been to go earlier in the day to beat the rush and still enjoy some lights as we finish. It makes it so much easier to find parking and be able to see what each chalet has to offer.
This particular Christmas Market (Weihnachtsmarkt) is known as one of the most traditional and oldest markets in Germany. Just the drive there is worth it as it winds along the river and through some of the most beautiful landscape of wine country and castles. The city itself is an old, walled city with so much charm. I loved that this market winded through all the streets inside the walls and wasn’t just centered around the one main square (Marktplatz).
In the main church, I loved seeing the original altar pieces, and the kids loved seeing Advent wreath and nativity just for children. Musicians were just coming in with their instruments as we were leaving and I really wanted to stay to hear them!
We drank more kinderpunsch and ate the best pommes (fries) we’ve ever had —having lived in Belgium that is a bold statement to make! But, my favorite treat I had been waiting to try was a chimney cake covered in cinnamon and sugar. Chimney cakes are originally from Hungary but you can find them all over Europe now, and even in the US. It is bread dough/pastry that is wrapped around a wooden spool and cooked over a fire, so they are really fun to watch being made. When you order one, it comes hot, right off the fire, rolled in toppings, slipped off the spool and placed in a cellophane bag so when you hold it the steam is piping out of the top, just like a chimney. I loved it!
We left with full tummies and happy that we got to see it all before the crowds became a bit too claustrophobic. Really, the Christmas markets have mostly been shut down the last two years, so they are beyond capacity this year with everyone so happy to get out and see them again. My friend calls this “revenge tourism”…we were all stuck in for too long and now the world is filled to the max nearly everywhere you go — especially in tourist seasons.
So my best tip if you have kids, want to actually see things, and like to be able to order the food you want, have a table to stand at, etc. etc., is GO EARLY!
We loved Bad Wimpfen and would definitely visit again.
