Christmas Season – Christmas Market in Bremen

I spent a few days in Bremen last week, and stuck to my resolution to haunt as many Christmas Markets as possible this year.  There was neither snow nor frost, which diminished the Christmassy feel, but I nevertheless enjoyed it immensely.

The main difference between German Christmas Markets and all other, lesser, markets, is that the German ones sell not only food and the sort of thing one can just as easily buy in the usual shops, but also all sorts of things one can only buy once a year – at the Christmas Market.

My favourites are the ornaments by Käthe Wohlfahrt, like the one below.  It is possible to go to one of the shops that sell them all year round, but these are few and far between, and the best way to buy these ornaments remains the Christmas Market.

The trouble with most Christmas Markets is that they are totally overrun with people, and it is impossible to take a decent picture of the market overall.  I usually get at least 50% heads!  So I settled again for using photos of individual attractions, rather than those that show a larger part of the market.  Just use the photos below to imagine the rest!

This jolly snowman is in front of the Cathedral – the Bremen market nests in its shadow.  I took some photos, but they are impossible leaning so I had to forget about using them.

I especially like the street lighting in Bremen.  This one depicts the Bremer Stadtmusikanten of Fairytale fame.  Incidentally, there is also a B –League, consisting of a pig, a chicken, a fish, and a butterfly!

Here is the Bremen take on Santa’s Grotto!  Loads of little children queuing to get in, of course. 

Another feature of many German Christmas Markets is the oversized decorations, like the snowman and here, the nutcracker….

Darn it, out of photo memory again!  To be continued!