The Freiburg Christmas Market: A Quiet Thursday

So here's the thing about Freiburg and the Christmas Market: it cannot, in any way, be condensed into one post. Not a chance. It just wouldn't do it justice. Nor would it be any fun.

The Freiburg Christmas Market is our favorite Christmas Market (so far) in Europe. We like it so much that this was our second year returning to the city at the holidays, and I have to tell you that I already miss it. The bratwurst, the bretzels, the spaetzel, the streibele, the gluhwein, the festiveness, I could go on and on, but instead I'll just share some pictures from what was our first day back at the Christmas market.

{Pardon the sloppy babywearing, but babygirl had just had a major freakout and fell asleep in the sling before I realized it could use a re-threading. Don't worry, she was safe and sound for the twenty minute cat nap she took, it's just not the prettiest babywear of all time...}

It was a quiet first day at the market, and compared to how the crowds were the following day, I'd definitely recommend hitting up the market during the week if your traveling and work schedule allow. Thursday was calm and for the most part, not overly crowded, but by Friday afternoon it became very crowded. Not so much so that we couldn't enjoy ourselves, but Thursday was definitely easier to maneuver.

What's my favorite thing about the Freiburg Christmas Market? Well, there's just something so festive about German Christmas Markets, and Freiburg does not disappoint. I don't know what it is, but from our experience so far it's something that French and Swiss Christmas markets can't hold a candle to. We're adding a new Swiss Christmas Market to our roster this weekend, so we'll see if Montreux makes me eat my words. Gauntlet thrown Montreux!

Again, pardon the sloppy babywearing. She's a little low in there for my comfort, but she was safe and sound and sleeping which was all that was important to me. Sometimes when it comes to ring slings a quick re-threading makes all the difference, which is what I did after her little 20 minute snooze. Our sling saved us this time around, as we really began to appreciate the differences of traveling with a toddler as compared to traveling with an infant. Last year Oswin just went with the flow, and pretty much slept for the entirety of the market. This year she was more engaged, more opinionated, more likely to explore, and less likely to fall asleep. Lights! People! Cat burglarin' Santas! People people people! She fought the sleepy dust for awhile, but after an epic freakout (that led strangers to come over and shake their keys in the air for her), she was out cold before she was even fully in the sling. We didn't even bring a stroller this year, which meant more room in the car to bring back goodies. Hooray!

Freiburg is a gorgeous little city with history, culture and a Christmas spirit unlike any little market I've been to. It's winding streets and alleys keep the market fresh and interesting, as compared to markets where the stalls are placed in a circle and once you've walked the circle, you're at the end. And for those who enjoy collecting Christmas market mugs, I can happily say that you can pretty much get a different mug at every gluhwein stand, as compared to markets with one general mug. I look at this as a delight, Dan just kind of rolls his eyes at every mug that I bargain to keep. It's a compromise and one that has benefited our mug collection.

As I said in the beginning of this post, Freiburg and The Freiburg Christmas Market cannot be contained to just one post, so prepare to be inundated with Christmas Market posts all week. I'd love to hear from you guys though: where is your favorite Christmas Market?

A la prochaine friends...

Honey