Christmas Market 2011, Munich, Germany

The advent season has begun and though it has started a bit late this year, the cold is slowly but surely creeping through. What better way to warm up than a glass of mulled wine and a visit to the Christmas market? Last year round we visited the Nürnberger Christkindlmarkt and absolutely loved the experience. This year, we decided to take the train down to Munich to experience a different sort of atmosphere. Christmas markets may be rather similar in smaller towns but in larger cities there is always something new on offer. There are in total 24 christmas markets all around the city so there is something for everyone. According to the Munich city website there is even one called Pink Christmas, the gay-lesbian Christkindlmarkt.

We started the day off in Marienplatz, one of the main squares in the city where there was bound to be some tourist action and picture taking opportunities.

As you can see, the city was bustling with visitors and locals alike, all coming out in the spirit of welcoming the advent season (and of course get some wurst and mulled wine!)

A large christmas tree right beside the Glockenspiel.

We were slightly hungry and stopped by for some potato pancakes. I was expecting a savoury pancake but was pleasantly surprised with the dessert like pancake, slightly sweet and filled with raisins.

For the sweet toothed the Schneebällchen (eng. snowballs) seems like a treat, but we decided to give it a miss.

As usual gingerbread is one of the more popular sweets being on sale in christmas markets especially those with wordings and decorations. However I myself am not a big fan of those on sale here; the Elisenlebkuchen variety from Nürnberg being the only gingerbread that I like. They did have the Elisenlebkuchen on sale here as well, but slightly more expensive than what I paid for in Nürnberg the last year.

Some clay miniatures we saw along the way.

We then walked on to Odeonsplatz and found a few signboards leading to another Christmas market in the area. This time it was a medieval themed christmas market, catering to a completely different crowd. The medieval market is located in a square which you can find by turning left from the Mercedes Benz showroom nearby Odeonsplatz.

The stalls are different here; having unique designs that resemble structures from the medieval age. The stalls are hugely personalised and even the manning personel are draped in medieval attire.

An acrobat group who were performing while we were there. Hugely entertaining especially for the kids!

The things they sell here are different as well. Not too sure about the usablility in the modern age, but they sure make interesting house decorations!

Steel weaponary were on sale here as well. Sadly, no jousting competitions to spectate on!

Bio beer creatively named as finest mead, cherry mead, Viking's blood

Medieval clothing for those wanting to relive the olden days!

Stamps to seal letters with wax.

A uniquely built shop which resembled a wooden tower.

Food was prepared the traditional way, with firewood or charcoal. There were no electric ovens in sight thats for sure!

Roast wild boar on a spitfire. We would have liked to try this but the lunch we had was a bit on the heavy side.

We did however try some apple pie as dessert. From the queue that formed outside the shop, we knew it was one of the more popular stalls in the area; together with the wild boar and a soup shop. The apple was deep fried in a batter and then served in a bowl with vanilla sauce and cinammon sugar. Tastewise it was great especially when dipped in the sauce. Sort of like goreng pisang with apples instead with an addictive vanilla sauce!

Another item in the shop called Ausgezogene, literally "the pulled-out", which we didnt try.

After walking around a bit we decided to move on to the next market, the Weihnachtsdorf in the Residenz which is the former Royal Palace of Munich monarchs. The market is situated in the courtyard and features a musical band playing various instruments, one of them being the harp, as visitors walk through the stalls. The items on sale were largely similar to ones you might find outside, the hugest difference in this market being the musical band and also the uniquely built bratwurst stall.

Beatiful star-shaped lights, which cost a fortune from we overheard!

As we have come to discover in our many years frequenting Christmas markets, when the night comes, the beauty of the Christmas market really shines through. We made our way back to Marienplatz after dinner just to take in the beautiful lights and sights. It really does give a sense of a Winter Wonderland - minus the snow.

As the sign says, Happy Holidays!

Full set of photos available to view here. Click here to read about the Nuremberg Christmas Market 2011.

Christkindlmarkt am Marienplatz is available from November 25th to December 24th 2011.Click here for opening times.

Medieval Christmas Market available from November 24th until December 23rd 2011. Click here for opening times.

Weihnachtsdorf in the Residenz Christmas Market available from November 24th to December 22nd 2011. Click here for opening times.

*This guest post was written by The Unc.