The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Christmas in Europe

An American's view of Europe at Christmas time in Germany, France, England, and Denmark

In college, my German teacher asked her San Diego State class if we'd ever been to a Christmas Market. We gave her a puzzled look. Most of us had never heard of one before. She shook her and said you poor children. Again, we were baffled. Are we, the children of Southern California, being deprived? The seed had been planted, and I vowed one day I would experience Christmas time in Europe.

Years later, I would travel to Europe frequently and had the opportunity to explore a few Christmas Markets. My professor was right. They were magical. But not all were created equally. I've sorted my good, bad, and ugly experiences of Europe during Christmas time.

The Good

Nuremberg, Germany, is a medieval walled city with a castle overlooking the town. The stone streets weave in and out of the cute little stores, including Christmas Mecca, Käthe Wohlfahrt. It's a year-round store that is full of Christmas delights. On a few trips, I wore more layers than I wanted to on the plane home, as my suitcase was stuffed with Christmas goodies from Käthe Wohlfahrt.

Like many European towns, the Old Town has a large square, usually accompanied by a vast cathedral. Nuremberg features the Church of Our Lady, which dates back to the 14th century.

What is unique about Nuremberg is the Beautiful Fountain. It stands about 62 feet high and has two brass rings you can spin to make a wish come true or for good luck. I have heard both. Both are in the area of the market square.

The Main Market Square, or Hauptmarkt, in Nuremberg, becomes a special Christmas Market during the holiday season, with vendors selling mostly food and drinks. It does get crowded, but wasn’t overly so when I was there. Many of the shops, both mainstream and specialty, get into the spirit with their decorations. It’s a festive scene with old-world charm.

It's not only Germany that serves up a mean Christmas Market. France provided some competition. We made a brief pit stop in Strasbourg, France, to wander the city at night and see how their interpretation of Christmas faired. Spoiler: it faired pretty well.

The Good Continued

I confess Strasbourg, France, was not my idea. A friend surprised me with a stop on our way to the Black Forest, which sits on the border of France and Germany. After driving around looking for parking outside the city center, I was relatively unimpressed by the sights so far. But once we walked into the Old Town, it felt like a fairytale.

The architecture was stunning, and the town embraced Christmas. Almost every shop had some decorations, whether lights or Christmas decor; it was festive.

Despite the cold, we walked around for hours, discovering unique sights. Then, after I turned a corner, Notre Dame was in front of me. It's not the one most people know in Paris, but a Notre Dame nonetheless. Completed in 1439, this Gothic cathedral towers over the surrounding buildings, making it an impressive sight. It is known as Notre Dame of Strasbourg.

It was the timbered medieval buildings that I found the most charming. The type of old building that doesn't have one straight line anywhere to be found and can only be described as wonderfully wonky. They were found in abundance.

We walked past chocolate shops and restaurants. Then, we stopped at a vendor for another cup of mulled Alsace wine, cider, or hot cocoa to keep warm. When it finally seemed that we had wandered every winding alley in the Old Town section, we reluctantly left.

Strasbourg was one of the most impressive and interesting cities I have been to, and being at Christmas time made it that much more special.

The Bad

While escorting my elderly family through Europe, we arrived in London right after Christmas. You can find that article here if you'd like to read more about that adventure.

London is one of my favorite cities, and I was excited to see it around Christmas time. A European friend told me we had to go to Christmas at Kew Gardens as it was amazing.

I looked online, and it advertised, "It's a botanical world brimming with seasonal cheer as twinkling lights and seasonal sounds fill the air."

It sounded like a no-brainer, and I booked tickets. We took an Uber there as my uncle was disabled and was limited in his walking. We asked the driver to let us off as close to the entrance as possible because of this. He did, and when he got out of the car to help my four slow and elderly family members, we were approached by a Kew Gardens employee who began to scream at us for illegal parking. I tried to explain we had disabled people, but she wouldn't hear of it. Then, the Uber driver and the employee began yelling at each other. I quickly ushered my confused family inside.

Once inside, it was just as much as a zoo as the outside was. I flagged down an employee and told him we needed a wheelchair. He brought it and yelled at me when I did not wait precisely where he said. This was not off to a great start.

I hoped the amazing lights would put us in a better mood once we got to the gardens. They did not. I don't know if my perception of what a fantastic light show is skewed, but I've seen better Christmas lights on my residential street. The lights were so unmoving I barely took out my camera.

The crowds were just awful, and once you began down the path, it was one way. We had no choice but to push through until the end. We trudged along with the slow selfie-taking pace of the crowd like we were part of a zombie horde.

My dad rolled my uncle's wheelchair over several zombies, I mean people's, feet who would not move out of the way or who stepped in front of them. Instead of mumbling brains, we mumbled lights. We hoped and failed to see something impressive enough to make this hassle worth it.

Ultimately, we were underwhelmed by the lights and overwhelmed by the hordes of people.

The Ugly

I left the Arctic, Tromso, Norway, for my final destination on my Scandinavian tour, Copenhagen, Denmark. If you'd like to read what Tromso, my favorite place in Scandinavia, was like, click the link below.

The trip didn't start well when I stood in the Star Alliance Gold and First Class line. A lady approached me, informing me I was in the wrong line and this was for First Class only. I raised an eyebrow at her and informed her I was Star Alliance Gold. She apologized and shrugged.

I arrived at the Marriot to check in and stood in the elite member check-in line. A man in the regular line began to yell at me and accused me of cutting. I explained to him I was a Titanium elite member and that this line was for elite members. If he was an elite member of Marriot, then he was welcome to go in front of me. He remained silent. So far, my start in Copenhagen has been rocky.

I walked through the Christmas Market the next day, and my holiday spirit was renewed. This market, however, was lined with designer shops. Louis Vuitton and Chanel, it was like being back in California. The architecture was impeccable, and there were straight lines everywhere. No wonky buildings.

As I walked around, I couldn't help but feel that the people around me were looking down on me. Shop owners were not welcoming and impatient with me. Even the food vendors seemed put out by my presence and reluctantly filled my order. It might have been my imagination, but I could swear more than once, I saw people looking and talking about me.

I am a biracial person as my father is Native American and Spanish, and my mother is of British descent. When I travel, I usually have a chameleon effect. But not in Copenhagen. I stood out like a sore thumb despite my Max Mara coat. I wondered if what I was experiencing was racism or maybe they didn't like Americans there. Or possibly both. Tired of feeling like I was in high school with a bunch of mean girls, I returned to my hotel.

Later that night, I met up with two Asian American girls I had met in Tromso. While having a beer at a bar, a man came up and began harassing one of the girls. He wouldn’t or couldn’t speak any English to us, and he became so aggressive with her that I had to stand in between them and yell for him to fuck off. Apparently, that translated and he left us alone, but the damage was done. We called it a night.

Copenhagen is a beautiful city, especially during Christmas time, but my experience was ugly.

Travel is full of the good and the bad, and, unfortunately, sometimes even the ugly. Everyone will experience a place uniquely. Christmas is special in Europe as the creator of most of our traditions. It's fun to see them at their origins.

Despite the lowlights, I love traveling around Europe. I look forward to returning one day soon to explore some additional Christmas Markets in other cities.

If you know of any good Christmas Markets, please make sure to comment. Thank you for reading and your support!