TravelMole at the Frankfurt Christmas markets
Wednesday, 03 Dec, 2010
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With European Christmas markets now attracting more UK visitors than Santa-themed visits abroad, agents should do their homework on what clients can expect from a long weekend’s bauble shopping.
The UK is now Frankfurt’s third biggest source market for tourism and some three million people will wander the stalls of the city’s twinkling markets each year.
In the spirit of research, The Mole decided to hop on a Lufthansa plane and head off to Frankfurt’s gluhwein-soaked Christmas markets to gather intelligence to pass onto agents back in the UK.
Where? With 85% of Frankfurt’s north bank being razed to the ground during World War Two, don’t expect a city of tumbledown medieval wooden houses and century-old taverns. This is a commercial city, its mirrored skyscrapers proclaiming famous banking names and its colossal trade fair buildings dominating the northern section.
That said, there are loads of tourist attractions and grand architecture to admire. The city, birthplace of German philosopher Goethe, has 50 museums all gathered on or around the Main river embankment, a zoo, a gorgeous opera house, riverside promenades and great shopping.
Sachsenhausen, in the southern section of the city, is the home of the city’s most famous drink, applewine, which was first brewed back in Charlemagne’s day and there are countless places to sup up after a long day’s sightseeing. The half-timbered houses that survived the bombs in the 1940s can be found here along with cosy little alleyways and excellent little restaurants.
Tell us about the Christmas markets: Frankfurt’s Christmas markets are so popular that the city has exported the concept and there are now markets in Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Leeds.
But there’s nothing quite like the authenticity of wandering from Liebfrauenberg across St Paul’s Square and the Romerberg old town centre and hearing the bells of ten city churches chime in unison along the Main to herald the advent season as you browse the stalls.
So what can you buy? Just about anything to do with the season, from intricate hand-made tree decorations to gorgeous, snugly woollen jumpers and hats to a hundred different types of mouth-watering German sausage, all hung across the front of stalls like an edible string curtain.
After dark, fairy lights strung across the stalls in every colour make wandering arm-in-arm with a partner a romantic experience, the wafts of spiced apples, chocolate marshmallows and a thousand other aromatic treats halting your stride every so often and calling you in.
In fact half the fun of the markets is the eating and drinking. Many visitors come to the markets simply to socialise around the heaters, hot chocolate and Schnapps in one hand and curried salami sandwich in the other. Then it’s on to the Quetschemannchen (little candied man made of dried plums historically given by suitors to their sweethearts), Bethmannchen (Goethe’s fave almond and marzipan biscuit) and lots more gluhwein.
Anything else to do while I’m there? You’re in the famous Rheingau wine-growing region so there are plenty of opportunities for a little Riesling, red and white Burgundy, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Mole’s favourite non-Christmas market activity during its trip, however, was the Eberbach Monastery where Cistercian monks lived from the 12th century. Hire a guide who’ll tell you how the monks prayed in the bitter cold in barefeet and thin robes for hours on end, with little to eat and talking forbidden – all to bring them closer to God. It’s an atmospheric place, its dark, brooding rooms and place of worship providing the set for Sean Connery movie The Name of the Rose. Well worth a visit (E5.50, www.kloster-eberbach.de) and the restaurant there serves classic German staples to warm your cockles
Package it:
* Lufthansa flies early Friday morning (around 7am) out to Frankfurt from Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham and returns Sunday evening, giving clients three full days in the city. Fares lead in at £89 for return economy flights. Book at www.lufthansa.com
* Mole stayed at the Heathrow Sheraton Skyline to allow itself an extra hour or two’s sleep before flying off and gives it the thumbs up. You can park your car there for the duration of your trip, take a dip in the indoor pool, grab some dinner in the restaurants and even do some ab-crunching in the gym (Mole was too busy for that, sadly). An overnight stay at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel starts from £117 per double room, including taxes plus eight days parking at Heathrow. To book call 00800 325 35353 or go to www.sheraton.com/skyline.
* Frankfurt has loads of hotels across all price brackets but for a treat, Mole can recommend the Schloss Reinhartshausen Kempinksi which sits in countryside just 35 minutes outside the city, overlooking the Rhine.
The castle hotel stands on the site of the home of the knights of Erbach back in the 12th century but the castle as it is today was built on the land in 1801 and bought by Princess Marianne of Prussia in 1865. The princess filled the building with her collection of 600 paintings many of which can still be seen today. Surrounded by vineyards, this is a luxurious place to stay, with its lovely Wintergarten restaurant overlooking the grounds and a cosy candelit cellar eaterie serving up hearty local specialities. Ask for a trip to the wine cellar, where dusty bottles of the good stuff sell for more than a year’s wages. Just don’t touch. Rates start at E150 a night including breakfast and VAT. To book, go to www.kempinski.com.
by Dinah Hatch
Dinah
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