We woke up before the sun to catch our 8:30 train to Dresden and much to our dismay, realized that the carriage we were assigned to didn’t exist. As the doors were closing, we threw caution to the wind and jumped aboard knowing, at least, that the train was heading in the right direction. As we were tucked into a small corner of the train, precariously sitting on jump seats with out bags in out laps, we discovered that it isn’t uncommon for Deutsche Bahn (the national rail provider) to add or remove carriages depending on availability and demand. So even though we had a reservation, the seat we paid for didn’t exist…and we just had to deal with it.

Luckily the two hour trip flew by and before we knew it, we were in the heart of Dresden. Since we had time to kill before we could check in to our hotel, we decided to pop into the various shops along the way, all thoroughly decorated for the holiday season. As is tradition, Lauren and I had our obligatory meal at McDonalds, sampling the local German offerings which included a Rösti burger (a normal cheeseburger topped with a hash brown-like patty with a smoky barbecue sauce and something called a Lion McFlurry. Lion is a brand of candy bar in Germany inclusive of chocolate cereal, caramel and wafer. Verdict – Lauren approved!

With bellies full and our bags dropped at the hotel, we ventured out and began our market excursion in the best way possible -the opening ceremony of Dresden Striezelmarkt.

Dresden Striezelmarkt dates way back to the 15th century, 1434 to be exact and is Germany’s longest running and oldest Christmas market. Housed in the historic Altmarkt, the shops are adorned with wreaths, garland, lights and scenes that are representative of the shop’s wares. The opening ceremony began at 4:30 with a procession of the market’s organizers and a boys choir that led the crowd in traditional Christmas songs (don’t ask me what they were, it was all sung and spoken in German). After a short speech, they officially opened the market and all of the booths sprung to life, lights aglow and the square’s 25 foot tall Weihnachtspyramide (Christmas Pyramid) activated for all to see. The final ceremony formality was the cutting of the three meter long Dresden Christstollen, brought to the stage by a small army of chefs. Presumably (again, this was all done in German) the emcee walked the crowd through the history of this sweet and dense, fruit cake-esque cake and how the recipe has been unchanged since the 15th century and that shops with the official seal were the only ones offering the true original. As this was going on, Lauren grabbed a sample and we tried it together. “Interesting” is the only adjective that came to mind while tasting it. It had a bread consistency, but not crumbly and the sweetness came through but there was a flavor we couldn’t identify and we mutually decided that it wasn’t worth the 30 euro for the loafs they were offering.

We weaved through the shoulder to shoulder crowd to experience the incredible atmosphere of the market, basking in the collective joy that all were experiencing, not a frown in sight. Much like the other markets, we spent most of our time trying the various foods that the market offered, beginning with the local glüwein – three varieties in fact: the traditional red, and orange and ginger variety and finally the feurerzangenbowle which was infused with caramelized sugar and rum. Each of which with its own unique flavor and guaranteed to keep you warm (and likely tipsy). These drinks are all served in a ceramic mug that one has to pay a deposit on. Often times these are kept as souvenirs depending on each market’s individual mug, which is exactly what we chose to do with this one. We followed up the glüwein with baumstriezel (a chimney style cakes) coated in vanilla and sugar, the end result looking like a fried dough leg warmer that was supple and light, the steam of which was a warm welcome to our frozen faces.

Across the river Elbe, the Augustusmarkt opened around the same time and we wandered there to see what it had to offer. Branded as the ‘international’ market, many of the shops had handmade jewelry, clothing and food from their country of origin. We sampled a käse làgos, a fried flatbread with cheese that was reminiscent of Indian fry bread and Lauren ordered a dunkel schokolade, or dark hot chocolate.

Over the course of the two days in Dresden, we visited six markets in total:

• Frauenkirche Market, a small, one row market that was along one of the side alleys where we had a röstbratwurst and kept another glurwein mug
• Dresden Winterlichten, or the Lights of Dresden market, situated in the square outside of the Dresden Mall where we sampled a schwibbogen – a ball of stiff cream dipped in a chosen flavor (ours was a dark and milk chocolate combo). We also had a kartoffel twister (potato spiral, fried and topped with pita garlic sauce) and I had Eirpunch, a hot egg liquor drink slightly resembling eggnog but much lighter and much more drinkable
• Romantic Christmas Market – a five stall market that we just happened to stumble upon, consisting of a subdued atmosphere with soft lights, subtle music and all stalls consisting of additional food
• Advent aid dem Neumarkt which was celebrating its 15th anniversary, making it one of the newer markets in Dresden
• Finn Market – a ten stall market in the middle of a train intersection that was dedicated to the Finn’s. Similar to the nordic themed market in Berlin, this one had the traditional flamlachs and had a lavvu, a tipi type tent that was being used as a stage for a local Finnish band.

A staple at the Dresden markets is the Schwibbogen, a hand carved wooden candle arch that displays a seasonal scene. These arches can range in size from a few inches to upwards of two feet, all with intricate carvings that are extraordinary to see come to live. In addition to these arches are home size Weihnachtspyramides that can also range from a few inches to five feet tall. These are typically three or four levels high with large blades on top that bring the lower levels to life.

One of the best perks of traveling to cities in Europe is to pick a direction and just start walking. Most cities we’ve been to have been incredibly easy to navigate and full of helpful people in the event we ever get lost. It was by our wandering that we found Amate, a small cafè that was on the edge of a square that had the a surprisingly good cup of coffee. Amate belongs to a sixth generation family that is locally owned and also runs a coffee plantation in Mexico. You typically don’t hear a lot about Mexican coffee, however Amate runs one of the last remaining ones at the elevation that it requires and brews a great cup. If you ever find yourself in Dresden, this is a great place to warm up.

Travel/Post Notes:

• Post is inclusive of travel from November 29-30, 2023
• Accommodation: Star G Dresden Almarkt
• Featured Image: A light up Dresden display outside the Augustusmarkt
• Lauren and I met a pair of ladies on the train from Ohio who were also in the same boat seat wise as we were. We bonded over our troubles and Lauren mocked Ohio State. The DB worker who scanned our tickets was an ass and overall unpleasant.
• As we were bouncing from market to market we took in the gothic architecture that Dresden has to offer including the Holy Cross church, the catholic cathedral of Dresden and the Dresden Castle. Photos were taking but history research will have to wait until we get home.