Christkindlmarkts

Published by Gemma – Christmas Markets – Introduction

The Christmas season is my favourite time of the year, I love nothing more than to decorate the house and making it feel and look as festive as possible.

Christmas is a big deal in the Fagan household, so much so that my Mother and I decided to plan a trip to Europe dedicated to the Christmas Markets.

Germany is known as the Christmas Market mecca and The Germans don’t disappoint, from the large cities to the small towns, everyone gets involved.

At these amazing markets you will be able to buy all kinds of traditional Christmas merchandise from local vendors such as unique tree decorations, Crib figures, handmade wooden carvings, glass blown trinkets and amazing smelling candles. Also, be sure to try some warmed Glühwein, freshly made gingerbread and roasted nuts as no visit is complete without them.

The large cities usually start their festivities the first weekend of December, where the smaller towns and villages tend only to hold them on certain dates so make sure to check dates before booking your trip as you don’t want to be left disappointed.
Germany isn’t the only country to organise Christmas Markets, they can be found all over Europe and each have their own unique cultural blend and traditions.

My Mum and I decided to stick to the Germanic regions and visited parts of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, they didn’t disappoint. As we were travelling by rail we decided it was best to stick to the major cities and do day trips to the smaller towns and villages from there.

I’d advise others to do the same, especially if you are new to travelling or/and have time restraints. It is easier to travel between the major cities as they have convenient rail (also flight) schedules and run daily. You may find trains to smaller towns are less frequent and may also require a few train changes to get to.

The route of our trip was Munich, Innsbruck, Luzern, Stuttgart, Koln and Frankfurt over four weeks.

If you are looking for a unique holiday filled with tradition than this is the type of holiday for you.  Recommended for all you closet Christmas lovers, who could say no to Christmas in the snow?!

Please check back as I will share with you our amazing experience and pass on some handy tips so you to can enjoy the magical Christkindlmarkts.

Oktoberfest, Munich ~ Germany

Published 8 August 2013, by Jess

 http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/navitem/About+the+Oktoberfest/

Oktoberfest is a 16 day festival held annually in Munich, Germany.  The festival celebrates BEER! Yes, you heard correct!

The event is held middle to late September until the first week in October and is the world’s largest fair.

The festivities began in 1810 and is an important part of Bavarian culture.  The origin dates back to the wedding of King Ludwig I to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on the 12 October 1810.

There are strict guidelines and criteria before a beer can be designated an Oktoberfest Beer.The beer served must be at a minimum 6% alcohol and must be brewed within the city limits of Munich.

Current Oktoberfest beers include;

• Augustiner-Bräu
• Hacker-Pschorr-Bräu
• Löwenbräu
• Paulaner-Bräu
• Spatenbräu
• Staatliches Hofbräu-München

Each of the Beers have their own Tent where you are served by women in traditional Bavarian outfits.

 Augustiner Tent

Considered the friendliest tent at Oktoberfest and my personal favourite of the tents I visited.  Augustiner is a great tasting beer, very wheaty which is typical of most German beers.  The tent was decorated extremely well, and the beer hall tables were set up to make the most of the space.  The Augustiner also felt more traditional than others, with majority of attendance being German people.  Unfortunately only locals can book the tables however, we arrived at 11:00am and managed to get a table reserved at 5:00pm, so we were able to sit there until the party arrived.

 

It may seem strange that I’m about to mention the bathrooms to you, however I felt it was extremely odd, but very hygienic.  The Augustiner Tent bathrooms had attendants who would regularly change the toilet bowls in the bathrooms.  Yes, the entire bowl was remove and replaced with a new toilet bowl, ensuring very clean toilets.

Hofbrau Tent

Hofbrau Tent is a very popular tent amongst Australians, New Zealanders and Americans.  This tent is the counterpart to the very popular Hofbraeuhaus located in the centre of Munich.

As with most of the tents, Hofbrau is extremely hard to get a seat.  After 8pm the main doors close and you’re only option are the outdoor beer hall tables.  We had a friend bribe the bouncer with 50 Euro to allow us to skip the line…it worked, and trust me the line was huge!

Around the Grounds

Opening hours vary depending on whether it’s a stall or a beer tent.  Check the above link for details.

Walking around the Oktoberfest grounds, it’s really great to see people get into the spirit of Oktoberfest and dress up in the traditional outfits, such as these guys below;

With 14 different beer tents around the grounds, various food stalls, rides and an abundance of atmosphere… Oktoberfest is a must see!

I would plan my holiday to Munich, Germany purely to go to Oktoberfest, it is that good!

Niagara Falls ~ Ontario, Canada

Published 6 August 2013, by Jess

 

Getting There

The Greyhound Bus from Toronto costs $31.50 (2011 prices) for a round trip to NiagraFalls.

http://www.viarail.ca/en

Hotel

The hotel I stayed in was located at the very end of what would be considered the “Niagara Falls strip”.  This street is the main street in Niagara, home to various hotels and restaurants.

There are two (2) Marriott Hotels so be sure not to confuse them, however they are directly opposite each other on the strip so if you do make the mistake, you don’t have far to travel.

View from the bedroom window

 

City	Hotel Name	Room type	Cost	$ Each	Per Night	BF Inc
NiagraFalls	Marriott Fallsview  Prime Minister Suite	2 x Queen, 1 x sofabed	$690	$115	$115	NO

Bedroom and Kitchenette to the right of picture

There were six (6) of us travelling in my group so we opted for the Prime Minister Suite to accommodate us all in the one (1) room. It also came with a kitchenette and spectacular views of the falls from the bedroom as well as the dining area.  It was for this reason, we chose to order food from the Tony Roma’s Restaurant next door and ate at our dining table with a few drinks to really take in the spectacular scenery.

View of the Falls at night from our Dining room window

Maid of the Mist

$15.60

http://www.maidofthemist.com/en/

You cannot book your ticket in advance, so be sure to leave some time incase the lines are long.  Saying that, the Maid of the Mist boats hold a lot of passengers on board so our wait was minimal.

The company provide blue poncho’s to protect you from getting too wet, and be warned, you will get wet! This is the reason I made sure to take my waterproof camera and it was definitely worth it.

Highly recommend the Maid of the Mist tour if you are in Niagara.  The boats get extremely close to the falls, in particular I didn’t expect to be taken so close to the Canadian Horse-Shoe Falls which are extremely impressive.

Around Niagara

The town of Niagara itself is really not very impressive.  It is slightly over commercialised in my opinion with too many hotels and restaurants crammed along the main strip.  I wouldn’t recommend you need any more than one (1) night here as the Maid of the Mist boat cruise is the only thing I suggest as a must see attraction. 

Splash out and pay for the upgraded room and make the most of the views, you won’t regret it!