Elegantes adornos de Adviento adornan escaparates, tiendas y plazas de mercado. Luces de hadas centellean en los jardines y sobre las calles. Alegres melodías resuenan en los trineos de renos y en las pastelerías navideñas. El olor a manzanas asadas y pan de jengibre sale de ellas. No hay duda de que el periodo prenavideño atrae todos los sentidos.
En los cientos de mercadillos navideños situados entre el mar Báltico y el lago de Constanza, las impresiones se concentran al máximo. No es de extrañar: los artesanos ofrecen sus productos de elaboración tradicional, los coros cantan, los cuentacuentos hacen sonreír a los niños y las delicias regionales aportan ese algo especial. Conviene saberlo: A muchos mercados se puede llegar fácilmente en tren. Numerosas tarjetas turísticas entre Flensburg y Friburgo le permiten utilizar gratuitamente el transporte público local.
Le diremos dónde puede encontrar mercados navideños especialmente atmosféricos, tradicionales e inusuales. Como preparación, recibirá una selección de villancicos, el gran podcast navideño y un montón de recetas para contagiarse del espíritu navideño en casa.
¿No encuentra un mercado de Navidad adecuado? Sólo tiene que introducir el nombre de la ciudad o el código postal y descubra hermosos mercados navideños. Disfrute de su búsqueda y pase una feliz Navidad.
Además de la enorme variedad de mercadillos navideños, en muchas regiones de Alemania se siguen practicando una serie de costumbres navideñas tradicionales que se conservan para las generaciones futuras. Descubra en nuestro mapa una pequeña selección de emocionantes costumbres, que nos gustaría presentarle en forma de entretenidos videoclips. ¡Participar o mirar siempre es bienvenido!
El Adviento es sinónimo de contemplación y luces resplandecientes, pero también de dulces muy especiales. Desde el pan de jengibre de Núremberg hasta el stollen navideño de Dresde, pasando por todo tipo de galletas, sin olvidar el ponche para niños y el vino caliente. Pero no es necesario acudir a un mercado navideño para disfrutar de ellos. Los más golosos pueden preparar ellos mismos los clásicos, siempre que dispongan de buenas recetas. Aquí tenemos algunas.
Los villancicos son como muchos dulces. Desapercibidos durante la mayor parte del año, de repente reciben mucha atención durante el Adviento. Sin embargo, los distintos ambientes requieren canciones diferentes. A veces están pensadas para que las canten sobre todo los más jóvenes, otras para acentuar el aspecto contemplativo en todas las generaciones y otras para que zapateen o incluso bailen. Estas tres listas de canciones -contemplativas, modernas e infantiles- satisfacen todas las necesidades.
Alemania es colorida, y eso también se aplica a la época navideña. Al fin y al cabo, cada región tiene sus propias costumbres, cultiva sus propias especialidades y tiene sus propias historias. Este podcast reúne algunas de ellas. Por ejemplo, el hecho de que uno de las decenas de mercadillos navideños de Berlín atienda específicamente a los amantes de los perros. Que el ayuntamiento de Gengenbach desvela cada día una gran obra de arte en una de sus 24 ventanas, como si fuera un calendario de Adviento. O que los barqueros de Spreewald también ofrecen sus paseos en barco en invierno, con toque místico incluido. ¡Diviértase en este viaje sonoro navideño!
... and let us take you on a Christmas journey across Germany.
Intro with music:
“Experience Germany – A Surprising Journey of Discovery”
INTRO
In the run-up to Christmas, the smell of roasted almonds, gingerbread and mulled wine is found everywhere in Germany. Each city has its own Christmas market. One of the most famous is the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt and it is opened by the Christ Child himself, says City Councilor Dr. Michael Fraas.
OST Dr. Michael Fraas, Nuremberg, Bavaria
Man: It is the Friday of the first Advent weekend, it is dark at the main market. All the lights will be turned off, including those in surrounding buildings and stalls. The square is dark. Then a big spotlight comes on, directed at the balcony of the Frauenkirche, and suddenly the Christ Child is standing there in his golden robe and crown and says: “The Christ Child invites you to his market and everyone is welcome.”
And the oldest German Christmas market is actually the Striezelmarkt in Dresden, dating back to 1434. Like Nuremberg with its gingerbread, Dresden’s Christmas market is also associated with a famous pastry, reports Veronika Hiebl of Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen.
OST Veronika Hiebl, Dresden, Saxony
Woman: The Dresden Striezelmarkt and the Dresden Christstollen share a common history, and this history continues to this day, as the Dresden Striezelmarkt owes its name to the traditional pastry originally known as Striezel.
But when it comes to the capital city of Christmas markets, Christian Tänzler of Visit Berlin clearly sees this as the German capital, with more than 50 themed markets ranging from royal to urban.
OST Christian Tänzler, Visit Berlin
Man: We have a Christmas market for dog lovers, for example. Of course, we also have nice things like a children’s Christmas market, a winter camp for the LGBTQI community, we have an old railroad, which is a bit magical and atmospheric in an old locomotive shed. And, what is very, very important in Berlin is the issue of sustainability. We have an organic market at Kollwitz Square. Therefore, everyone can find what they are looking for.
The 17 Christmas markets in “Holy Hamburg” also range from the cheeky and frivolous “Santa Pauli” on the Reeperbahn to maritime Christmas flair, explains Guido Neumann from Hamburg Tourismus.
OST Guido Neumann, Hamburg Tourismus
Man: We have a Christmas market in the Hafencity right on the waterfront, overlooking the harbor, a Christmas market around the Binnenalster lake or there are two Christmas markets on the waterways, on the canals. In addition, there are many things that take place on ships: Christmas fairy tales on steamboats on the Alster river, boat trips and Christmas-themed cruises on the Elbe through the brightly lit harbor.
Grog instead of mulled wine, fish sandwiches instead of the usual bratwurst. But stollen, cookies, Santa Claus, Christmas carols and Advent calendars are also part of the Advent season. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest Advent calendar house in the world is located in the Black Forest, according to Oliver Gerhard, spokesman for the town of Gengenbach.
OST Oliver Gelhardt, Gengenbach Advent calendar, Baden-Württemberg
Man: The town hall happens to have 24 windows, and this town hall is illuminated and becomes a giant Advent calendar, and every evening at 6 pm a window opens. The special thing about the Gengenbach Advent calendar is that great artists are always included. We already had paintings by Chagall, by Tomi Ungerer … There is always great art in these windows.
If you want to see the German cities with the most beautiful Christmas decorations through a window, you can book river cruises to romantic winter destinations on the Rhine, Danube or Elbe. From November to March, so-called winter punting trips are also offered on the Spreewald, says Patrick Kastner from Reiseland Brandenburg.
OST Patrick Kastner, Spreewald, Brandenburg
Man: These are unique Winter moments to enjoy snuggled up in a warm wool blanket with mulled wine in hand. You can listen dreamily to stories of the bargemen, who stand at the end and steer the ship almost like a gondola in Venice.
If you travel to Germany’s northernmost tip, you can find fir trees in Freest and on the island of Rügen, which are decorated with apples, potatoes and rose hips instead of baubles, angels and tinsel, because that’s where Lütten Christmas is celebrated, the Christmas festival of animals based on a book by Hans Fallada, explains Kathrin Hackbarth from Tourismusverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
OST Kathrin Hackbarth, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania: Lütten Christmas
Woman: The animals also find it difficult to find the appropriate food: there is snow on the Baltic coast in some places. So the idea came up to create edible ornaments. These can be titmouse rings, carrots, clay pots filled with lard and seeds or fruit, which are then laid out for the animals.
A small joy for the forest animals in the snow. And the snow also makes skiers happy, especially in the Bavarian Alps and the Black Forest. But there are also lifts on the Wasserkuppe mountain in Hesse, on the Fichtelberg in Saxony and on the Erbeskopf in the Palatinate. And Andreas Lehmberg from the Harzer Tourismusverband recommends winter vacations in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
OST Andreas Lehmberg, Harz ski resorts
Man: There are large ski resorts for alpine skiing in Braunlage on the Wurmberg or the Matthias-Schmidt-Berg in Sankt Andreasberg, and in the ski resort on the Bocksberg mountain in Hahnenklee. Those are the big ones. In addition to alpine skiing, cross-country skiing in the Harz Mountains is of course very exciting, where we have over 500 km of cross-country trails. And also, the Harz Mountains are very important when it comes to tobogganing, because from the north we are the first mountain range where you can go tobogganing on a longer stretch. That is why we have a dense network of winter hiking trails prepared.
If you want to get really active this winter, you’ll find plenty of sporting highlights at the Olympic base in Oberhof in the Thuringian Forest, reveals Thuringian sports journalist Katja Bauroth.
OST Katja Bauroth, Oberhof, Thuringia
Woman: There is the ski jump. Walking up and down the steps is great for the leg muscles. You will meet international athletes in the biathlon stadium on the Grenzadler. It is also possible for tourists there to have a go at the targets themselves. The cross-country ski hall allows year-round cross-country skiing and you can also meet the international crème de la crème of Nordic skiing there.
Well then, have fun in Germany in the wintertime!
OUTRO