2018 Christmas Market Tour

One of the magical wonders of Europe is it's Christmas markets!!! Basically since we arrived in Europe we knew we wanted to experience what this hype was about. We did a week-long tour and boy was it worth it (so much that Matt has effectively decided we'll do one every year 😉)!

While it was hard to choose only a few, time was a major factor and we could only choose five cities:

1. Berlin
2. Dresden
3. Prague
4. Vienna
5. Budapest

We did some research on markets ahead of time and booked accommodation/buses (somewhat...) in advance and explored as we went! We tried to see the cities and various attractions during the day, along with strolling through smaller markets, then made sure to hit up the larger markets at night when everything  was lit up!

Berlin

Matt had never been to Berlin before, so we had to make sure we saw a few of the main spots!! We made it to Brandenburg Gate, the Parliament, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall (pieces throughout the city), and East Side Gallery. We also stopped at multiple markets along the way and at night!

Dresden

Dresden was a must! I had been here before with my sister and it was absolutely darling. The city is also known for its Christmas markets, and I will say they were the cutest ones we saw. Matt's cousin's wife's mother (whew!!!) also lives in Dresden, and we promised last Christmas that we would make it to see her at one point! She only speaks Mongolian and German, so Matt had to brush off some of his language skills to converse and translate for me (in German!!). It was lovely seeing her and having her show us around.

In Dresden, we mainly walked around and saw the Christmas markets - there were a ton, and some of them even had different themes!

Prague

We had both been to Prague, but never together! Here, we took a stroll along the Charles Bridge, saw the John Lennon wall, and went to the main market (among others) in Old Town Square.

Unfortunately, the Lennon wall was so covered in tourist graffiti that it has lost it's charm a bit (in my opinion). A few years ago there were many more quotes and some inspiring material, but now most of it is gone. Perhaps it depends on when you go; maybe in another few months people will have written some poetry or drawn other designs! 

The market in Old Town Square felt like Christmas and magic! The lights on the tree were magnificent and it really was a breathtaking view with the square lit up (but if you're on a tour or time crunch you can see it in one day/night...beautiful to see both!).

If you go to Prague, definitely be sure to wander around more, especially if it is warm out! I'd also recommend going to the castle if you want to see a view of Prague. We had already been separately (on different trips) and it was foggy out, so we opted not to this time!

Vienna

Visiting Vienna was extra special for us as we have friends there that we haven't seen in a few years! It was so nice to be able to catch up with them and we reaaaaaaally hope they make it to visit us in Naples while we're here 😃  Matt also showed me where he worked and lived during his internship in 2009 (the last time he was in Vienna!).

We made our way across town taking in the main sights and markets. Then we saved the largest, at town hall (Rathaus) for night, and it was AMAZING! This was the largest market we saw on our entire tour and the lights in this market were breathtaking. It is a must see at night, and a definite stop for anyone looking to experience a Christmas market in Europe!

Budapest

Our last stop was in Budapest. During a walking tour with my sister a few years ago we were told that we should return to Budapest during Christmas time and explore the markets. My sister came back one year and absolutely loved it, and I read that Budapest has original ornaments that keep to tradition, so I was super excited to check it out!

Unfortunately, we were unaware that Christmas is celebrated on the 24th, the day we got there, so almost everything was closed!!! We arrived at the markets when it was getting dark, and almost all of the stands were closed 😢 Definitely something we should have thought about! Luckily, we were still able to eat some traditional food, and there was ONE stand open that had beautiful ornaments (so luck was trying to get on our side 😉).

During the day it was FREEZING but with beautiful blue skies so we decided to go to the top of Fisherman's Bastion, a 19th century fortress, and see the view of Budapest. We also hit a few other sites! 

Now, for the costs...

Getting Around
To get from city to city we used Flixbus.
Berlin --> Dresden €7.99 ea, 2h 40m
Dresden --> Prague €19.99 ea, 1h 55m
Prague --> Vienna €22.99 ea, 3h 55m
Vienna --> Budapest €13.99 ea, 2h 55m

= €64.96 (€129.92 total) ≈ $75/$150

Within the cities we used public transportation, mainly bus and metro. We bought one-way tickets and walked in the center for some places, bought a book of 10 metro tickets in Budapest, and a 48 hour ticket in Vienna. Note that in Budapest you need a special bus ticket to go to the airport (we bought ours at the bus stop).

When in doubt, do a search in google maps 😉

Accommodation
Per usual, we started our search on Airbnb and branched out to booking.com to compare prices. We only booked one place on booking (all other airbnb) and we had a HORRIBLE experience with the host. After a host not showing in Romania, and now this, we are likely to only use Airbnb from now on.

Berlin (2, room) + Dresden (2, apt.) + Prague (1, apt.) + Vienna (2, friends) + Budapest (2, apt.)
$109.76 + €145 + $48.62 + 0 + $35.92 ≈ $350 ≈ $40/night

Purchases
I will say we have gotten better about not purchasing random things we absolutely do not need. This trip we bought a painting, a few ornaments, and collected more than a few gluhwein mugs!! I am not sure how much we spent (we'll try to be better about this on future trips!) but it was definitely mostly on food and drinks 😜

We made it home on Christmas Day, with just enough time to decorate our mini Christmas tree and take a quick pic!