Every year the magic of German Christmas Markets enchants millions of visitors. Crafts, culinary specialties like Gluhwein (mulled wine), baked apples and gingerbread biscuits (Lebkuchen) contribute to the traditional atmosphere.
Frankfurt (until Dec 22) Situated in the Roemerberg marketplace with St. Paul’s church as a backdrop, the Frankfurt Christmas Market is regarded as one of Germany’s most important. Organized events include the tower concert on the balcony of the Nikolai church, the Christmas Market of Frankfurt’s artists and the Frankfurt city peal of bells. Children can ride on multiple carousels, marvel at the gigantic Christmas tree and meet St. Nicholas on December 6. Guided tours of Frankfurt are also available. www.frankfurt.de
Mainz Christmas Market
Mainz (until Dec 23) The Mainz Christmas Market is set in the historic market square against the impressive backdrop of the 1,000-year-old cathedral of St. Martins. Highlights of the Christmas Market include the traditional fairy-tale performance in the city theater, the popular print shop of the Gutenberg museum and the 36-foot-high Christmas pyramid with its numerous figures and lights. Also, there is a wide choice of family programs at the Liebfrauenplatz. www.mainz.de
Wiesbaden (through Dec 23) “Twinkling Star Market” is the name of the Wiesbaden Christmas Market. Visitors enter the old castle square through four gates decorated with stars. Not to miss is the crèche with its life-sized wooden figures representing the Christmas story. www.wiesbaden.de/en
Wiesbaden Christmas Market
Aschaffenburg (through Dec 22) The Christmas Market is situated against the picturesque backdrop of the castle, with the Franconian Christmas crèche as its center. Also, during this festive season various other charming Christmas Markets can be found in the Aschaffenburg region. www.aschaffenburg.eu
Aschaffenburg Christmas Market
Bad Homburg (All advent weekends) One of the most beautiful Christmas markets in Germany is the romantic Christmas Market Bad Homburg at the Castle “Landgrafenschloss,” which is surrounded by an historical setting. Highlights include the traditional fairy-tale performances on the Kurtheater Bad Homburg. www.bad-homburg.de (German only)
Stuttgart Christmas Market
Stuttgart (through Dec 23) With its more than 280 decorated stands, is one of the oldest and largest Christmas markets in Europe. The Stuttgart Christmas Market is traditionally opened with a ceremonial concert in the inner courtyard of the Old Palace (Altes Schloss). Around the Altes Schloss, Schillerplatz, Kirchstrasse, Marktplatz and Hirschstrasse, small decorated wooden houses offer a range of Christmas items and gift ideas including Christmas tree decorations, crib figures, toys, woodcuts, puppets, lambskin shoes and candles. Culinary delights include hot chestnuts, German lebkuchen (gingerbread), roasted almonds, grilled sausages and mulled wine.www.stuttgart-tourist.de
Bremen Christmas Market
Bremen, on the River Weser close to the northern coast, puts a maritime twist on the classic Christmas market when the promenade along the river is transformed into Schlachte magic, a festive market offering historical, seasonal and maritime attractions. Another market with more than 160 beautifully decorated Christmas stalls are clustered in front of Bremen’s Church of Our Lady and the Roland Statue in the historical market square. www.bremen-tourism.de
Ruedesheim (through Dec 21) The Christmas market in Ruedesheim on the Rhine brings a festive feel to the romantic old town and its popular Drosselgasse Lane. More than 120 stands from 12 nations offer Christmas customs and traditions from around the world. Europe’s biggest Nativity scene can also be found in the market square. www.ruedesheim.de
Portugal is considered Europe’s oldest nation. Lisbon is the capital and the largest city in Portugal, and its history can be traced back to ancient days, first as a Greek trading post and later as a Roman municipium.
In the early Middle Ages, Lisbon was occupied by the Visigoths and later by the Moors. Alfonso I reconquered the city from the Moors in 1147, and during the next several hundred years Lisbon developed as the capital of the kingdom and as a trading center.
So that’s the quick history of Portugal and Lisbon, but what’s new? Well, there are a number of new hotels in Portugal that you may want to keep in mind when traveling there. Here’s a European Traveler rundown:
Photo credit: Antonio Sacchetti
LISBON REGION Lx Boutique Hotel – Lisbon The Lx Boutique Hotel is the newest inn in Lisbon, located in the Cais do Sodré district and minutes away from Chiado and Bairro Alto. The $7 million hotel has 45 rooms, each with a theme related to Lisbon, from the Tejo Persona (Fernando Pessoa lived in the building for some time, and it was the once the famed Hotel Bragança), Fado, Seven Hills and Bairro Alto. With its location near the historic districts of Lisbon, it is ideal for those who want to discover the city. www.lxboutiquehotel.pt
Hotel da Estrela – Lisbon The Hotel da Estrela, first hotel of the Lagrimas Group in Lisbon and a new hotel for the School of Hospitality and Tourism of Lisbon, is located in the Campo de Ourique, in the historic Palácio dos Condes de Paraty. The four-star project, designed by architect Miguel Cancio Martins, includes 19 rooms with three meeting rooms, a restaurant/bar, a garden and an event space. The training aspect is one of the points highlighted, and part of the staff will be final-year students. www.hoteldaestrela.com
Oitavos Hotel – Estoril Coast – Lisbon Region The Oitavos, a new luxury hotel, opened in the fall and is located just 20 minutes from Lisbon. The hotel features 142 guest rooms, a golf course built around sand dunes and saltwater swimming pools. This nature-inspired property is located on the family-owned Quinta da Marinha estate, within the Sintra-Cascais National Park. www.theoitavos.com/
CS Vintage Lisboa Hotel – Lisbon This five-star hotel includes 55 rooms, vintage restaurant, spa, indoor pool and latest web technology. It is located in the city center, just minutes away from Avenida da Liberdade. www.cshotelsandresorts.com/eng/cs-hotels/lisboa-cs-hotels
Altis Avenida –Lisbon The Altis Avenida is a charming new hotel in Restauradores Square, the historic heart of Lisbon’s city center and the main shopping district. All 72 rooms are equipped with the very latest technology and designed with 1940’s décor, maintaining the original combination of styles, fabrics and furniture. The hotel is a place where the past, present and future meet in a glamorous and sophisticated atmosphere. The bar and restaurant on the top floor provide a magnificent view over the city and is the ideal meeting place for those looking for the true feel of Lisbon. www.altishotels.com
Inspira Santa Marta – Lisbon This four-star, green-designed hotel is in the heart of downtown Lisbon. It provides prime comfort and hospitality, intertwined with the latest in wellness and sustainability. Feng Shui reflects the mood and is the main theme of the hotel. Located just off of Lisbon’s main Avenida da Liberdade, the hotel has a total of 89 stylish guest-rooms designed around Feng Shui themes such as earth, fire and water. The restaurant features Mediterranean cuisine and show cooking, all made with freshly prepared ingredients. www.inspirasantamartahotel.com
International Design Hotel – Lisbon This four-star hotel is located at Rua da Betesga in Lisbon. Urban, Tribal, Zen and pop are all design themes exhibited by the hotel’s unique rooms. The hotel is located on one of the oldest streets in Lisbon, Betesga, whose origins go back to the 15th century. www.internacionaldesignhotel.com/
Altis Belém Hotel – Belém – Lisbon A new boutique hotel in Belém by the Altis Group, known for the quality, sophistication and professionalism, is opening a new hotel in the Lisbon area. It is located near the Bom Sucesso docks, an important tourist area. This new, luxury boutique hotel features 42 high quality rooms and a restaurant serving Portuguese cuisine. Hotel Altis Belém also features a bar and terraced café, spa and meeting rooms. www.altishotels.com
PORTO & NORTH OF PORTUGAL REGION Six new hotels, restaurants and museums are among a few of the new offerings from the Grand Harbor, located around the World Heritage Center. Hotels include the five-star The Yeatman, the four-star Teatro, the Intercontinental Hotel, the hotel Star Inn Porto, the under-construction four-star Inspira Flores Hotel and the Carris Porto Ribeira.
Hoteles Rail – Porto Hoteles Rail, a Spanish hotel chain, has a new four-star hotel located in the heart of the historic center and close to the Douro River. It features 90 rooms, with a business-meets-modern concept. The investment created more than 300 jobs in the area, and the project is a part of a focus on the recovery and reuse of historical buildings in Porto.
Vidago Palace – Vidago Celebrating its centennial, the 70-room and suite Vidago Palace officially reclaims its place as one of Europe’s great historical resorts. Located within a 250-acre estate, an hour from Porto, Vidago Palace has been extensively renovated and restored over the last two years. Embracing its Belle Epoque heritage, Vidago Palace is a majestic Portuguese country house with all the services of a world-class luxury hotel. www.vidagopalace.com
A room at the Yeatman
The Yeatman – Porto The Yeatman opened its doors as the first five-star hotel in the Portuguese city Vila Nova de Gaia. All the rooms overlook the spectacular Ribeirinha Porto and are decorated in a classical style. The hotel is committed to protecting the environment and devotes half of the property to elegantly-crafted gardens, including an olive tree more than 1,300 years old, a butterfly garden and endangered plants attracting an array of bird species. The hotel is integrated into the landscape, mimicking the slopes of the Douro River. It offers a total of 82 rooms, as well as the master suite hotel that is separated from the rest of the building and can be accessed from the garden. www.the-yeatman-hotel.com
CENTRO DE PORTUGAL REGION Casa da Insua This five-star boutique hotel is a converted 18th century, baroque-style manor in Penalva do Castelo. Located southeast of Porto, it features an impressivea façade and gardens. It features 21 rooms, nine suites and three one-bedroom and two two-bedroom apartments. On-site facilities include a restaurant, museum, reading and game rooms, a chapel and a wine-tasting room. The hotel also has a selection of rooms and spaces available for meetings and other events. Prices include breakfast. www.casadainsua.pt
Casa das Penhas Douradas Located at the heart of Serra da Estrela National Park, this hotel features some additional new rooms totaling 18, a spa, restaurant, heated pool and bikes. The rooms are wood birch-paneled with large windows and verandas, offering a stunning view of the mountains. Each room has an LCD television, a DVD player, and an iPod player, providing a home-away-from-home atmosphere. Casa das Penhas Douradas is located minutes away from the airport. Prices include breakfast. www.casadaspenhasdouradas.pt
Vila Galé Coimbra The city of Coimbra has the new four-star Hotel Vila Galé Coimbra. This hotel is located in the Coimbra historical center, overlooking the Mondego River. www.vilagale.pt
ALGARVE REGION Martinhal Resort Martinhal Resort was officially inaugurated in what is being touted as Portugal’s first high-luxury family resort in the Algarve town of Sagres. Located on the rocky, southwestern point of Portugal, Sagres is where the first caravels were launched during the Age of Exploration. Today, the town boasts breathtaking views of the Atlantic, many of which can be seen from the Martinhal Resort’s houses, cottages and luxury villas. The theme at this five-star resort is “Barefoot Luxury,” and the staff aims to provide a relaxed experience. All rooms have private terraces with ocean views. The on-site restaurant, O Terraço, sits atop the pavilion and offers guests the option of enjoying a simple coffee or a full gourmet meal while overlooking the sea. Nature enthusiasts will enjoy the protected lagoon, which is part of the Costa Vincentina Natural Park. www.martinhal.com/
Real Marina Hotel & Spa Real Marina Hotel & Spa is a luxury resort overlooking the Ria Formosa, a protected natural reserve. Contemporary yet traditional, the hotel caters to both the leisure and business traveler with full use of facilities for each segment of the market. Accommodations include 132 double-rooms and 12 suites. Facilities include two restaurants, two bars, heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools (including a children’s pool). www.realhotelsgroup.com
Longevity Wellness Resort Monchique – Condo Hotel The Longevity Wellness Resort Monchique was inaugurated as being a green facility with a focus on wellness and relaxation. Properties here are a mix of vacation homes and rentals. The development is in the Algarve’s mountains located around the picturesque town of Monchique, with both mountain and coastal views. It has 195 one-bedroom apartments with amenities such as outdoor and indoor swimming pools, restaurant and bars, driving range and putting green, library, cinema and the Longevity Anti-Aging Spa. www.longevitywellnessresort.com/
MADEIRA REGION Hotel da Vila Located by the beach, this property offers 16 rooms of simple yet elegant design that mixes blue Portuguese tiles with ancient wood to create a chic and rural concept. www.hoteldavila.com/
The Bernese love laid-back, hour-long shopping trips – and will do so in any weather. Thanks to the longest weather-protected stretch of shopping promenade in Europe, this is in fact quite feasible. The “Lauben,” as the Bernese call their arcades, are admirably suited for a stroll in the historic city center.
It is in the Bernese Old Town in particular where the unique historical ambiance combines shopping with a journey through time into the past. The Kramgasse forms the centerpiece of the Bern Old Town. This alley was once Bern’s busiest trade route for marketers and shopkeepers who loudly advertised and sold their goods here, and swapped the latest news. Almost 4 miles of arcades form a distinctive feature of the Old Town. The history of this arcade passage reaches back to the earliest city development (1191), and even then served to accommodate market stalls and businesses. Traders could thus trade and earn their living in any weather.
The Bernese also demonstrated their practical sense in putting their basements to good use. They built vaulted cellars under every house in order to be able to store their goods. Nowadays, entirely different treasures are hidden in these cellars. Descend the steep stone steps, and find yourself in a different world. The underground reveals trendy and traditional bars, clubs, theatres, cellar cinemas and special fashion shops.
Hum, the smallest town in the world, is one of the rare preserved examples of urban development located exclusively within early medieval walls. It was mentioned for the first time in 1102. Town walls protected the town from frequent intrusions of the Venetians and the Turks. For almost a thousand years, nothing has been built outside the walls of Hum. Frescoes with biblical themes, unique artwork created by an unknown author in the 12th century, are a unique feature of the town.
Apart from being famous as the smallest town in the world, it has also been recently promoted as the Town of Biska. Biska is mistletoe brandy whose original recipe comes from Hum. Every year at the end of October Hum is the host of a brandy exhibit where a competition for the best brandy in Istria is organized.
The traditional custom of electing the county prefect for a year has been preserved to this day. Many tourists come to see the election proceedings and join in the culminating festival celebration.
Today Hum has about 20 inhabitants. You can tour the town in about five minutes, but after that be sure to stop at Humska Konoba (Hum Tavern) to taste some of the typical Istrian specialties.
By Don Heimburger Photos by the author or as noted
Wacker’s Kaffee is a third generation family-owned and run coffee shop in Frankfurt, Germany, which I heard about while on a city tour bus.
As the bus zipped past the small shop at Kornmart 9, I had just enough time to see its facade and notice all the customers lined up for coffee. The tour guide recommended the little establishment, which has been in business since 1914, or nearly 100 years.
It’s taken a while for me to actually “like” a good cup of strong German coffee, but now when I return to the U.S., I miss its rich flavor. So a taste-testing trip to this shop was in order, especially since I knew how to find it, and the small shop looked interesting.
When time allowed, it was back to the shop, and trying to squeeze in the shop among the other customers was a challenge. Customers were lined up both for coffee to drink right there—Germany hasn’t become tuned in yet to the term “to go”—and to buy coffee beans in bags.
FILLED WITH CUSTOMERS The several tables outside were filled with customers in December savoring their hot cups of Wacker’s kaffee, while others at the inside counter were purchasing bags of coffee beans and other Wacker’s products (they sell coffee mugs and other coffee-related items).
To keep customers a bit warmer outside, the seats are covered in the burlap bags from the coffee beans, a nice touch.
In the rear of the shop, customers were crowded around several tables, enjoying their coffee and kuchen, which is also served.
The business began when Luise Wacker opened a coffee shop at the location in 1914. Previous to this, a store was located here where the famous writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe purchased his milk supplies.
Comments about the store on Trip Advisor include these two:
“Definitely the best coffee shop in Frankfurt. There are generally two lines, both often stretching out the door; the one on the left is for those who want to order drinks, while the one on the right is for those who want to buy coffee beans. The shop is also very small with limited seating, so when the weather is nice (or even just tolerable), you will see customers spread out both in front of the shop, and sitting on the stone wall across the street, enjoying their coffee and pastries.
“What non-German speakers may find intimidating is that, when the shop is quite busy, the cashier will shout out to customers further back in the line, asking them for their order. Luckily, the words for cappuccino, espresso and latte are generally the same in both English and German, so you should feel comfortable simply shouting your order back to her. “
Another customer said: “Great coffee. The smell is worth it alone.”
Wacker’s offers a long list of ready to drink coffees, and beans, so you’ll need a moment to figure out what you want. Coffee beans, available in bags of 500 grams each, include beans from Mexico, Java, India, Nicaragua, Galapagos, Cuba and Brazil, and expresso beans come from Jamaica, Guatemala, Costa Rica and other locations. I counted 40 bean types available from the shop.
Once your order is ready, you’ll be treated to some really good coffee, German-style!
European Traveler 