Christmas Market Feasts

Savoring an Old World holiday, by country and by river cruise

The nippy air makes me shiver in the moonlight, so I quickly find a cure. Wrapping my hands around a mug of hot glühwein, I discover that a few sips of spiced mulled wine warms me from tongue to toes. Delighting in the twinkle-lit stalls selling handmade toys and trinkets, I spontaneously hum along to a Noël tune. It’s a small wonder why Christmas Market riverboat cruises, typically running from late November to Christmas, prove wildly popular. Here’s how to lean into the year’s most festive voyages, and how best to do what we love — eat, drink, and be merry.

A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

Different countries — and even different cities within one country — celebrate the season with their own iconic delicacies. We’ve got the scoop on what to eat where. That being said, with such small countries sharing borders, expect some crossovers.

GERMANY

Foodies celebrate Germany’s top-notch Christmas Markets, hailing the roasted chestnuts, sausages, freshly fashioned pretzels, and fragrant gingerbread. In Stuttgart, try yummy specialties like waffles, roasted almonds and hutzelbrot (yeastbased, dried-fruit bread). When strolling past Nuremberg’s redand-white striped stalls, stop for sausage rolls and lebkuchen, gingerbread-like soft cookies, baked here for centuries (reportedly, since the late 1300s) in assorted shapes and sizes. In Breisach, schwarzwälder kirschtorte — moist, chocolaty Black Forest cake with freshly whipped cream, cherries and cherry liqueur — beckons as the must-try treat.

FRANCE