Rüdesheim am Rhein is a small village located on the banks of the Rhine River in western Germany. I only spent one night here en route to the Black Forrest, but it was enough time to enjoy the Christmas market. German Christmas markets are the best, and Rüdesheim am Rhein is no exception.
The market
Just because the village is small, doesn’t mean the Christmas market is…It takes up the whole town! Okay, this a bit of an exaggeration on my part, but that’s how it felt like to me. Because the town is so small, it makes the market feel ‘bigger’. To reach the Christmas market, make your way up Drosselgrasse, the most scenic street in town, and admire all the festive decorations in the restaurant and shop windows.
Drosselgrasse terminates in Oberstrasse, the main street where you’ll find the Christmas market. The buildings in this street were drenched in Christmas lights and decorations, everything from snowmen to reindeer to Santa Clauses.
From Oberstrasse you turn right into Marktstrasse. It’s easy, just follow the stalls. In Marktstrasse you’ll find the huge nativity scene. This is the heart of the Christmas market, complete with life-sized figures of the baby Jesus in a crib, Maria and Joseph by his side, and the wise men who came bearing gifts. It’s a lovely reminder of what Christmas is really about.
The stalls
What can you expect to see at the market? A wide variety of products such as lights, lamps, lace, candles, cosy gloves and scarves and slippers, jewellery and figurines to create your own nativity scene at home.
When it comes to food, you can expect to see a lot of vendors selling Global as well as regional products like lebkuchen (German Gingerbread), wine and cheese. You definitely won’t go hungry at the market, there’s a variety of drinks and dishes to choose from. My favourite food I ate at the market was chocolate covered marshmallows. It was fluffy and sweet and decadent! My favourite drink? Glühwein, of course.
Mmm…give me more.
My thoughts
I liked the festive atmosphere at the market. Although it attracted quite a lot of people, it wasn’t too crowded and I could easily walk from one stall to the next. I adored the extravagant decorations too. As if a Christmas tree constructed from wooden crates wasn’t quirky enough, there was a life-sized snow globe too! What’s not to like? Having said that, I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to see the market. But if you happen to be in the area during the festive season, definitely swing by.
Check out the huge snow globe.
The market runs from the end of November to the 23rd of December and is open daily from 11h00 in the morning to about 20h00 at night. For more information about the Christmas market, click here.
A very creative and cleverly constructed Christmas tree!
