I’m sure you’d like to know what a Christmas market is really like, right? We went to quite a few, but one that stands out is at the Thurn and Taxis Palace in Regensburg.  It’s the only market we saw that charged admission (well worth it, by the way), but since we toured the palace, our admission was included, and so were a couple of steaming mugs of delicious Gluhwein (traditional mulled wine.)  I’ll tell you about the palace later, but since it’s still before Christmas, I thought I’d show you a beautiful and merry little Christmas event.

Christmas markets are all about the festive little stalls that sell food and products, all decorated in the most charming of ways. I loved that the booths didn’t hit us in the face with holiday lights and drama–a few simple decorations–pine boughs, colorful stars–it was enough. And of course, many of the products were festive in their own right.

Ornaments, snow globes, figurines–there was something for everyone.  It was fun to look  and my style was to get the lay of the land first and then return if I really wanted something.  I didn’t buy much.

Even Fido was provided for, with an entire booth devoted to dogs –and cats–all sorts of cute pet products. Riley has plenty of stuff and just got his holiday BarkBox, so we didn’t buy him a thing.

Are you hungry for some smoked fish? This was a popular booth and something I didn’t expect to see.

I loved these reindeer, adorned with just a small pine bough and a couple of acorns. In my neighborhood they’d be lit within an inch of their lives and moving. But this seemed a far superior approach.

Traditional wax ornaments were so cute. I wasn’t sure they’d last at home, so I didn’t buy any, but I loved seeing them everywhere. The angels are most traditional, I’m told.  It would be easy to make these with molds.

This was one of the very few practical booths we saw–it sold brushes of all kinds. I’m not sure if that is a holiday tradition, or not, but boy, were there a lot of brushes!  Then again, Germans are known for being clean and industrious. Maybe this proves it.

It was a brisk afternoon, quite cold, and we saw no gas heaters at all. Nope.  Here’s how they warmed us.  First, some wood. Remember that stuff?

I loved this method of storing cut logs.  If I lived in a cold climate I’d do something similar in my yard. Maybe not so large.

Many people stood around these clever heated tables sipping their Gluhwein.  There’s a fire in that center metal canister.  I’m sure here in the U.S. there would be some safety law against it, but it worked just fine in Germany.

So M decided to go get us some Gluhwein from one of at least a dozen stalls that sold it at this market. It was very popular. Yes, he’s in this photograph. No, not in the foreground. He hit the Gluhwein pretty hard this trip as it was pretty tasty.

Later, we sat here and warmed our bones.  See? No need for gas heaters. The old-school method works just fine and is much more charming.  Although if you sat there too long you stunk of smoke. And some people used it as a place for their cigarette break.

Yeah, the fish guy again, but from a different angle. He was plenty warm.  Cute, too.  It’s just that he looked so…bored.

The craftsmanship here was lovely. Notice the tiny holiday toches. I really got into the simplicity-of-decorations thing here.

Nice ornaments.  I saw some really neat woodwork. And some great cold-weather gear, too!

Did Santa really use this back in the day?  If so, it was as pretty rough ride.

No Christmas market would be complete without him, right? Do you love his outfit?

I am swooning over those red stars. This cute little tree is lighting our way back to another Christmas at the markets.  We’ll definitely be back!  I’m thinking a Christmas in Budapest.