A visit to Dresden’s Christmas Market

It’s difficult to reminisce about my first German Christmas market experience without thinking about the horrific terror attack that happened earlier this week in Berlin. My heart goes out to the families of the victims and the German people for this senseless tragedy.

That it happened at a Christmas market is all the more heartbreaking. There are few places in the world that symbolize merriment and festivity during the holiday season more than Germany’s Christmas markets, and to have it tainted by this awful incident is almost unbearable. But I have happy memories from my time exploring the markets and this is what I choose to keep in my heart.

Dresden's Christmas market is the oldest in Germany, dating back to 1434. Photos: Paul John Caña

It was about six years ago when I had the opportunity to visit my first authentic Christmas market. I traveled to Germany to work on a story and my first stop was the city of Dresden in the east, near the border with the Czech Republic. I didn’t really think about my travel schedule before I left, but everyone said my timing couldn’t have been better as the Christmas market had just opened about two days before I arrived.

I stayed in a hotel called the Quartier Frauenkirche, which was strategically located right in the town plaza, or the Altmarkt Square. After work was done, I retired back to my room in the early evening to relax. That was where I got my first full glimpse of the city’s Weihnachtsmarkt.

From the hotel window I could see a giant Christmas tree and the imposing dome of the Frauenkirche, or the Church of Our Lady, to my left. Everything was bathed in a golden glow from the lights of the Christmas stalls spread out all across the plaza. And, as if on cue, tiny white flakes began to fall from the sky. It was my first experience with snow.

Quickly I pulled out my heavy coat, gloves, scarf and camera, took the elevator downstairs and out into the night. The wind stabbed at my face, the only exposed part of my body. It was bitterly cold but I didn’t care.

Almost all of the Dresdeners that I talked to said that I was fortunate I was experiencing my first Christmas market in Dresden because it was the oldest one in Germany, dating back to 1434. I walked past stalls hawking everything from handmade wooden ornaments and textile products to confectionaries, pastries and a variety of hot drinks.

I tried a glass of mulled wine which was handed to me by a smiling, mustached gentleman. On one corner of the plaza there was a reenactment of a medieval scene, with the actors all decked out in period costumes.

Throngs of people walked this way and that, but the crowd wasn’t so thick that it was too difficult to walk along the pathways. I had time to stop and check out the wares on the way to the Fürstenzug, a large mural made of Meissen porcelain tiles depicting the rulers of Saxony region through the ages.

Further on I found myself on a promenade along the Elbe River. It was even more freezing out on this side so I doubled back and escaped into the comforting heat of the stalls selling freshly baked breads.

I purchased a traditional Christmas bread called a Stollen to take as pasalubong to a friend of mine who lives in Hamburg, where I was headed the next day. But I walked around some more and took in the sights and sounds around me before heading back up to my hotel room.

And even then I couldn’t resist gazing out of the window at the magical scenery spread before me.

Nothing beats spending Christmas back home in the Philippines, but discovering how people on the other side of the planet celebrate this joyous season not only made me appreciate my favorite holiday even more, but also made me realize how we’re not so different after all. — BM, GMA News

Paul John Caña is a magazine writer and live music geek. Check out his blog manontheotherside.blogspot.com. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @pauljohncana.