Glühwein, Stolle, gebrannte Mandeln, Lebkuchen .. say what?
All (mulled wine, German fruit cake only eaten around the Christmas Holiday, roasted almonds, gingerbread) can be found at traditional German Christmasmarkets that are popping up everywhere in the US as well ($10 funnel cakes and such are not traditional by the way).
I grew up in Germany and visiting a German Christmas Market in Silver Spring, MD and beyond is bitter sweet for me. Picture me laughing (Glühwein, yum!) and choking back a few tears (Glühwein without my family is only half the fun) at the same time.
It is definitely a tradition to visit a Christmas market a time or two, or three, or .... during December. The most famous ones take place in Nürnberg and Dresden but you'll be able to find one in practically every German town and even at medieval castles! Good thing that you don't have to hop on a plane anymore to visit a traditional German Christmasmarkets but only have to make your way to downtown DC or Baltimore. And you still have a few more days to experience one!
Christmas Village in Baltimore
where: Inner Harbor (look for the ferris wheel.. you can't miss it)
last opportunity: Christmas Eve (open until 5 pm)
Downtown Holiday Market in Washington DC
where: 8th and F Streets, NW
last opportunity: December 23rd, 2018 (closes at 8 pm)
Holiday events in Silver Spring, MD & beyond: German Christmas Markets
P.S. German Christmas Villages are commonly referred to as either Weihnachtsmarkt (mostly East and North) or Christkindlmarkt (West and South) and are in reference to who brings the presents on Christmas Eve: der Weihnachtsmann (Santa) or das Christkind (the Christ child).
