Spend Christmas in France

Skipping Christmas

When planning this trip, I found very little information about the logistics of being in another country over the actual Christmas holiday. Burning questions like “Will the trains be running,” or “How will we feed ourselves?” These are some of the important details that many bloggers seem to fail at answering because they traveled near the time of Christmas but not actually over the holiday itself. For those of you seeking answers, look no further, I have information for you!

To begin, Christmas is my favorite holiday; the food, the colors, the smells, and the sounds fill me with joy each year when I get to untangle my tree garland and cut out cookies that I’ll lose enthusiasm to decorate after the first two. That said, it often gets co-opted by obligations, reciprocal gift-giving, and spending money that hurts for months afterward. None of these later things are in keeping with what I enjoy most about the holiday season. For Christmas 2023, we decided to say “F*** it," and we left town.

With my mother-in-law in tow (It would NOT be Christmas if she were not with us), we packed our bags and boarded a plane on December 21st, bound for Zurich Switzerland.

Our First European Christmas Vacation

If you saw my posts about spending New Year 2022 in Salzburg Austria you might know that I’ve been obsessing over the opportunity to see more Christmas markets in Europe. I’ve been compiling a mental list of the length of my arm of the various trinkets and holiday bobbles I wanted to acquire, so when the time came to pounce, I was ready.

It’s important to know that when planning a visit to the holiday markets in Europe, many of them occur during Advent and conclude before Christmas Day.

However, after much research into the various markets, the cities hosting them, proximity to airports, and a variety of other factors, we determined that of the markets staying open the longest, the Alsace region of France, and most specifically, Colmar, was the place for us. Offering six markets that stayed open until December 28th, which offered us the flexibility to take our time and not have to rush through the markets right before closing for the season.

Another bonus to this location was the classic holiday ambiance baked into staying in a medieval city. Half-timbered houses line the narrow, car-free streets, leaving you feeling as though you are a character in a Charles Dickens novel. Adding to the overall holiday “vibe,” the Alsace region has been under the control of both Germany and France several different times, which has left a distinct impression on the area. People speak both languages, the food is mainly cheese and pretzel-based, and Walt Disney used Colmar as the inspiration for the tiny village that Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) was from.

Holiday Travel Logistics -

Unlike being at home in your own house over a major holiday, there are many logistical factors that need to be considered when traveling abroad. Things like getting your morning coffee, what will be open, how will you actually spend the day. I’m not an expert, but here’s what I can tell you about what Christmas Day was like in Colmar, France.

*An important detail to note, is the transit system has reduced operation on Christmas Eve, no service on Christmas Day, and again, limited service the day after. Make sure that you don’t have to get anywhere that requires more than your own two feet unless you want to deal with a rental car.

What was open on Christmas:

The Christmas market! That’s right, they all opened, including the food vendors within the markets. That said, the regular shops and most restaurants were closed on Christmas Day and the day after. On Christmas Eve, we made a grocery run and got everything we might need for a couple of days, not knowing that we would have options available to us. However, being that most food at the markets was savory or novelty, it was good to be able to make our own breakfast at our Airbnb.

What was there to do on Christmas:

For several years we have made it a point to book a photographer to take nice photos of us on vacation, this trip was no different. I found a photographer on Instagram (her profile can be found here) and reserved her services probably six months in advance of our trip (we reserved a time slot for on Christmas Eve morning). Later that day things started shutting down earlier than normal, with the exception being the holiday markets. We ate dinner at one of the main food tents and then rode the Ferris wheel that was setup nearby and then later that night, (a special activity worth considering) we attended a holiday service at the main church in town, which was a midnight Christmas service., As was expected, the service was totally in French (no one in my party speaks fluently), but they also sang the same classic Christmas songs that we know in our native English, which was very comforting. We’re not frequent church goers, but we greatly enjoyed opportunity to experience a service in one of the many beautiful old churches of Europe.

On Christmas Day, we slept in, made coffee and ate day-old pastries that we had picked up the day before. Back home, we would have opened gifts and then had the television on a continuous loop of holiday movies, but we didn’t find that this was an available option to us on French television, not that we would have been able to understand them any way. Given the time difference, we waited until early afternoon to start making calls back to our loved ones in the US, and then we got dressed and spent the rest of the day roaming around the markets and people watching.

What I bought at the Colmar Christmas Markets

This information may not be of any interest to you, but I was super eager to know what might be available to me before experiencing the markets for myself.

Every market is slightly different (Colmar had six or seven), each with a slightly different emphasis, some had more wine vendors, others offered more children-focused items, while still, others had more hand-crafted decorations. The thing we noticed is that while the overall “theme” of each market was slightly different, the mix of vendors was largely the same at each, so don’t feel that if you missed purchasing something at one market that you’ll not have another opportunity to purchase something similar from a different vendor, there are lots of very similar products and vendors.

With that in mind, hand-painted crockery is the signature item for the Alsace region, you’ll see it everywhere. Beautifully glazed and brightly colored, you’ll find platters, bowls, tureens, teapots, and various other baking dishes covered in patterns consisting largely of hearts and storks (both are heavily used symbols in this area). For our part, we purchased a beautiful blue platter and a small matching crock, but the platter broke into a million pieces on our way home.

Some of the other items that I crammed into my luggage included two springle cookie presses, an embossed rolling pin, one cookie cutter (for the springle presses), a nutcracker, several tree ornaments, two ceramic tabletop village houses, a wooden candle pyramid, and two embroidered table runners. Unfortunately, I failed to take pictures of any of these items during purchase, and are already packed away for the year.

Reflections And Things to Know:

Opting out of gift-giving and much of the other "normal" responsibilities of the Holidays allowed me to just relax and enjoy the season. That said, having skipped Christmas and gone to France, here are a few key takeaways:

• Did I spend less money by going on the trip rather than buying gifts?

• No. I probably spent more money. The cost of flights so near any major holiday is significantly more expensive than normal and the same is true for accommodations, our Airbnb was triple the nightly rate of what it charges the majority of the year.

• Did I feel like I “missed out” by not being at home and seeing more of my family for the holiday?

• Also No. This might have been different if we had gone somewhere tropical or someplace that wasn’t so Christmas-oriented, even our Airbnb host had thoughtfully decorated the apartment for us. Stripping back so much of what has become “normal” Christmas stuff made me feel some of the magic I felt as a kid before I had responsibilities.

• Did I enjoy the Christmas Markets as much as I thought I would?

• This one is tough, but I have to say yes, but with a caveat. I loved the markets, but as someone who struggles with crowds, staying so near to the markets, thereby engaging with the crowds every day for a week, was too much for me. I liked being able to go more than once because it removed the stress of needing to see and find everything in just one day, but I will need to limit my crowd exposure in the future… 2 to 3 days max.

• Will I travel over Christmas again in the future?

• Probably. I think many of the elements I enjoyed about this trip could probably be just as easily obtained by visiting earlier during Advent (aka earlier in December) and at a lower travel cost than over the holiday itself. However, the stigma of being “home for Christmas” feels much less important now, but maybe I’ll try to talk more of my family into skipping town with us ;)

If you would like to watch a short video about our trip, you can see it HERE.

Have questions or need advice? Leave me a comment or shoot me an email.

Experience New Year’s Eve In Austria

Visit Europe This Winter!

Traveling with winter coats, bulky sweaters, and practical footwear for wet weather can be a chore, or it can be an opportunity. Having recently returned from my first trip abroad since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as my first time traveling to a cold climate during the winter season, I’ve compiled some of the helpful tips and tricks I learned along the way.

Before you go…

With regulations changing nearly daily, staying on top of the known unknowns can be a challenge, however, being as prepared as possible is of the utmost importance. A few high-level items to be aware of that we encountered while preparing for our travel in late December of 2021 are shown here:

• Covid-19 Entry requirements differ by country even within the EU, don’t assume that you can just figure it out when you get there, this needs to be researched well in advance of your departure.

• Covid-19 Testing requirements are also changing from one day to the next, I suggest that you stock up with at least two self-administered rapid antigen tests that are recognized by both your country of departure and of arrival, to ensure that you can get a test result that meets with your travel departure and arrival requirements.

• Research the weather. I so badly wanted specific “looks” for our romantic, snow-filled, European vacation. As it would turn out, we were about a month too early for snow, but just in time for cold rain. Ditch the cute stuff and opt for what’s practical.

• Holidays abroad can be a fun change of pace from what we’re used to at home, but be aware that other countries might observe them (or the days around them) differently. Do your research and ensure that you aren’t planning activities that conflict with holiday observances.

Celebrate the New Year in Salzburg, Austria.

“New Year’s Eve,” or “New Year,” is known as “Silvester” in Austria. We arrived in Salzburg on the afternoon of December 31st, not knowing what to expect in terms of celebration, due to Austria having lifted a countrywide lockdown only days before our arrival. Much to our delight, cannons were being fired, period re-enactors were gathering, and holiday decorations were plentiful, as we made our way from the Salzburg train station to our Airbnb in the Old Town.

We were thrilled with the location of the apartment we had rented for our stay, as it was just a few steps away from everything that Salzburg had to offer, so we quickly checked in, ditched our luggage inside, and then plunged ourselves into the festivities we hoped to find.

Not more than fifty feet from our door, we stumbled upon a delightful outdoor square, hosting a holiday bar and nightclub. Not wanting to take unnecessary risks in terms of potential Covid-19 exposure, we opted for the much quieter, outdoor bar, where we enjoyed hot mugs of gluhwein (hot, spiced wine).  

*The mugs required a 2 euro deposit, refundable upon return, or you may keep them when finished as an inexpensive souvenir (we opted to keep ours)!

After a couple of warm drinks, we re-masked and made our way further towards the center square of the Old Town. To my utter amazement (and super-planner shock), we discovered that due to the December Covid19 lock-down, the Christmas Market was still open (normally closed before Christmas)! 

Visiting the Christmas markets of Europe has long been a bucket-list item for me, particularly in the Germanic countries due to my heritage. 

As we inched nearer to midnight, we decided that shopping was not our top priority, and opted to make a single lap through the market to scope out what we might find the following day. However, in the course of our explorations, we came across a fellow American and his English-speaking partner and quickly struck up a conversation. Turns out that our new friend was a tour guide and gave what I’m going to call “super-premium” Sound of Music tours.

I’m going to admit that at the time of our arrival in Salzburg, I had long been a fan of the Rodger and Hammerstein adaptation of The Sound of Music, but I had zero idea that it was a mostly true story about a real family from Salzburg.  

Anyway, we were full of hot wine, and excitement for the holiday, and were equipped with new friends full of local knowledge and looking to kill time until midnight. We proceeded to walk around Salzburg and learn about the history of the city as it related to the Trapp family and see many of the icon spots captured in the film.

Just before midnight, we all four made our way back to the main square below the imposing fortress (which overlooks Salzburg) where many people had gathered, however, it was easy to remain socially distanced.  

At midnight, the massive church bells began to ring and a wonderful fireworks display was shot off over the city from the hilltop above. Call it a traveler high or the reaction of someone stuck indoors for too many years, but those fireworks were the most beautiful I had ever seen.

*Worth knowing in advance, if you should ever want to visit Salzburg for New Year’s Eve, is that there are several “galas” held around the city, which the locals kind of make fun of as just being for rich tourists. However, there is a coursed dinner and musical performance held in the fortress, as well as at a restaurant called St. Peters. In hindsight, I might consider the gala at St. Peters, but in general, I was very happy about our outdoor and nearly free experience.