Christkindelsmärik
For Thanksgiving, I was blessed enough to have two college friends visit me in Paris. As both of them had been to Paris a number of times before and had seen most of the main tourist attractions, we thought it would be fun to celebrate the holiday season by taking a trip to Strasbourg, France for Christkendelsmärik. Christkendelsmärik is a Christmas market held annually in Strasbourg and draws about 2 million visitors each year. Strasbourg has been hosting its Christmas market since 1570, making it one of the oldest Christmas markets in Europe. The term Christkendelsmärik has an Alsatian origin, which is a low Alemannic German dialect that was spoken in the Alsace region until the 20th century.
On the day after Thanksgiving, we took the TGV from Paris to arrive in a very frigid Strasbourg, the capital of Christmas. The weather (albeit a bit cold for me) was great for strolling around the beautiful decorated city while sipping on cider and mulled wine. The food, the Christmas markets, and the company were terrific and it was the perfect way to start the holiday season.
