From the Slopes to the Markets to Mozart: A Well-Rounded Winter in Central Europe
Published on Tue Nov 15, 2011
From the Slopes to the Markets to Mozart: A Well-Rounded Winter in Central Europe
If you’re hankering to ski this winter, turn your attention to Europe. Salzburg and Munich offers miles of nearby terrain—and lively, urbane cities to both relax in and explore the substantial après-ski nightlife (and culture!). Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, and other Central European cities will be decked out in their most splendid Christmas finery—including miles of market stalls, twinkling trees, hot wine, and festive music. Come New Year’s Eve, each city breaks out its best party machines…with no holds barred! Meanwhile, Budapest is by far the best value around.
Holidays in Berlin
Temperatures plummet and the sky turns grey. You know it’s coming…and then there it is: proud if lonely. Berlin’s first Christmas tree.
As December marches on, more and more trees (tannenbaum) appear in Berlin’s broad squares and public marketplaces. Always, they’re accompanied by music, shopping, and warm mugs of mulled wine. Sometimes, tobogganing plays a role, too. Go to the right spot, and your slide down the hill comes with a panoramic view.
Specifically, Christmas brings:
Christmas markets. Come the first week of Advent (26 November 2011), visitors to Berlin are spoiled fo
r choice. This means designer markets, some of the world’s best restaurants, and oddball items—such as the “ghost” train. In the city alone, you’ll find 60 Christmas markets—from a handful to hundreds of festively lit stalls (enough for an entire afternoon). The largest are at Gendarmenmarkt (in front of Charlottenburg Palace) and Spandau’s old town.
For more information, go to Overview of Berlin's Christmas markets.
New Year’s Party at Brandenburg Gate. When you’ve done your fair share of shopping (and tearing open packages), New Year's Eve turns Berlin into one citywide party zone. The city’s biggest party (as always) is with the international throngs—typically numbering in the hundreds of thousands—celebrating along two km on Strasse des 17 Juni (at Brandenburg Gate). Here, we put on an extravagant stage show featuring international stars and state-of-the-art fireworks.
For more information, go to New Year’s Eve in Berlin.
A Free Night (+ Bath) in Budapest. Now till March, 2012
When it’s nippy outside, there’s nothing like a hot thermal bath. In Budapest, a natural thermal bath is just one of the comforts that the season offers—and at a discount, too.
This year in Budapest, Heroes’ Square and the City Park unveil a lovely renovation: Hungary’s newest ice rink. In January, 2012, the Rink gets inaugurated by a Speed Skating Championship! For further information, please visit: www.budapestinfo.hu
Free Night; Free Bath. From November, 2011 to March, 2012, Budapest opens its doors—wide. Book a stay at selected hotels, and get one free night, and free access to our renowned thermal baths! You’ll also get a discount on a Budapest Card 2012 ($40 after the discount), which encompasses over 100 discounts, including all of the following for a memorable 72 hours:
• Free un
limited access to all public transportation within Budapest
• Two free English guided walking tours (one in Pest, and another one in Buda)
• One-time free entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Ethnography, Budapest History Museum and the ZOO
• Free map
• Free guidebook
• A free Budapest Card for one child under 14
• Deep discounts for restaurants, sightseeing, entrance fees, pubs, and more
Come during Christmas, and you’ll experience our 13th Christmas Fair, featuring Hungarian artworks, handicrafts, and delicious festival delicacies. For details, please go to: www.budapestwinter.com
Sport Your Way Through Munich
Think Bavaria, and think Oktoberfest. But Bavaria’s capital is also a littler-known gateway to the Alps in wintertime—and a slew of winter sports.
Come winter, the city and its surrounds are a sports lover’s paradise—replete with low season rates, a lack of crowds, cozy Bavarian festivities, and the drop-dead snowy Alpine view.
Over 50 ski resorts sit within a 90-minute radius of Munich. The city itself is a Mecca for sledding (in Munich’s pretty English Garden), ice skating, even skin diving. To cap it off: an operational Olympic Village.
In December, visitors get in for free to the following:
• The 
Winter Tollwood Festival—on the grounds of Oktoberfest. This is home to Munich’s largest New Years Eve Bash
• Figure skating at the Ice Magic rink in Karlsplatz public square.
• Christmas markets, including a manger market, in which you can design your own nativity display
• The Winter Sports Festival in “Olympia” Park, site of the Munich Olympics. On December 30 & 31, 2011, you can try out more than 15 different winter sports, including ice skating, bobsledding and ice hockey. Or buy a ticket to the Audi FIS Ski World Cup (New Year’s Day), and play a variety of sports free of charge
Other events throughout winter and spring:
• During German Mardi Gras (January 7 to February 21, 2012), street festivities abound, with highlights such as “Munich Crazy” (February 19), and the masked dance of the market women at Viktualienmarkt on Shrove (February 21).
• Visitors get free admission to Strong Beer Season (March 15 to April 15, 2012). www.munich-touristinfo.de
For more information, go to: www.unitedvacations.com
Guns and Skiing: Not the Salzburg You Expect
What better way to send off 2011 than a gun salute? Actually, we can think of a few ways that might be equally fun—including miles of nearby ski terrain!
For a more graceful (and quieter) close, consider spending New Year's Eve listening to Salzburg's Mozarteum Orchestra at the Large Festival Hall. www.salzburg-altstadt.at. The Salzburg State Theater and Mirabell Palace have similar concerts—depending on your taste.
The gun salute happens at Hohensalzburg Fortress—and the sight of the marksmen and Civic Guard is magnificent, indeed.
Across town,Salzburg's historic city center stages a countdown….for three days. From December 30th to January 1st, you can stroll among live music, culinary delicacies, and a spectacular fireworks display over rooftops.
If you’re a ski bunny, have the city shuttle you up to the slopes and back—for free. The Salzburg Flachau Ski Shuttle kicks off on December 17, and shuts down March 11, 2012. It takes skiers to the Flachau skiing region (just over 40 miles from the city), with its nearly 534 miles of groomed terrain. (The shuttle service picks passengers up at the Europark (8:00 a.m.), on Mirabell Square (8:30 a.m.) and at the Hubertushof in Anif (8:45 a.m.), and returns them around 4:00 p.m.) It’s an all-inclusive deal—which comes with ski passes, ski guides, rental equipment, and activities. www.salzburg.info
For more information, email tourist@salzburg.info, or go to www.salzburg.info.
Vienna Christmas Markets
From mid-November to Christmas, Vienna’s prettiest squares become unrecognizable. They turn storybook—complete with twinkling lights, fresh aromas, and giant wreaths.
Take the traditional Vienna Magic of Advent, in Rathausplatz. The 150-plus stalls offer up a centuries-old (yet updated) selection of Christmas gifts, Christmas tree decorations, Austrian sweets, and warming drinks. The Advent wreath knocks things out-of-the-park: it’s 40’ across, and it dominates the square.
Not far away (in museumville) is the Christmas village on Maria-Theresien-Platz. For the younger crowd is the romance of the market at the Old AKH, a popular meeting point during the run-up to Christmas.
In the city center, try the Old Viennese Christmas Market on Freyung. Dating back to 1772, it’s the place to buy handicrafts, glass decorations, and traditional cribs and ceramics. From 4:30 daily, a band serenades the square with festive Advent music.
If you prefer to take your fairytales at the palace, then hop over to either the Ehrenhof (in front of Schönbrunn Palace) or the Advent market (at Belvedere Palace). Ehrenhof offers handmade jewelry, Christmas decorations, a children’s Christmas program, and cribs galore. After Christmas, it turns into a New Year’s market.
For more information, please go to www.wien.info.