It took nearly a month for all of the 180+ stalls at the famous Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt (Christmas Market) which ran fron November 28-December 24 to be set up, but by yesterday (Friday Jan 11), all traces (except for the fencing in the foreground) have been removed. Christkindlesmarkt is a VERY big deal here-- it's one of the largest Christmas fairs in Germany, is arguably the oldest (dating back to at least 1628), and is certainly the most famous. Every year, 2 million(!?!) visitors come to Nuremberg to check this out, with surprisingly large contingents from Italy and Japan. We only went a couple times, but mostly stayed clear for any number of reasons-- always seemingly bitterly cold on the days when we had the time to go down there, insanely crowded, and very similar stuff at too-many booths. I will say this about German Christmas though: it's a refreshing change from the aggressively commercial North American version. Christmas here is less about gifts (even the booths at the Christkindlesmarkt primarily sold handmade toys and tchotchkes, food, and drink) and more about treasuring and connecting with your family and friends. This is the Hauptmarkt square, centrally located in Nuremberg's old town, with the Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady), a structure that began construction in 1352 (and is much smaller inside than it looks) in the background.
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