Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin

Main entrance of the Charlottenburg Palace. Wait until you see it at night! Berlin. Dec 22, 2011.

It was a little painful to get to the Charlottenburg Palace after a visit to the Bundestag, but I managed and pretty proud of it. I then arrived at this only royal palace in Berlin. Perhaps it was due to my lack of knowledge regarding the German Kings and Queens, I didn’t find the Charlottenburg Palace as thrilling as the Versailles or Hofburg. Apart from the fact that most of it was damaged during the WW2, there weren’t any stories as intriguing as Marie-Antoinette or Empress Sissi. So, visiting the Charlottenburg was pretty much just like visiting a beautiful historic building: lots of paintings, antiques and furnitures. I did enjoy walking through all those elegant rooms though , and I must say they got some really dainty chandeliers.

Medieval Christmas Market in Dresden

Make a guess and find out what this is from this post 🙂 Dresden. Dec 20, 2011

Before leaving the town of Dresden, I had some time to just walk around this beautiful place and see what I could find. Beside I found a little boutique which was having a clean out sale, I heard some music with drums and trumpets coming through a little alley. It led me to the the side entrance of the Stallhof Christmas Market. There were some flags hanging around, the ground was a bit sandy, and staffs dressed up with fur and animal skin. It was a medieval themed Christmas Market!

Christmas Markets in Prague

Christmas market at the Old Town Square lit up in Prague. Dec 16, 2011.

After seeing the Mucha Museum, we made our way back to the Old Town Square. This little walk actually became one of the reason for me to fall in love with this city. Prague was a very pretty town, full of old colourful little houses lining up the cobblestone streets; every corner you turn, it’s a different scene. However this city turned magical at night, especially around the time of Christmas when the streets were decorated with a warm glow of light.

Naschmarkt… it was alright.

Little angel found among the apples at the Naschmarkt, Vienna. Dec 13, 2011.

I was going to stay at a place near by the Naschmarkt, fortunately they were out of twin rooms. So I had to stay at a hostel in another neighborhood, which turned out to be the best hostel stay I ever had. Therefore, one morning I had to make a trip down to this outdoor market to see what fresh produce they are selling!

This place wasn’t huge, but should be enough to keep you busy for an hour. At first I saw lots of stalls selling olives and feta cheese, then I saw hummus, spices, fruits, vegetables, bread, nuts, flower, raw meat, cooked meat, seafood…… There’s really a lot to look at, and they even have some restaurants there. However, were there anything special about this market besides it being outdoor?

Christmas Markets in Vienna

Looing through snowman lanterns to the Christmas markets on Rathauspark. Vienna. Dec 13, 2011.

When I was booking my Finnair winter promo ticket to Europe, I was thinking: There wouldn’t be lots of beautiful sunny day, it would be cold and dark, shops close early, even museums have a shorter visiting hours. If I must do this trip in winter, I should do it in…December! It can’t go wrong with the all Christmas decorations along the streets, and after dark, there would be still a bunch of Christmas markets going on all over the place!

I went into a Christmas market in front of the Helsinki Cathedral during my brief visit to the city, but it wasn’t a really big one. Perhaps it was not yet in its full swing, as it was around noon. So seeing the Christmas markets in Vienna, for the first time, was amazing! There were lots of cute little things: handmade soap bar, objects hand carved out of wood, beautiful candle holder, jewellery, pottery…… It was a wonderful place to shop for Christmas gift. See the pictures below: