xmas shopping/xmas markets

I've been to two German markets. The first one we went on a coach trip for a long weekend to Cologne and Koblenz. There are 6 markets there in total, including a floating one on a boat. Then the second time round we did it ourselves and went to Berlin where there are several markets.

Hard to say which was best really but I'd probably say Berlin because we were centrally located and were within walking distance of all of them (so could drop things off at the hotel room during the day). We also didn't have to endure a 12 hour coach journey to get there! We were also next to a train station which was handy and had bars/restaurants within walking distance.

Where we stayed in Cologne was a bit out of the way and we were tied down to the tour companies schedule, whcih is why we did our own thing to go to Berlin.

Here's my photos from Berlin (including some from a zoo visit!): http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bluelightbabe/Christmas Markets - Berlin - 2005/

It's a really good atmosphere and there are endless supplies of mulled wine and Bratwurst! It snowed when we were in Berlin which just added to the atmosphere. I would definitely recommend going as you can get some really unusual and different gifts for Christmas presents. My friend and I were talking about going again this year but not sure where at the moment.