A Little Taste of Christmas - Osnabrück

The name of the town is not as popular as Hannover or Berlin. But this little town in the north-west of Germany had caught the eyes of many - Osnabrück. The city was greatly involved in World War II and was massively destroyed. But the Altstadt (old town) was reconstructed with designs loyal to the original medieval architecture. So the town had a massive and rich history, but we came for none other than the Christmas market.

It’s puzzling that these markets can be found only in Germany. There are some in NL, but only some. While there are everywhere in the neighbouring country. That just doesn’t make sense. Right? But okay.

The centrum is not that far from the Community College of the City of Osnabrück nor is the parking building. There are several of these parking spaces around the centrum, for those of you with cars. Plus it’s not that long of a walk. Unless if you don’t know where you’re going. Like we were.

The market was placed in the middle of the square. But was divided into two. One in front of the St. Peter Cathedral and the other was between the Old Townhall and Marienkirche (St. Mary Church). These buildings were built in the late Romanesque and Gothic styles respectively.

Surrounding the market are beautiful European city weighing house. The shops, stores are also in forms of fantastic old-style architecture. The further you walk away from whichever side of either Christmas markets, you’ll end up in the more modern centrum of the town.

You can taste the Christmas spirit just by using one of your five senses when you arrived. The colours, sweet scents of the delights, the mood and music that fill the air. There’s always something for everyone. The food stalls were more diverse than the people around. From the classic German bratwurst to middle eastern and Chinese stir-fry. If you’re not in the mood, there’s McDonald's just around the corner.

Kerstmarkt is not just for foodies. If you are looking for a Christmas present, souvenirs or handmade gifts, this market and any other Christmas markets, are calling for you. There were tons of good quality, genuine and handcrafted objects from lamps, home accessories, key chains and cute little snow globes.

At night the city transformed into, a festive wonderland. Just like Amsterdam and London, where during the day the sceneries are the buildings, architecture and environment, then at night, it's the lights that twinkle and sparkle.

No Christmas market is complete without mulled wine or as the german call it Glühwein. It was the first time I’d tasted it and it was pretty good. Some people warned me that it would be disgusting and unswallowable. My mother described it as fermented cassava water (air tape). But I have to disagree. It’s warm and spiced, suits the winter perfectly. For dessert, we had poffertjes, which was unsurprisingly expensive and little. Nevertheless, the whole ambience and company I had were worth the time and journey.