Munich's Christmas market, called "Christkindl Markt", is celebrated at Marienplatz, in the heart of Munich's Old Town. The first Munich Christmas market was held in 1642, and back then, it was famous for gingerbread, manger figurines, and chimney sweeps made out of plums and almonds.

Special events at the Munich Christmas market include free traditional Christmas concerts; they are held every day at 5.30 p.m. on the balcony of Munich's Town Hall.
Inside the Town Hall, a "Heavenly Workshop" for kids between 6 and 12 is organized, offering arts and crafts and cookie baking for little Christmas market visitors.

• Read more about Munich's Christmas Market
• Munich City Guide
• Top 10 Things to Do in Munich

For me, the highlight of every Christmas market visit is eating and drinking. Sure, I enjoy the Christmas music, I like browsing for ornaments and gifts, but nothing beats the smell of roasted chestnuts mixed with baked apples, or the steaming pots of hot, spiced wine.

I put together a list of my favorite Christmas treats that you'll find at a typical German Christmas market and that you should definitely try. Enjoy!

• Stollen - traditional German Christmas cake with dried fruits, nuts, spices, and sugar icing
• Glühwein - hot spiced wine
• Nürnberger Rostbratwürste - small charcoal-grilled Nuremberg sausages
• Lebkuchen - gingerbread biscuits
• Brataepfel - baked apples
• Gebrannte Mandeln - roasted almonds
• Maronen - roasted chestnuts
• Marzipanbrot - "Marzipan Bread", a big piece of Marzipan, shaped like a loaf of bread

_{(Photo: Johannes Kroemer/Getty Images)}

The Jewish Museum of Berlin celebrates the festival of lights with a month-long Hanukkah Market in the museum's glass courtyard.

The Berlin Hanukkah market offers Jewish specialties and Hanukkah wares from all over the world; you can sample Israeli delights such as date paste and candied fruit, buy Judaica like Hanukkah lamps, mezuzots, and dreidel, or find some great gifts, like cosmetics with minerals from the Dead Sea. If you love German mulled wine, you can wash down your latkes with a glass of kosher hot spiced wine.

Find out address, opening hours, and more information about the Berlin Hanukkah celebration here.

Hanukkah Resources on About.com

• Tradition of Hanukkah
• Hanukkah Recipes

_{(Photo: Stockbytes/Getty Images)}

Do you need some inspiration for a Christmas present? Have a look at this list with unique Gifts "made in Germany". From little Hummel figurines, and organic skin care, to clothing, books, and toys, these presents will make any Germany aficionado happy.

And don't worry, you don't have to rush to Germany before Christmas to pick them up - you can buy all these gifts online. Happy Christmas Shopping!

• Christmas Presents Made in Germany

Christmas Shopping in Germany

• The Best German Christmas Markets
• Germany's Most Popular Shopping Streets
• Best Designer Outlets in Germany

_{(Photo Courtesy of Pricegrabber)}

In our Germany Travel Forum, Teresa from California posted a message about her upcoming trip to Munich.

My adult daughter and i will be in Munich for Christmas eve. What can we do and where can we get a wonderful Christmas eve meal? We would like some magic, can anyone suggest some ideas for a magical Christmas eve in Munich and how to book it?

Share your ideas for a magical  Christmas in Munich and find out what other readers suggest: Just join our conversation in the Germany Travel Forum or leave a comment below.

_{(Photo: C.Reiter/TAM Munich)}

If you are spending December 6th in Germany, make sure to leave your shoes outside the door - Santa Claus, called Nikolaus or Weihnachtsmann in German, comes this evening to fill your shoes with sweets, oranges, walnuts, cookies, and little santa claus figurines made out of chocolate.

Celebrating the Season in Germany:

• Christmas in Germany
• The Best German Christmas Markets
• Festivals in December

(Photo by Shawn Zehnder Lea)

If you have a sweet tooth and love German cake, you are in for a real treat at the "Stollen Festival" in Dresden.

On Saturday, December 5th, the world's biggest Stollen, Germany's traditional Christmas bread, will be presented (and of course eaten) at the Christmas Market in Dresden; expect no less than a super-cake, weighing 4 tons and measuring 13 feet in length.

Before you try a bite of this culinary masterpiece, watch the traditional procession of hundreds of bakers and pastry chefs, who will carry the giant Stollen through the baroque Old Town of Dresden. At the Christmas market, the Stollen will be cut with a special 3 feet long silver-plated knife and then sold to hungry visitors.

And what is the Super-Stollen made of? - 1.5 tons of flour, 1.000 pounds of sugar, 1.700 pounds of butter, 11 gallons of rum, and 2.5 million raisins.

Dresden Travel Tips:

• Guide to Dresden Christmas Market
• Photo Gallery: Dresden's Old Town
• Dresden's Church of Our Lady

Another day, another hot deal: The German Railway teams up with German discount supermarket Lidl for a special sale on train tickets. Starting Monday, December 7th 2009, Lidl sells two one-way train tickets for only 66 Euros - a great deal, as you can travel anywhere you want in Germany and Austria on all all local and regional trains!

The Lidl train tickets are valid on weekdays (except Fridays) between January 4th and March 31st, 2010; children and grandchildren under 14 can travel for free.

Get the Lidl tickets while they are hot, they are expected to be sold out fast!

More on Train Travel in Germany

• Guide to Train Travel
• More Discount Tickets and Special Passes
• German-English Travel Glossary Related to Train Travel

If you have a sweet tooth, don't miss ChocolART, the largest chocolate festival in Germany. It is celebrated between December 1-6, 2009 in Tübingen, a traditional university town in the southwest of Germany.

Visit the open-air market in the Old Town, which offers chocolate delicacies from around the world, and indulge in mouthwatering activities like chocolate-making classes, chocolate massages, tasting sessions, and chocolate art exhibitions. Sweet!

• When: December 1 - 6, 2009
• Where: Tübingen
• Website: ChocolART Festival

More Events in Germany in December 2009

On December 1st, Munich commemorates World AIDS Day 2009 with a candle-light-walk through its city center.

Join thousands of locals at Odeonsplatz, in front of the Field Marshall's Hall, and walk Munich's streets to St. Lukas Church, where a service with meditation and music will be held to remember the victims of AIDS.

• When: December 1st, 2009, 7:00 p.m.
• Where: Odeonsplatz, Munich
• Cost: Free, but donations for candles are appreciated
• Website: AIDS Candle Light Walk (in German)

Do you know of more World AIDS Day events in Germany? Please share them with us in the comments section below.