If things have been quiet around here, that is because yours truly has been galavanting and been in transit for the past few days. A vacation once a year with Shipra is our only getaway time where we are able to spend quality time together, although these days it is also about trying to keep away from the phone as much as possible so that we get face time instead of screen time.
We started from Mumbai and used our Avios to fly Cathay Pacific business class to Hong Kong
Over the past few years, our trips have gone all over the place. One year it was at Bora Bora, another year Australia for Christmas and last year it was to London for the summers. So this year, we decided to hop over to Europe for the winters, and what better time to come here than during the Christmas Markets.
I would like to thank Iberia from the bottom of my heart here for the lovely promotion they did earlier this year which allowed me to garner 90,000 Avios for a song which was spent on British Airways Business Class to bring us to Munich from Hong Kong after transiting in London Heathrow. Thanks to the fact that we could sleep for half the flight, it meant no Jet Lag landing into London at 5 AM.
From Hong Kong, we flew 13 hours non-stop on the British Airways A380 upper deck
Munich got us in the festive spirit from the word go. The Munich Airport has a Christmas Market on their grounds, which meant, the Gluhwein could start flowing 30 minutes after we landed here.
The Munich airport has it’s own Christmas Market
We are right now living through a great points redemption with SPG/Marriott Rewards, living in the Munich city centre in a Suite overlooking the city centre for just 35,000 Marriott Rewards points a night, which the retail price per night is going at 460 Euro, excluding breakfast. That is a cool INR 1.1 ($0.015) value per Marriott Rewards point. Oh, and don’t forget that Platinum members get breakfast free, so that is another 60 Euros per night saved.
The view from our bedroom at Le Meridien Munich
All of this really makes me believe in the points and miles world all over again, because it can make things work for you which would usually require a lot of cash.
Time for the Christmas Markets
A great starting point for Christmas Markets is always Germany, and we are here now and got our first taste of the Munich Christmas Markets.
The stalls at the Christmas markets in Germany are beautiful
We also headed to the Nuremberg Christmas Market, which is one of the best Christmas Markets in Europe. Today, we are going to be headed out and about in Munich again.
Nurenberg Christmas Market is one of the oldest in Germany
From here, we are heading to Vienna, where apart from the Sacher Torte, the Christmas Markets are great as well. The last stop on this trip will be Prague, where we spend a few days exploring the city as well as their local Christmas Markets.
Needless to say what I’ve seen so far is smashing, except I’m still to figure out why are there not enough people selling Pretzels and more people selling fries in this part of the world? What happened to the Bavarian food yo?
If you have any tips about places to go, food to eat or markets to check out, do let us know. We have another week or so on the road, so the more insights we get, the better.
Now back to another round of GluhWein in the sub-zero temperatures for me. And more posts on our Christmas Adventures coming soon.
Shame you mss d the Salzburg market….
One of our favorites!
You should try going to Heidelberg if possible 🙂 A very beautiful small town by the Rhine river. Great place, many food options – will be happy to help out further if you do go!
Another place I could think of is Strasbourg! The prettiest town I have seen!
Have a great trip. We did this exact itinetrary last christmas, except we stayed in Salzburg instead of Vienna. Some things off the beaten track ehich are top of mind:
Prague: Lehká hlava / Clear head is a highly recommended vegetarian restaurant in the heart of old town next to Charles bridge.
If you are in beers and haven’t had enough in Munich :), drop by to Prague beer museum. It’s a bar setting, not a museum, but had a vast collection. Letna park is a good spot with a beautiful view of the city and a legendary beer garden.
Vienna and around -The Prater is a large public park in Vienna which is very lively in summers, not sure about winters. It’s also beautiful to drive around to Salzburg, Hallstatt etc if you are renting a car, lovely landscapes.
Cafe Savoy in Prague is a must try for their excellent brunch and coffee. I am a fan of their flat white, french toast and almost everything else is quite good and reasonably priced. Decor is quite nice as well.
Enjoy!
Same here. Currently in Vienna on a river cruise. Wife and I have been on the Uniworld Christmas market cruise for a week now, started in Nuremburg last week hitting different Christmas markets in Germany and Austria.