We searched for a Christmas Market all last weekend, without any luck. On Tuesday, we took a short drive to Germany to see Trier, purportedly Germany’s oldest city. We were delighted to find their Christmas Market underway!
Although Trier’s market is just 30 years old, and sometimes described as small, we were impressed. If you can’t be there in person, you can enjoy the market online, with a special Christmas-market-video-game (a Weihnachtsmarktspiel), or a page of 
promotional media. If you need to distract the kids, there’s a coloring book, too! (It’s a little weak, but do those little rugrats really deserve better?)
By contrast, Dresden’s Christmas market is now 575 years old. (Dresden is 680km away, about 6.5 hours by car. Maybe we’ll go next year.)
By Friday, Luxembourg City’s market was underway. It’s not as large or as well-decorated as Trier’s market, but we look forward to returning regularly.
At both markets, Will found glühwein (also known as hot red wine, or mulled wine). It was typically sold in decorative mugs, which could be returned for a deposit, or kept as souvenirs. We found the best mugs in each market, and we’re quite happy to share them with you:
Please note the lovely crest on the toe of the Luxembourgish boot.
You can look forward to more photos in the near future, and maybe some deep thoughts about the mix of secular and religious during the European holiday season. In the meantime, we present to you a brief video of the gigantic Christmas carousel pyramid in Trier.