Travel Missteps: Bag full of Mugs

People Making Merry at the Frankfurt Christmas Market

Staying Warm at the Market with the Best Christmas Drinks

Christmas Markets are the perfect place to meet and socialize. Many stalls will have places to sit, or standing tables to gather around. But the trick to stay warm for this winter pastime? Drinking hot beverages! Here are the traditional drinks you may find:

Glühwein is the most popular of the holiday drinks. It is made with mulled wine, usually red wine, but you might see versions that are made with white, rosè, or fruit wines. It is mixed and heated with cinnamon sticks, cloves, sugar, vanilla, cardamom, and citrus.

You can also fine non-alcoholic versions of Glühwein, called “Kinderpunsch”.

Feuerzangebowle is similar to Glühwein except its served in a special cup, that has a little indentation in it. Within that indentation will be placed a sugar cube, with rum pored over it. This is then set on fire. It is especially beautiful to watch at night, with its bluish flame glowing in the dark. You can easily blow out the flame to have the sugar more alcoholic, or let it burn off the alcohol on its own and wait until the sugar has caramelized before mixing it in with the wine.

Another drink you may find is warm Mead (Warmer Met) which is fermented honey and water. The Christmas version is often mulled mead, with various spices or fruits added to the warmed mead.

Other hot cocktails may also be offered, check around for your favorites. I like warmed cider!

Hot Chocolate (Heise Schokolade) is also a common drink, topped with whip cream instead of marshmallows.

With most of the above drinks you can kick them up a notch with a shot of rum or other liquor. Ask for it for the drink “mit Schuss”.

Me, getting a hot chocolate and my first mug.

ein Pfand

When purchasing a drink at a Christmas Market it will be sold to you in a ceramic, glass, or clay mug. These mugs will be decorated and may feature the name of the town the Christmas Market. There may also be a different design each year. And there are some unique shapes, like boots, or ones that have raised designs. Beyond being cute they also help cut down on the trash, and they also make a great collectible!

You will actually pay a deposit for the mug, usually in the amount of 2-3 Euros. In some cases they may also give you a little plastic marker, this helps indicate which stall you can return the mug to. When you return the mug you’ll be given back your deposit. Or you can simply keep the mug!

Many people collect mugs from the Christmas Markets they visit. I personally don’t like Glühwein, as I’m allergic to wine that contains sulfite. So at my first few markets, I’d buy my Glühwein…take a few sips…and dump it out. I did this twice before someone saw me, and said “You know, you can ask to buy just the mug.” Wish I had thought of that sooner!

A quaint wooden market stall.

A Word of Warning While Collecting Mugs

Beware! It may seem like a good idea to collect a mug from each Christmas Market you go to, but this is a trap! Some cities have multiple Christmas Markets, and you may attend multiple Christmas Markets in the same day! Or, if you’re like me, you’ll see different unique mugs at the same market and want to collect them both!

This is how I ended up with over 20 mugs! I had so many mugs I couldn’t fit them all in my bags, so I had to keep hiding them in my family’s suitcases when they weren’t looking. It is even more shocking when your realize that I landed in Germany on December 19th. Since the Christmas Markets only stay open before Christmas Day, that means in 6 days I was averaging collecting 3 mugs a day! But it was a whirlwind of enjoyment and I did not realize how silly this was…until I got home and realized…I don’t drink coffee…I don’t drink tea…and I live alone. A single woman definitely does not need 20 German Christmas Market mugs!

So my buying guide on collecting mugs:

Take your time in selecting your mug. Look at the various options offered by the market. Then decide which one represents the market the best. Or alternatively only collect a mug if you have a memory of it. Most of my mugs were where I bought only the mug. But the few that were “deposit” mugs where I drank drinks with my family to stay warm have more memories attached to them.
If you don’t plan on using the mugs for your daily use, look for only unique designs, artwork and decorations.
Does it have the year on it and/or the city name? Trust me, I have no clue where I got some of the mugs as they don’t have the city name on it!