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Black Forest and Germany at ChristmasIt will be your most precious gift this holiday season.

Before advancing on the route and on the essentials of what to see in the Black Forest at Christmas, we give you some tips to keep in mind before going to your destination. A post that we wrote you within our Complete guide to travel to the Black Forest at Christmas:

But it's not all advice, some of these 14 points are things we would have liked to know before traveling to the Black Forest for Christmas to better understand the place and its traditions.

Some of these tips are for the whole year, but many are just for winter and the Christmas season.

We hope you find them useful and especially if you like them or have any doubts. write to us through networks or here below the post in "comments". We will answer you delighted..

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1 In the Black Forest and Germany at Christmas it is cold and it often snows: winter tires mandatory

That said, if you are going to travel to the Black Forest and Germany at Christmas with your vehicle, keep in mind that in Germany it is compulsory winter tires when there is snow forecast or it has snowed. Therefore, take winter tires on your trip to the Black Forest at Christmas. And another tip, the chains can also get you out of trouble if there is ice, even if you have winter tires.

In this video we explain the problems that you can have in the snow in a motorhome and the possible solutions that you will have to apply.

2 Documents needed to travel to the Black Forest Germany at Christmas

For this trip do not forget to bring both for adults and for children your Valid ID or passport and also for any health problem the European sanitary card that you can do on the social security website and receive it at home.

In addition, we have used to hire the travel insurance from Iati Escapadas, that due to its cost, we go more calm with the children and we know that later we avoid anything the co-payments that health has in Germany. I leave here the link with a discount that on top of the discount if you hire it through this link you help us to continue writing on the blog.

3 You should know that the Black Forest and Germany at Christmas have different celebrations than the Spanish ones: Saint Nicholas and Kristkindel

In Germany Christmas starts earlier than here. That is probably why you will see that the Christmas markets here start the third week of November already.

They start with Saint Nicholas, December 6, and around the weekend before you can start to see their parades.

Saint Nicholas was a bishop with a long white beard of wealthy Turkish origin, who is said to have done charity work for families with needy children by throwing coins down his chimney.

This is where the tradition comes from that on the night of December 5 to 6, children in Germany, and in many other places in Europe such as Alsace in France, Belgium or Switzerland, leave boots near the fireplace or a front door and Saint Nicholas He leaves them money, sweets or gifts.

Now you are surely thinking…but Pilar, isn't this Santa Claus? Well… bingo! That's where Santa Claus comes from.

Some European emigrants began to celebrate Saint Nicholas on December 25 in the United States, and that's where everything arose... that plus the Coca-cola that surely disguised it as red hehehehe

By the way, in the Black Forest, Saint Nicholas is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, a rather bad white-bearded monk who is the one who distributes the punishments to the bad children.

The next question you will now have is whether in the Black Forest Santa Claus is coming too, right? Well no. Santa Claus does not come on the night of December 24. But instead, that night he brings gifts to the children on Kristkind!

Kristkind is baby Jesus.

Oh and lastly, the kings are celebrated and it is a holiday, but not like here. In Germany, it is customary to meet in the church on the day of the Three Kings or to go through the houses dressed up singing and asking for alms for some cause.

4 When it's cold the fountains are cut off, so rationalize the water and take a long hose if you travel by motorhome or camper through the Black Forest in Germany at Christmas

If you travel by motorhome or camper, you should know that if the temperatures are below 0, all external sources will not have water. Neither in motorhome areas nor on the street you will be able to refuel water. The best solution apart from saving water is looking for campsites that are open in winter, few, y carry a long water hose to refuel at the points that are normally set up inside the bathrooms.

5 In the Black Forest they speak a dialect of German that is not easy to understand

As is, even if you speak German, it's hard to understand this dialect, so in case you didn't know it, they speak their own dialect here.

6 Most Christmas markets in the Black Forest in Germany at Christmas start on the second last weekend of November and last until December 23

Thus, it is the Christmas markets except for some like the one in Baden Baden or Triberg that starts when they all finish on the 26th until the 31st of December, in most of the small towns they end before Christmas. Therefore, the The best time to see the Black Forest at Christmas is from the end of November to the beginning of December.

7 To see all the Christmas markets you have to plan your trip, not all of them are open every day or at all hours

Every town and market is different. Most of the ones in the big cities open daily, especially in the afternoon, but not all. And in small towns or like the one in Ravenna they only open on weekends, and in this one you must also reserve the entrance before paying the amount.

If what you want is to see the towns of the Black Forest Germany at Christmas with their open markets, you must plan your route. Look at the official tourism website of each place where you have the markets, opening hours and days.

And remember that we can organize the entire route for you, saving you time and making your route a trip of 10 with our personalized route assembly service.

8 If you go by motorhome it is easy there are many areas that all have to be paid for and with extra paid services

In Germany it is easy to travel by motorhome or camper, almost all towns and cities have places enabled to park and spend the night in a motorhome. That yes normally previous payment always the areas and where we will find all the services but also with a small extra cost.

9 What to eat and drink at Christmas markets in the Black Forest at Christmas

In the Christmas markets, hot food and drink stalls are essential. On your way through this route we recommend you try all the flavors of the Black Forest at Christmas through its multiple biscuits, caramelized, sausages, Langos (a kind of pizza of Hungarian origin) and kartoffenpuffer that we liked so much, a kind of potato omelette, but without eggs. All accompanied by a good spicy mulled wine with citrus, white or red, the glühwein. Or if you don't want alcohol you can drink the hot one "Punch" that our children liked so much, a non-alcoholic punch.

10 The best, how beautiful the towns and nature are. The worst, that there are perhaps many things closed in winter.

As it is. The best is its beautiful fairytale towns and nature with lush forests. The worst thing is that in winter many towns are left empty and sad on the streets and that there are many shops, museums, campsites, among others, that are closed.

11 The Black Forest consists of 321 villages and one area in the federal state of Baden Wurtemberg in Germany.

You may think that the Black Forest is an integrated region or a department administratively speaking, but it is not a historical area that encompasses different administrative regions within the EGerman federal state of Baden Württemberg.

12 Typical things about the Black Forest that you may know and may not know so much

Without a doubt, cuckoo clocks are a hallmark of the Black Forest that you surely know. Now, do you know the famous black forest cake based on cherries that they even eat in Alsace? Very good.

Also something very typical is the pom pom hat of the traditional costume of the Black Forest, where women according to the color of the pom-poms declared themselves single or married. Those in red single, those in black married.

Finally, another hallmark of the Black Forest forests is a sprite that lives in the forest called Schwazarld wichetd.

13 A booming Christmas tradition in the Black Forest at Christmas:. Praise the tree in exchange for a shot

On the night of December 24, more and more people are seen on the streets biting neighbors, friends and family to praise their Christmas tree. In exchange for saying "but what a beautiful Christmas tree" they take a shot of brandy.

14 The highest mountain is the Felberg with 1493 meters, not very high but with great ski slopes

The Black Forest is a forested and mountainous area, although as you can see the mountains are not very high. Everything and that usually snows a lot and they have very good ski resorts.

Continue reading our guide to travel to the Black Forest Germany at Christmas

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