Traveling to Germany

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N2Film

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Hello to all. I visit the forum almost daily but rarely post; however, I'm hoping to change that😜. So to start, I am planning on a visit to Germany in the next few days to perhaps visit the Christmas markets. This wil be the first time doing this so any tips from those who may have knowledge navigating this winter wonderland adventure? Also, any recommendations on hotels/hostels/train travel et al welcomed. I am planning on arriving in Frankfurt. Thanks in advance!
 
If you're shooting film, 400 ASA will be about right. Warm clothes and good shoes, as you'll probably do a lot of walking. The food and drink will be awesome. I miss Broetchen, Bratwurst and Gluehwein...
 
You will need a fast wide angle lens. Most cities have a Christmas Market around the largest church in the city center. There will be many people squeezed side by side in the church yard, sipping hot wine "Gluehwein". It is a good time to visit Germany.
 
+1 what Raid said. I was in Vienna and Salzburg last December. I took moderately fast 50 (Canon 50/1.8) and slow 28 (CV 28/3.5) lenses with a Leica M; a fast 28 would have been much better. Those focal lengths, though, were perfect. I also took a digicam with a fast lens w/ a 40mm equivalent focal length; this was ideal for shooting the Christmas markets, which are most active in the evenings, as well as indoor shots. You'll probably find you'll be doing a lot of photography after dark, so plan accordingly.
 
As Raid said: go wide. The rest depends very much on the region you are planning to stay in and the means of transportation at your hands. There are the big city markets where you may get the ordinary buns, gluehwine and reibekuchen (potato pancakes) etc: they are ok but tend to be more a kind of carnival where you will hardly find the certain cosiness that at least for me is the central feeling when I come to think about a weihnachtsmarkt.
Yet it is still too early: I would start doing this mid december, not mid november.
 
Most Christmas markets will open in the end of November, so be sure not to come too early. For example, the market in Frankfurts central place "Römer" will open on Nov 26th. As Merumeni correctly stated, most of the markets in the big cities will be highly commercial, but nonetheless the mood can be very cosy - and you'll find a lot of wonderful photographic subjects.

Germany has a really good train system, so travelling from town to town is best done by train. To find good and/or cheap hotels in the cities, you can use this site: hrs.de. It's a hotel booking site, but allows you to filter by price and/or reviews.

I hope you'll have a lot of fun here in Germany!
 
I like getting tipsy on Glühwein and shoot weird looking people with Portra800. Get a fast wide for scenes and maybe a fast 50 to pick out individuals.

Christmas Markets are all pretty similar to me, maybe a tourist sees this different. Dresden and Nürnberg are supposed to have to best ones. I liked Meissen (close to Dresden) a lot when I visited it in Christmas time many years ago. Also Leipzig (my hometown) is nice at that time of the year.

I can't under no circumstance imagine Frankfurt to be any good in respect to this topic. Get a train and check out other (less modern) cities.
 
Hi there from Germany.

well you might need the following, as some already stated:

-warm clothes and comfortable shoes
-money to burn on the weihnachtsmarkt as the food and beverages there arent on fast-food-budget level 😉
-fast lenses and high ASA film. might be okay with 100-400 during daytime but the weihnachtsmarkt becomes alive at the evening. so try bringing some 800-3200 ASA film if possible. as it's very traditional, the grain might be welcome
-possible destinations: Nuremberg (most famous weihnachtsmarkt), Munich, Cologne... pretty much every big city got one, depending on what else you want to see

if you drop by in Bayreuth make sure to give me a notice as this is where I live 🙂 glass of glühwein for free guaranteed

Cheers

Marc
 
Thanks for the comments, advice and responses. Since my initial post, I have decided to fly into Paris than head to Barcelona. On the way back (around the 2nd of December), maybe I will try and hit 1 or 2 of the Christmas markets. As for gear, I will keep it light and tight (either M6 with 35 preAsph lux and fugifilm X100 OR M8.2 with the 35 preAsph lux and Nikon 35ti.) The lux is my widest fast lens so it will have to do. Cheers to all.
 
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