Birmingham Christmas Market

One of the best ways to get into the Christmas spirit at the moment is to head over to a Christmas market and soak up all the festivity, so yesterday I did just that! My friends and I met up in Birmingham and spent the day wandering around the incredible German Christmas market there. As well as a whole range of decorations, crafts and presents in the gorgeous alpine huts stretching up and down the high streets, there was a whole range of delicious foods (of which we tried to eat as much as possible!). Whilst it was an amazing day the food there isn’t the cheapest (mostly £3.50-£4.50 a piece), so I thought I’d share my experience of the food in the Birmingham Christmas market so that you can get the best out of your time there with out breaking the bank! Below are little summaries of each of the things we tried and then at the bottom I’ve included a list of top tips so you can make the most of the market!

Garlic Butter Bread

The first thing we tried at the market was one of these delicious ciabatta breads, coated in garlic butter and cheese. These came with all kinds of toppings, from just plain garlic butter to full on pepperoni and cheese! I’m a little bit garlic bread mad, so maybe I’m biased, but oh man were these good! We shared 1 between 2 of us and that worked pretty well as a main meal so if £4 for a sandwich feels a little steep, sharing could be the way to go!

Potato Fritters

Ok, so this might be the weirdest sounding thing we tried but they were so so good! These reibekuchen are traditional German potato fritters which are apparently pretty common staples of German Christmas markets. They kind of tasted like crispy, sweet chips, which I know sounds gross but it actually works!

These were served with a variety of toppings like stewed apple, plum jam and even smoked salmon and creme fraiche! We went for plain sugar as it was the cheapest option and we were a bit sceptical over whether it’d taste good. Within a couple of bites though we realised that toppings with it would have been even more incredible, so if you decide to go for these give a topping like the stewed apple a try.

Pretzels

From the weird and wacky to the more traditional. If you’re looking for something more classic to munch on you have to try one of the delicious range of pretzels on offer. As with a lot of the stalls at the market there were 3 or 4 of the same pretzel stalls around the place, all selling a mixture of sweet and savoury ones, so if you’re crazy for pretzels this is the place for you.

As I have a huge sweet tooth I went for one of these sweet pretzels rolled in cinnamon sugar. To be honest it was more of a doughnut than a pretzel, but one of my friends had a brie and cranberry one which was apparently amazing. With these kind of things you just have to be adventurous and go for whatever sounds the best, and if you do that, at least from our experience, you’ll likely come across something you love!

Doughnuts

I have to say if you’re on a diet you really shouldn’t go to this market because everything is deep fried, sweet and delicious! I myself didn’t go for a doughnut but a friend of mine did and she said it was really good – although slightly lacking on the custard front. Even just the range of doughnuts on offer was a little breath taking, and if I hadn’t eaten about 6 deep fried treats before then I could have easily tried every one on offer. You can find everything from marshmallow to black forest flavoured ones!

Churros

From doughnuts to churros! This was the first time I had these long Spanish treats and man was I not disappointed. These ones were served with either cinnamon or sugar, and then a choice of milk or white chocolate or nutella to dip the crispy doughnut sticks into! Personally I think these were a little steeply priced, coming in at £5 for 6 churros, so if you’re looking for the better deals in the market you should probably give these a miss and going for something else. However if you don’t mind splashing out a bit for the occasion they’re well worth a try.

So there we go, a whistle-stop guide to the Birmingham Christmas market. Of course there were a lot more things on offer, like the classic German bratwursts, mulled wine, beer and schnitzels, however due to limited funds and full stomachs that’s all we got through! So if you’re looking for a festive day out with some insanely good food, some pretty scenery and a chance to do some Christmas shopping on the side then make sure you head on down there!

A Few Final Top Tips

• Try even the weirdest sounding stuff – you’ll come across the most unusual but delicious treats.
• We went on a week day and it had just the right number of people around, so if you want to beat the weekend crowds it might be worth thinking about going mid week instead (if you can!).
• Take cash with you as most of the stalls don’t take card and it makes life a lot easier.
• Share what you buy between 3 or 4 of you and then you can all try lots of everything!
• If you can, try to be around when it gets dark because that’s when the lights come on and everything becomes 10x more magical!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x