Announcing my Next Tour, Merry Christmas!

The bright little lights sparkle all the way down the row of tidy stalls. They seem sharper in the cold winter air. Look above the row to see the dignified old buildings of the city square, watching this century in line with all the others they’ve seen. Does snow scrunch under your feet? A wooden toy is light in your hand and the man in front of you might have carved it, you can’t wait to see your sister open those earrings, and a new knitted scarf is snuggling your chin. All hand made. You feel a world away from the strip mall. You had a belly-warming meal of wurst and kartoffel an hour ago but the cinnamon seduction of a flaky sweet baumstriezel pastry tickles your brain just right. Or is it the gebrannte mandeln, those snappy little candied toasted almonds that are pulling you along?

As I write this our hand is on the door to spring, but the winter feel of a Christmas market is ready in my mind, so it is with a cozy grin that I am announcing my next tour: Christmas Markets Guided by Tim!

We’ll take a swoop through some of my favorite Christmas markets in Western Europe, hitting a couple familiar names and getting off the beaten track to others with less international fanfare where we can sip mulled wine with the locals. Prost!

Tours like this are growing popular for good reason, but I’m making mine a little different. For me, a trip to this part of the world should have more than one aspect, so in addition to enjoying the markets everywhere we go, we’ll climb castle walls, soak in thermal hot baths, and descend into the earth where the past prepared for a future that did not come as expected.

Interested? Tune in to my livestream on April 14 for more info. Reserve a (free) spot here: Sunday Travel Talks and check out the preliminary tour page here. The full formal debut will likely be 2025, but if you’re ready and eager to go, we’ll have an early sign-up list and be in touch about going in 2024. To make sure you don’t miss any updates, join my mailing list or shoot me an email, both available on my guide page here.