2017, for us ,was another bumper year for German Christmas markets. Not only did we revisit our old friend Cologne, but, we additionally travelled to Munich & Frankfurt. We also visited Strasbourg, I know, geographically it's France but hey, it's only a stones throw away.

This was one less destination than on our 2016 trip, however, for us “Christmas market lovers” it was still jam packed. We find it fascinating how one countries food, differs so much from region to region. There's an incredible variety  available, and you certainly won’t go hungry.

We learnt fairly early on that you don't need to be seated at a restaurant, to get the most out of the German Christmas market food experience.  You can feast on the markets themselves, or just graze in a bar whilst enjoying a beer or two - you are in Germany after all.

I think the theme here is stocking up for the winter.

Here is a sweet and savoury taster for you, but obviously only in the visual sense, sorry!!

Top of the list has to be the much-loved German sausage.

There are so many different varieties available, bratwurst, currywurst, krakauer to name but a few.

In Nuremberg, they had their own rostbratwurst version; “Drei im Weggla” – “Three in a bun”

There are also some tasty fish options, particularly the flame cooked salmon.

We also came across mackerel in Stuttgart, which we hadn’t seen anywhere else.

If the carnivores amongst us fancied a change from the sausage, other meats are available. There are the foot long kebabs in Cologne and the sticky doughy option in Stuttgart

The choices here were glazed baked ham or marinated pork steak.

You certainly don't get short changed on the portion sizes

One of my favourite dishes is the gulaschsuppe (goulash soup to you and me, not too sure if you needed the translation), this one even came with its own edible bowl.

The reibekuchen is a deep-fried potato cake often served with apple sauce, in Cologne they are bought in 3’s. In my opinion, they have to be shared, but I'm not German.

Different towns & cities have different 'rules' - Stuttgart, and it's two with a sour cream sauce.

The flammekueche or tarte flambée - it looks like a pizza, but the similarities end there. Quite light to eat, and you can even get a vegetarian option.

The flammbrot has a thicker base than the flammeckeuche; we tried this in Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

A popular snack amongst many Europeans particularly in Alsace and Bavaria is the pretzel or Brezel, not only are they dusted with salt, but you can also get them grilled with cheese.

There are so many choices here this is just the tip of the iceberg. Waffles, crepes, gingerbread or lebkuchen, baked apples, glazed apples, chocolate marshmallows, schneeball, sweet sticky nuts.

Now my mouth is watering.

A selection of the sweeter delicacies can be found across Germany; however, some are more localised than others.

Such as the schneeball (a shortcrust pastry ball), which is quite synonymous with Rothenburg ob der Tauber & Nuremberg gingerbread, which traditionally I believe needs to be produced within the city limits to be classified as Nuremberg gingerbread.

While we were in Munich we came across Apfelschmarrn, apple pancakes with nuts and a plum sauce, you were even able to eat the bowl that it came in (it tasted like an ice cream cone).

This warming dish was very welcome, as boy, Munich was cold.