2022.12 German Christmas Markets (Part 3)

The main station is well connected and when visiting might be the first part of Amsterdam one will explore.  The station is at the end of the city, in which the Ij River is to the north of the station, and to the south is the historical portion of the city filled with its famous canals.  Within the station there are numerous shops that are predominately located in passageways connecting the Ij and City side of the station under the many platforms.  On Ij side there are connections to buses as well as ferries.  We used the ferries in 2016 when our hotel was located at NDSM, a former industrial wharf that had been repurposed into a business park.

Keep your ticket handy, as the station requires you to use the barcode on it in order to gain access to the tracks both entering and leaving.

DB ICE International

In addition to Thalys, that connects Amsterdam to Brussels and Paris stations, Deutsche Bahn serves Amsterdam with two services we’ve used.  One is an InterCity (IC) that heads east towards Berlin, and an InterCityExpress (ICE) that will roughly follow the Rhine river past Cologne, to Frankfurt am Main.  Connections at each station offer the ability to connect and travel throughout Germany.  

We arrived at the station with plenty of time to enable her to look for tea and lunch items to enjoy on the train.  We didn’t have Dim Sum for a second day in a row.  This was simply because the restaurant opened at noon, and our train departed at 12:38pm.  Knowing that the kitchen isn’t always the fastest, we didn’t want to risk having to rush to the station with a full take-out bag of Dim Sum, in addition to our luggage.  She found sandwiches, and of course tea.  There is a Bistro car on the train, however we elected to bring what we needed and not have to rely on the selection on board.

When we arrived at the platform, the train doors were not yet open.  This was of no concern as we had reserved seats at the time of booking, and gave me time to take a few pictures of the end of the train and its unique decals.

We were in first class and I had selected seats that face each other.  This arrangement is perfect for us, as it guarantees that one seat will face forward — she’s not a fan of sitting backwards on the train.  The additional space of only 3 seats per row in first class, compared to 4 seats in 2nd class is useful as not having to share the table with two other passengers, nor having to request them to move if you wanted to access the aisle are worth the extra price.  The table is spacious enough to have our electronics out, and also provides a steady surface to enjoy our snacks during the ride.  If noise is a concern, I have consistency found first class almost guarantees a quieter cabin.  There are a few areas that have 4-6 passengers seated in a separate room.  Without knowing who else would sit there, I have personally avoided these seats.  Today’s ride would not be a library quietness, but that was due to DB itself.

Leaving Amsterdam the train wasn’t busy, as it was Utrecht station where our train car became significantly busier.  During our trip the train ended up being late to arrive into Dusseldorf, and due to ongoing track work would also end its travel too, instead Frankfurt am Main.  These changes caused a bit of frustration with other travelers as transferring at Dusseldorf station was not part of the plan.  In retrospect, I agree as the route was listed Amsterdam to Frankfurt and should not have required any transfers.  Around us there was one passenger who seemingly helped every person who asked for assistance.  He joked that DB rail is a shadow of its efficiency, and punctuality tourists project on most things in Germany.  He then backed that statement up by declaring he is on a DB rail train three to five times a week for work and hasn’t arrived on time in years, starting well before the pandemic.  The upside from this is that the DB app provides real time status on its trains.  So the fellow ended up providing multiple options to the concerned passengers on their options of how to continue their trip on the train.

I did quickly walk around the train.  At the Bistro car were snacks and drinks were available for purchase.  This car is easy to identify as there are standing tables near the counter.  Sorry, no pictures of the menu from this trip.

Dusseldorf Station

Our rail journey ended in Dusseldorf, as my relatives are just over an hour away by car.  This station has all major car rental agencies beside the station’s large parking garage.  When planning trips, one might notice that renting a car from a city location or train station is cheaper than the same agency at an airport.  This time was no different, here it was being cheaper than both Schiphol and Dusseldorf International airport locations.

We arrived, and the BMW 3 series I had reserved was not available.  After the employees chatted back and forth, our rental car turned into an Audi A6 Avant (station wagon).  The employee did highlight the unique complimentary upgrade as it was considered two levels up from what we had rented.  Regardless, I was happy with the vehicle, as it would fit our luggage, hopefully whatever we bought at a Christmas market, and be able to properly stretch its legs on the highway.  I was happy to see that it was almost brand new with just over 500km on the odometer.  Once the GPS spoke to us in English, we were ready to leave the parking garage.

Haribo Factory Outlet

I absolutely love Haribo gummies, and candies.  From our trip last year, we found a dedicated store that was part of an outlet mall, however I wanted to visit a factory outlet.  It almost happened last year, but we were so tired from our day in Cologne we didn’t get to it.  This time around, our first destination was Haribo’s Nuess factory outlet. 

The shop is not far from the highway and is near a shopping plaza complete with a few fast food restaurants.  We entered the store, where we explored every aisle!  Not just everything made for the German market was available, but there was an entire section that had unique items for export.

Of the many random items we purchased, one item was licorice squares.  Christmas themed, it had a mint flavouring.  It was an odd candy to eat not being a fan of black licorice.  Every piece I ate initially started with “Ugh!  Black licorice.” and then it would transition into the “Oh good, mint!” portion.  That would trigger me to decide to have another piece, and the circle of ugh! and good continued until the bag was empty.

We picked up a few of the large containers of happy cherries, frogs, and marshmallow mice for the relatives.  When I asked, I think they guessed I’d get a bag or two, instead we arrived with 1kg tubs for the five of them to enjoy.  One of the kids tried to make it his personal challenge to eat one of the kilo tubs on his own before we left a few days later.

There was a pick-your-own section.  I made a small container and intentionally selected the varieties that were new to us.  The container was shaped like a cup, so it easily fit into a cup holder and was easy to snack on during our time driving.  Gummies and candy was not the only food available for sale as there was a limited selection of Lindt and Ritter Sport chocolates available.  The Lindt items were almost all Christmas related.  The Ritter Sport offering were 2kg pre-mixed bags that contained an assortment of flavours and sizes, with half the bag being a selection of their 100g bars.  I was happy when Little Miss suggested grabbing a couple.  Finally, there is an area filled with Haribo branded items.  Think of almost anything that could have any combination of the Haribo name, or their mascot, Goldbear.  There was stationery, kitchen accessories, and even jigsaw puzzles.  We grabbed a magnet in the iconic shape of their goldbear.

With our shopping cart full with found room in the vehicle and headed to my relatives.

Explore other parts of this trip:

Part 1 – Air Canada Signature Class Lounge & Flight Toronto to Amsterdam

Part 2 – Doubletree Hotel by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station

Part 3 – DB ICE Train Amsterdam to Dusseldorf (this post!)

Part 4 – A Christmas market in the countryside

Part 5 – Hampton Inn by Hilton, Berlin West (Zoo Station)

Part 6 – Lego Berlin and other stores

Part 7 – Berlin Christmas Markets

Part 8 – Hilton Dresden

Part 9 – Dresden Christmas Market

Part 10 – Nuremberg Christmas Market

Part 11 – Nuremberg Hampton by Hilton

Part 12 – Doubletree by Hilton Frankfurt Niederrad

Part 13 – Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Part 14 – Schiphol Aspire Lounge & Air Canada flight Amsterdam to Toronto