An early Christmas present with a surprise visit to the Residenz Christmas Market in Munich, Germany.

There's something exotic about European Christmas markets to an American traveler, used to an oversaturated winter holiday season that starts the minute Halloween ends. While certain news stations will bemoan a "war" on Christmas, the holiday is still an all encompassing event in the beginnings of winter. And yet, despite its dominance, Christmas in the US simply cannot measure up to the Northern European experience, with its quaint and charming Christmas markets that sprinkl

Bruges is always a magical place to be. Add in some festive holiday markets, lots of twinkle lights, convivial revelers, and the small...