Is German Holiday Market in Mountain View Worth Your Time

Our honest review of California’s most authentic European-style market. Enjoy all festive traditions at German Holiday Market, Mountain View.

For several years now, we’ve made it a little tradition to seek out some Christmas cheer at our local holiday market. Since Christmas markets aren’t originally an American tradition, this one is organised by the local German community and goes by the name German Holiday Market – Weihnachtmarkt.

We were first drawn there years ago thanks to a German colleague and a group of coworkers. It quickly turned into an annual meet-up, a chance to catch up with old colleagues while doing a bunch of Christmas shopping which we later continued among our own family.

The market takes place in the city of Mountain View, right in the heart of Silicon Valley. A large part of the downtown area, stretching all the way from the Civic Center to the library, is taken over for the event, and some streets are even closed to make room for the festivities.

The drive from San Francisco to Mountain View is just over 38 miles (61 km), and from San Jose it’s about 16 miles (25 km).

There’s also a rather interesting connection between Germany and Mountain View. In front of the city library, you’ll find two original sections of the Berlin Wall, gifted to the city and now standing as a quiet reminded of history right in the middle of this California tech hub.

The photos in this post are from several different years we’ve spent at the market.

The Tradition of German Christmas Markets

While the German Holiday Market feels very much like a traditional European Christmas market, there’s one major difference compared to those in Europe. Here, the market is a one-day-only event and you can’t just drop by whenever you like the way you could in Germany.

The German Christmas market is held every year in early December, on a Saturday, and it runs all day from later morning until 9 p.m.

The event is organised by the German International School of Silicon Valley, whose goal is to create an outdoor market that feels as authentic as possible, much like the Christmas markets found in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Christmas markets originally come from Germany, and the very first one is considered to be Dresden’s Striezelmarkt, which focused solely on Christmas goods instead of functioning as a regular marketplace. The first Striezelmarkt was held back in 1434.

Over the years, the German Christmas market in California has grown hugely popular. In a single day, it can attract up to 20,000 visitors.

Because of that, it’s wise to pack a bit of patience when heading to the market. The area gets crowded, lines can be long, and parking isn’t always easy to find. The organisers even jokingly encourage visitors to “arrive like in Europe”, by using public transportation.

What You’ll Find at the German Christmas Market

Naturally, the German Christmas Market offers a bit of everything from food and drinks to shopping and festive entertainment. German culture is front and center, with most of the food an products being authentically German.

In fact, our German friend told us that many of the items sold at the German market are brought all the way from Germany and are mostly handcrafted. So you won’t find mass-produced copies shipped from China. Of course, there are also German vendors who run their own businesses here in the United States.

Last time, we arrived right as the market opened, and I finally got my hands on the giant pretzel I had been dreaming about since last year. On our previous visit, the line at the bakery stand was so long that we completely missed out on pretzels. This one was absolutely delicious and freshly baked.

We were wiser this time around in general and split up to tackle the lines. Some of went for coffee, others Glühwein, and rest queued up for food.

Glühwein, literally translated as “glow wine”, is warm, spiced wine drink that’s a Christmas market classic. It reminds me of Christmas drink back home in Finland and Sweden, called Glögg. You can get Glühwein in the official market mug which has become a bit of a collector’s item among the local German community, or in a paper cup. Once you have the mug, you can refill it throughout the day at the drink stands.

During the day, we also had time to enjoy hearty Bratwurst platters, exactly the kind of comfort food you crave while wandering a Christmas market.

The day flew by as we wandered from stall to stall, soaking in the festive atmosphere, shopping and watching the different performances along the way. Our personal favorites were the traditional German dances, and of course, the kids were absolutely thrilled to meet Santa Claus.

But Santa wasn’t the only memorable character we ran into. At the market, we also crossed paths with a very different kind of “holiday figure” –Krampus. With his slightly terrifying look, Krampus comes from old Central European folklore and is said to be half goat, half demon.

In some places, such as Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Bavaria in Germany, Northern Italy, Krampus traditionally accompanies Santa (or Saint Nicholas), handing out bundles of sticks to children who haven’t behaved. Thankfully, we didn’t see anything like that happening… at least not in our family!

We ended up picking up a few baked treats to take home, along with beautiful wooden Christmas ornaments as gifts for my husband’s family. We also discovered some truly unique and lovely soaps that we couldn’t resist.

Before heading home, the kids still time for a little train ride and a hands-on ornament-making activity. There certainly no shortage of things to do, and it was the perfect way to wrap up a festive day at the market.

All in all, it was such a fun day! German Holiday Market is definitely worth a visit even from further away.

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In California, it’s not always easy to find European-style Christmas markets – the kind I truly miss. One long-standing market has been in Cambria, right along the iconic Pacific Coast Highway, and there’s also one in Los Angeles. That said, many of these American-style markets require a fairly pricey ticket just to get in.

After the pumpkin patches of fall, it feels wonderful to fully switch gears and step into the Christmas season by exploring festive events like these. Around the holidays, we also make it a tradition to drive around and admire Christmas lights at the Bay Area. And we have even taken a Christmas train ride in Niles Canyon.

One Christmas, we spent the holidays in Yosemite National park while our kitchen was undergoing renovations. It turned out to be one of the most magical Christmases we’ve ever had here. The winter landscapes were absolutely breathtaking, and the kids built snowmen every day.

Frohe Weihnachten!