For the first time in my 20 years, I did not spend Christmas at home. Finishing up my fall semester as a second-year student of Sciences Politiques in Normandie, I decided to embark on a long-awaited adventure after my final examination. This winter I travelled through the Christmas markets of Europe.
Studying in France with the Charpak Bachelor’s Scholarship from Campus France has done more than support my career plan. It has expanded my horizon of possibilities, giving me the license to dream. What if, instead of scrolling through umpteen reels about different European cities, I stepped into these magical frames? Actually tasted and smelled and touched quintessential Yuletide dishes and décor? Lived the quintessential picture-book fairytale Christmas?
Vienna Christmas Market, Strasbourg Christmas market
It made sense to start with Strasbourg. This city on the Franco-German border is fêted as the archetype of European Christmas. Two contrary cultures meet amidst timbered houses, narrow streets, and glowing windows. Strasbourg in Christmas is less lived town, more staged set. The celebration feels as dense as berawecka, the schnapps-infused traditional fruit bread — faultlessly classic, yet at times cloyingly sweet. But like sudden savoury nuts, moments of authenticity await along the narrow bylanes where the crowds thin out enough for the place to reveal its unrehearsed self.
The next stop — Vienna — made an impression, and did so with authority. The buildings in the City of Music were the immortal compositions of Mozart, Strauss and Beethoven made structure and stone. But my friends and I were too ecstatic to gasp at grandeur. It was Christmas eve, and it was snowing. We were to have our white Christmas after all!
Budapest was the greatest surprise for us. A late addition to our itinerary, it stunned us with Europe’s largest outdoor artificial skating rink, over which towered the surreal Vajdahunyad Castle. As we cruised down the Danube, music spilled out of impromptu gatherings, and the festivity wore an easy warmth that overpowered the biting cold.
Prague, a rich goulash bursting with festive fervour and flavours, took our breath, quite literally, as we tried to do justice to our tour of its UNESCO-listed castle. Snow, stone, and bursts of crisp winter sunshine collaborated effortlessly to choreograph its playful spirit, when we met up with other groups of friends who were covering many of the same cities in a different order. We made our happy way to Krakow, ready to usher in the new year in its Main Market Square with heady concerts and fireworks. The Old Town packed a ton of character as it hosted themed parties and humungous crowds.
Berlin next, for the historical walking tours. On the day a mini-blizzard hit the city. My snowboots and I got our fill of heavy snowfall, while the Germans just went about their business along the colourful Berlin wall. No, not my high-school history book, but my aktuellen standort — current location.
I ended my trip with a short stay in London (I had a few months left on my UK visa issued for participating in the Cambridge debate last November, and my mother taught me to always use up leftovers). It was with severely-depleted savings and very-full heart that I returned to Le Havre to start a new semester. My European excursion convinced me that education is much more than textbooks and classrooms — there’s no equivalence in degree for confidence, contacts and life skills. Coming from Calcutta, where December remains gentle and familiar, this immersion into the depths of the European winter will always remain a cherished memory. And of course, the impetus to plan for my next adventure!