Gazing up at the glorious Christmas tree in front of me in the northern Italian town of Bolzano, suddenly I felt like a kid again. Festooned with twinkling lights and red and gold stars, it was one of the best I’d ever seen and reminded me of the thrill I used to feel as a child when the Christmas season arrived. Mind you, Christmas Down Under (i.e. in Australia which is where I’m from) is vastly different from a European Christmas.  Down there it’s summertime, the days are hot, long and bright and most Aussies head for the beach, not the snow. Which explains my wish to visit some European Christmas markets while I’m still in Italy.  But which ones? After asking a few Italian friends, I decided on Bolzano, capital of the Alto Adige region (Sud Tyrol), north-eastern Italy. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, it’s the oldest Christmas market in Italy, and importantly, has strong German connections. In fact, the tradition of Christmas markets in northern Europe seems to have begun  with the Dresden Streizelmarkt in Germany, with records dating back to 1434 and still famous today for its rich dried fruit Stollen (Streizel). Apparently the Bolzano market was inspired by the Christkindlmarkt in the medieval city of Nuremberg  which dates back to 1628. The German influence is apparent everywhere.  Apple strudel and gluhwein are on sale at many of the food stalls.  You can purchase the gluhwein mug and go back for re-fills (not recommended on an empty stomach!) or return the mug and the stall holders will return your £3.50. The strudel I ordered came with a huge spray of whipped cream and revived me after a long walk in the mountains around Renon, a little town at the top of the Bolzano funivia (cableway) which leads onto the Earth Pyramids at Maria Saal. Gingerbread houses, lebkuchen (traditional German spicy cookies made with honey) and variously shaped gingerbread cut-outs, wrapped in cellophane, are also for sale at many of the food stalls, tapping into German traditions. You’ll also find Zelten, a traditional Sud Tyrol (South Tyrol) fruit cake for sale, often baked in a heart shape. It’s made with dried figs, hazelnuts, walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, red wine, honey, rum, orange, cinnamon and clove powder, nutmeg, some bread dough made of rye flour and wheat flour, fennel and anise seeds, salt and yeast, honey, all chopped and mixed through the dough which is is brushed with sugar syrup, baked then stored for a couple of weeks. As much as I loved the Christmas lights and street decorations in Bolzano, I was disappointed by the lack of hand-made, artisanal gifts for sale.  Many of the gingerbread houses and cookies looked factory-made to me, as did many of the ornaments. And I did wonder if these Christmas tree baubles are hand-painted, given that they range in price from £15-£30 each, which is a lot to pay for a trinket. The day I visited there was also a fantastic fruit, flower and vegetable market being held in a nearby street where more Christmas cakes, dried fruits and chocolates were also for sale. Cycling is very popular in Bolzano and despite the crowds, there were quite a few cyclists out and about in the markets. I had a near miss with one or two! What most astonished me were the number of markets happening at the same time in Bolzano, not just the fruit and flower market, but a huge clothes market on the other side of the Talvera River (Bolzano is situated on the junction of two rivers: the Talvera and Isarco).  I stumbled across it on my way to see the old village, vineyards and church at Gries (once famous for its health resort, and an autonomous municipality until 1925), and couldn’t believe how many stalls there were and how many people were out and about especially around Piazza Mazzini. On my walk back, I noticed yet another buzzing market, situated near the Talvera bridge.  It reminded of the Rozelle markets in Sydney, famous for its bric-a-brac and would have been good for some last minute Christmas purchases if I hadn’t been in a hurry to see the little markets at the top of the funivia at Renon. Thank goodness I found them open as they had been shut until 4pm the day before, and I hadn’t been able to see them.  While much smaller. they are intimate and offer a range of charming hand-made gifts which appealed to me more than the ones down below at Piazza Walther. After visiting these charming little markets, I caught the funivia back to Bolzano.  On my way from there to the railway station, I got the surprise of my life: a large horned devil was walking down the street straight towards me, accompanied by St Nicholas and a Christmas angel. He looked so fearsome and really gave me a fright, especially when he rattled his chains and  rang his very loud cowbell. It was only later than I learnt he’s called “Krampus” and always appears on 6th December (I was in Bolzano on that very day) and that he comes looking for “naughty and bad children.” These fantastic creatures are partly man, partly animal, with a scrubby coat, a hand-carved mask and big, heavy bells. Today they no longer punish children, but frighten them a little during their processions, which take place in many villages of the region. I sure felt like a kid again as he really frightened me.