Vienna over Thanksgiving Giving weekend was the perfect holiday.  The city is easy to get around and they're already well into celebrating the upcoming Christmas season.

There are a slew of little (some not so little) markets that get set-up all over the city. These are the Christmas Markets. Basically there are three things that one can do there. First, drink mulled wine outside. Second, buy things for Christmas. Third, eat German food.

Over a weekend we went to seven different Christmas markets. This may have been overkill but when in Vienna at Christmas time, a girl has got to do these things.

Some of the markets are better than others but really I think it just depend what you're looking for.

I think my favorite market was at the Schönbrunn palace. The palace is a lovely backdrop for a very traditional market with lots of Christmas ornaments, homemade treats like jam and schnaps, live caroling and plenty of good wine and food. I bought some of my favorite gifts there.

My second favorite is the Spittelberg market. It's tucked away on a few streets in a lovely neighborhood but the kinds of gifts at this market ranged from interesting handmade things to mass-produced toys and hats. But if what you are looking for is atmosphere and you want to wander the streets with a mug of wine and do some window shopping, you really can't go wrong here.

The Rathaus on the other hand is a crowded mass of humanity with too many people to safely drink wine without the imminent threat of spilling. And this was problematic because my major goal of the weekend was not spill any mulled wine on my new coat. I think that you go to the Rathaus because it's beautiful at night. Likewise, I think that you go for the people, for the crowds--to confirm that you're having a good time and you're ge