Germans flocked to the shops to get their Christmas shopping done. Now it’s forced them into lockdown for the holiday

Bratwurst in a bun, washed down with mulled wine.

A brass band, a gingerbread man and a spot of Christmas shopping under the stars.

For hundreds of years, German Christmas markets have symbolised the joy and happiness of the festive season and millions of tourists flock there every year to have a taste of it.

But this year the outdoor market, a tradition that began in the early 1300s, will sit ideal, without a fairy light to be seen.

“You can see and feel that the mood is very low,” Juergen Amann the head of Cologne Tourism told the ABC.

“The people are fed up with the situation.”

Normally in December, 5 million people flock to Cologne alone to visit the city’s Christmas…