One of the best things about living in Germany in the wintertime
is getting to go to the Christmas markets.
Before moving here I had heard all about them from
friends who lived here.
I didnt know quite what to expect, but I couldnt wait to
start going to them!
I've been to five now and I can say that they are
a lot like the wine festivals.
There are booths selling food, drinks & souvenirs.
Each of the larger markets usually has something that
makes it special or different from the rest,
but in general, they are all about the same.
I dont consider this a bad thing since I
love going to them!
Although each market sells some of the same things,
you can usually find something unique at every market.
My first Christmas market experience was in Baden-Baden.
J & I had been there before three years ago.
It's a gorgeous town, famous for it's spas.
The shopping and gardens are also big draws for tourists.
The Christmas market was on the walkplatz in the main shopping
district. I went the day after Thanksgiving with three
girlfriends. It was snowing and cold, but we had
fun anyway!
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| Booths selling everything from hats to ornaments |
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| Pretty walkway with hand painted glass "windows" |
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The above windows were so pretty, as most were, and then we saw this one....
I had to take a close up of what is supposed to be Baby Jesus.
We couldnt stop laughing!
It looks like a small, naked man, not a baby!
And his "pose" is so... suggestive!
We werent sure if this was intentional or not, but it was
funny nonetheless.
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| The gorgeous casino in the background. It's the oldest casino in Germany and very elegant. |
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| A very festive booth |
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| Candy! Chocolate! |
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| My favorite booth..... CHEESE! |
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| Cookies, jams, jellys |
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| Advent calender |
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| Gluhwein booth Im not a fan of Gluhwein, which is basically hot, spiced red wine. Red wine is supposed to be room temperature or even a bit chilled, not steaming hot, at least for me to drink it. I do however LOVE Kinderpunch which is usually a mixture of apple cider, orange juice and spices, served steaming hot. It tastes like spiced apple cider, but better! |
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| I love how the hotels and restaurants all get into the holiday spirit! |
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| Snowy landscape My next Christmas market was in Landstuhl, a town close to base. It was a very small market and did not have very many booths. I have to say that this one was a bit of a disappointment, especially after Baden-Baden. Sinter Klaas was there though and for 2 euro you could have your picture made with him and receive a Gluhwein. |
Later he put on his hat (looks like a bishop's hat doesnt it?)
and handed out ginger cookies.
After the Landstuhl market we went to the market at
Burg Lichtenberg.
J & I have been to this castle before and
I've been meaning to write up a post on it.
It's a gorgeous old castle in a town called Kusel,
which is only about 20 minutes from us.
This was a medieval market and while I didnt buy anything
(but food), it was a very unique experience.
The workers were all dressed in medieval dress and the
souvenirs sold here were of the sword and chainmail
variety.
Because it was SO cold that evening, I hated to
take my gloved hands out of my pockets to take pictures,
so I only have a couple.
Here is my favorite one...
It's some type of pastry, like a churro, that was cooked
over a coal fire and then rolled in sugar and cinnamon.
It was AMAZING!
Last weekend J & I went to the Mannheim Christmas market.
It is one of the largest markets in our region with over 200 booths!
We found some great Christmas presents and a
couple of things for ourselves.
We loved this market because it had such a large
variety of things to buy.
This is where I discovered my love of Kinderpunch
and in fact, drank 3 cups!
J says he loves going to these markets for the food alone.
You can usually sample everything before you buy
and we ended up sampling A LOT here!
By far, the best thing that we ate here or at any market was
the sandwich pictured above.
It was seriously amazing.
We had some trouble understanding the vendor's English,
but we're pretty sure that the bread and sauce on this
sandwich are made from hemp seed.
He said it was perfectly safe to eat and wouldnt affect us at all.
He was right and wrong.
It was perfectly safe but it certainly did affect us-
after we ate it we immediately wanted more! =)
It was delicious!
We're hoping to go to a different market each weekend.
There are still so many that I want to see!
I hope everyone is having a good week!
Happy Thursday!
