I was reminded yesterday about the Christmas Markets in Germany. Milton Keynes shopping centre has imported a few Germans market stall holders for a special Christmas market.
I must admit to not really knowing about the Christmas markets until I found myself in the middle of one!
It was back in 1988 I think when I was on a training course in Munich. I had gone into the town centre one evening and surfaced from the U-Bahn (Tube) to find myself right in the middle of a busy Christmas market. The smells of roasted nuts and sugar coated nuts along with Gluhwein and candyfloss and the unforgettable sausages were a heady mix. The pure smell of Christmas! I spent the next 2 hours just wandering round and sampling everything I could. The temperature was also pretty low which meant I just had to have more gluhwein to stay warm!
So when we moved to Munich some 10 years later it was with wonderful to be able to sample the markets again. This time though we discovered the smaller local markets which were less commercial and each one had a slightly different feel. The one in Wolfratshausen would only be on for one Sunday night when they would close the high street and spend the Friday and Saturday building the wooden cabins. Then they would open on the Sunday for a very busy but enjoyable time. There would be some singing from local choirs and as usual a brass band or two. Some other markets would simply be no more than half a dozen cabins. The food would also vary from town to town. One popular delicacy was locally made bread with goose fat with tiny pieces of ham. Another was Kaisers Schmarn or chopped pancake with apple sauce.
If you ever get chance to go im sure you will enjoy it if not for the food then the smell and atmosphere are unbeatable
Here’s a web page that’s gives some pictures
http://www.raspberryworld.com/postcards/Christmas_market_Munich_2002_12_03.html
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