There was a huge Santa, and next to him, three skinny little Santas singing, and as we approached I heard Feliz Navidad! I remembered when Val and I used to sing that in the summer at her house when we hung pool-side!
Later we stopped by the Europa Passage (I dare to call it a mall, architects be damned!) to warm up and see the pretty decorations. Six floors of shopping fun. A bit much for me, I'd say! But it does have a wonderful bookstore with various languages, a Starbucks, and international food court, and lots of other interesting stores.
This is outside the Alster Haus near Jungfergstieg. I liked the blue trees. There are more Christmas trees in town than I could ever begin to count. And lights everywhere. I wish I could capture it better, because pictures don't really begin to show it!
This next picture is of the little houses they were selling at the market. I would love to get one, but it's sort of a useless nicknack that I would just let collect dust, if I were to manage to get it home in one piece. But they are fun to stare at. Ohhhh, pretty!
They even had my oh so tasty, slab of meat on rotating stick! (Actually, they were selling meat on a stick at another place, but we felt it was over-priced.) It was like a Christmas version of the Doeners, only not as fancy. Still, we enjoyed.
I never remember the names of these things but a friend sent me one once. The small ones have real candles that, when lit, they propel the wooden blades and it's quite cool. Very traditional German. The big ones at the markets are even cooler, though!
Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus. Mmmmm. Deep-fried potatoes with applesauce. Oh yeah. Very tasty. Don't make that face at me until you've tried it, seriously.
Me with the nutcracker man. He really has a handle in back that you can move the mouth with! A life-sized toy!
Andrew and I enjoying some hot beverages. I opted for the Mon Cherie, a hot chocolate with a tiny bit of a cherry alcohol in it, while he went for egg liquor. Mine wasn't strong at all. His could have knocked me over. Whew!
It was quite the fun night at the markets. We eventually got tired and cold and called it a night. I feel like I definitely got to see a bit more of the markets. I love taking in culture. And man were there a lot of people out doing the same tonight! Sheesh. It was packed. You can tell where the gluehwein (hot wine) stands are because the crowds get huge and you have to push your way in.
I like Germany at Christmas time.
1 comment:
The markets there sound amazing and I bet the patato applesauce things are great, especially when it's cold outside and christmas lights are everywhere. Maybe you should post a recipe for the potato things and I could post a recipe for egg rolls made from scratch...we could exchange!
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