The holiday (also referred to in Germany as "Weihnachts" - not so PC, but whatever) season is upon us. In Germany, this means Weihnachts Markts (Christmas Markets), which can also be roughly translated as an outdoor festival operating under the guise of celebrating the Christmas season, when in fact it is one more excuse to drink yourself stupid and eat massive quantities of sausage, schmalkuchen and crepes. The Weihnachts Markts are really getting underway this week with the month long markets running until just before New Year's and the smaller neighborhood markts scattered throughout December weekends. Poor David has his work cutout for him. I have all but laid out the day-planner and a map. The general plan is to visit as many of these celebrations as humanly possible in a three week (4 weekend) period. This weekend it is the Rathaus (City Hall) market followed by St. Michaelis Markt and the Alsterdorfer Markt. Next weekend we are again headed south to Lueneburg for a medeval Weihnachts Markt, complete with candle-only lighting.
While I have no firsthand experience, I understand that each markt is uniquely different with a unifying theme of Gluehwein (a hot spiced wine pronounced "glue-vine") and lebkuchen (my new favorite Christmas-time treat) to bind the whole mess together. There is also the opportunity to buy handicrafts and decorations - hooey. I am all about soaking up the aroma of fresh pine and Gluewein and eating lebkuchen and stollen. There is a tiny little Weihnachts Markt in our neighborhood that David and I checked out tonight - it has precisely 5 stands and a little-bitty carousel. The plaza it is on is gaudily decorated with pine boughs (real, not plastic - high German standards), a Weihnachtsbaum (Christmas tree), lots of lights and the concrete is covered with woodchips. I'm not really sure what authenticity is provided by the woodchips, but ok. We tried our luck with a hot cup of gluehwein - delicious. Funny too is that they ask if you would like a shot of rum with your hot wine. Because apparently a big cup of wine just isn't enough to numb the pain of the Christmas season.
Ok, I am keeping this short tonight because David and I share a computer and he has legitimate work to do - duty calls. I'll provide regular updates on the status of the Weihnachts Markts. Although, even at this early stage, one thing is perfectly clear: you do not want to experience the day after a gluehwein night. And I am going to do my earthly best not to be an example.
Of course, I still love Hamburg. And I really love Weihnacht's Zeit!
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