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Will the Rain Ever Let Me Visit Another Christmas Market?

Posted on December 10th, 2009 by Retired-Ed in Daily Life

It really is a dreary time of year, just as I mentioned before. Today, as I closed the garage door after the Queen left for work, I noticed just how dark it was outside. I went out to buy a newspaper and some coffee, and it was still dark. In fact, it didn’t start to get light until around 8:30 AM. And, of course, it was raining cats and dogs. I think that yesterday was the only day out of the past two weeks that it didn’t rain, and I was stuck inside doing laundry and cooking, just like an old Hausfrau. (The meal was excellent, by the way.) The rain has kept me from my plan to visit as many Christmas markets as I can this season. So far, my count is at …..well, just one. I’ve been sharing some pictures from the Schweinfurt market with you, and here is the final installment.

Want some spices? You can buy them at the Christmas Market of course.

And candles of all varieties, shapes, and colors. Here are a few.

Aroma therapy anyone? Better than scratch ‘n’ sniff any day.

Bratwursts on the left; pretzels on the right: two German staples

(And you thought that bratwursts originated in Sheboygan)

The stage where musical groups perform several times daily

Woodworking craft items from England

The artisan at work

Christmas kitsch (is that a German word?)

Woven Wicker Ware (the original www)

Many Germans like to shop for food daily. They’ll carry their purchases home in baskets like these.

Gift pack in store window. Among the goodies: wine, gingerbread, liverwurst (three of the five essential food groups here…well, maybe)

A nearby bakery window. A diabetic’s nightmare!

And finally, the biggest lie of all: “No alcohol served to youngsters under 18 years of age” (or is it 16?)

Whew! That completes the trilogy featuring the Schweinfurt Christmas Market. I do hope to visit a few others, but I will not inundate you with repeated photos. I just hope that the weather will let me get out and check things out. And as I finish this post, it’s almost 4:00 PM, and it’s already starting to get dark. At least the temperature is warm enough that all of this precipitation is liquid and not snow.  That will come soon enough.

Retired-Ed

5 Comments

5 Responses to “Will the Rain Ever Let Me Visit Another Christmas Market?”

  1. citywendy Says:
    December 10th, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    I remember from my high school days in Germany that 16, not 18, is the legal drinking age there. I took advantage of that more than you knew, but probably not as much as you feared.

    What was the great meal you cooked?

  2. Retired-Ed Says:
    December 10th, 2009 at 6:19 pm

    Hmm. Actually, I didn’t care if you drank legally and responsibly, but when in the hell did you do it? You hardly ever left home, except for school trips, and drinking on them is a good way to get expelled. As far as the meal goes, it was something you won’t be serving to your husband: roast pork.

  3. Candice W. Says:
    December 13th, 2009 at 8:13 am

    Great pics! It makes me miss it all the more……..things are good here too, though. There is just nothing like the bakeries in Germany. You might think that without them here, I would lose a little weight, but, no! Ha! My husband is a good cook too and he loves to whip up all kinds of yummie things. And cannot resist eating them!
    Hope your rain stops soon so you can enjoy more Christmas markets.

  4. teahouseblossom Says:
    December 15th, 2009 at 3:04 pm

    I’ve been to Germany once. Spent a few days in Leipzig and Dresden. I do have fond memories of the liverwurst.

  5. Deb Says:
    December 22nd, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    Hey Ed thanks for the memories – I sure miss the Christmas Markets, but not the very short days of Germany. If you remember my last trip to Germany was at Christmas and we all took a train to a Christmas market. I also remember a tip to a Christmas Market in Strasbourg. Very fond memories, but then we always had quite the times on our travels (I’ll never forget that trip to southern France – poor Becky or our tials coming home from Itay). Enjoy the holidays!

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