It's Christmas time in the city ...
An unusual kind of springtime is here. During the last week of November, every city square, triangle, or circle (everything labeled "platz" in German) started budding with wood sheds. Come the first of Advent, the awnings opened, and they burst into the myriad of colors called a "Weinachtsmarkt," or "Christmas Market." Tendrils of white lights extend down many streets and wrap themselves around light posts and shop windows. The sidewalks are buzzing not just with shoppers, but with clusters of friends crowded around steaming "Glühwein" or mulled wine stalls. It's a beautiful place to be this time of year, so we wanted to share a few photos to help you experience it with us.
Starting off with a classic: the nutcrackers.
Pick your poison: here is a mulled wine (Glühwein)/hot chocolate stand in front of Munich's "New" Town Hall.
The colors of Christmas fill the stalls and overwhelm the senses.
This pub is not just good to look at -- apparently it serves the best chestnut stew in town.
A German Christmas Pyramid. In the traditional version, the hot air rising from the candles hits the fan, which spins and moves the figures inside. This pyramid's figures are from the nativity story. Next year, we hope to get one of these for our own nativity collection. But maybe we should consider a smaller one.
Couldn't resist a quick selfie.
Need some tools to put up your Christmas decorations? Just kidding, these are hand-crafted "manly" chocolates.
Some despicable characters right next to the tools. They look too cute to eat.
If you're feeling peckish you can grab a yummy steak . . . or keep wandering to find curry wurst, spiced candied nuts, hot pretzels, chocolate covered fruit, crepes, and other delectables.
In one market they had a kids' section where classic fairy tales came to life. We were sure that Little Red Riding Hood would have a longer name in German, but -- believe it or not -- she's just Rotkäppchen.
With all the other goodies available, it wasn't quite as tempting to eat the candy house from Hansel and Gretel.
The Bethlehem star has many variations.
Dec. 6th was St. Nicholas day. He made a special visit to give candy, fruit, and nuts to the kids of Munich.
Silent night, all is calm, all is bright . . .