Weihnachtsmarkt

In my opinion, December is one of the best times to be in Germany because of the Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmärkte) that spring up in just about every village, town, and city across the country for the month of December.  They really are pretty magical, even to the scroogiest of the Scrooges out there.  Even if you don't like Christmas, it's hard to resist the smells of Glühwein (hot mulled wine), grilled bratwurst, and roasted almonds mingling in the cold air.  If you are lucky enough to live in a quaint little town like Wolfenbüttel with a market square surrounded by old, half-timbered buildings, it feels kind of like a fairy-tale.

According to the world's most reliable information source, Wikipedia, the markets date back to somewhere around the Late Middle Ages (I wish I knew where to find a German historian to confirm this fact).  A couple of the largest and most famous markets are in Dresden (home of stollen,  a sweet Christmas bread) and Nürnberg (famous for its lebkuchen, a chewy, spicy Christmas cookie).  The markets are unique to Germany, Austria, and Alsace in France, which . . . oh, there's a historian . . . Erik would like to point out were all part of the Holy Roman Empire. 

History, shmistory.  Whatever the origin, it's a great way to add some cheer to the very dark days of December here on the 52nd parallel, and we are fortunate enough to live 5 minutes' walk  from the scene above.  The carousel is a little bit too much for my taste, but it keeps Elsa entertained long enough to let us sip a little glühwein and take in the scene.




That is not a look of joy on her face.  She now prefers just to watch.




First glühwein of the season!