We went to Esslingen, which is famous for it's beautifully preserved market square, as well as it's yearly Weihnachtsmarkt.
Although, there are no shortages when it comes to Christmas Markets in Germany: nearly every city, town and village has something for Advent in November and December. I have to say the attention to detail is pretty impressive.
.....and won a little sparkly stone.
Lars had no interest in playing any games at all. He was more interested in the funny & unusual food offered every few steps.
But, he discovered that the best thing about the Christmas Market is offering to help by returning our cups or wooden sticks (from grilled bread) for the "deposit" money.
Although, there are no shortages when it comes to Christmas Markets in Germany: nearly every city, town and village has something for Advent in November and December. I have to say the attention to detail is pretty impressive.
Esslingen goes a delightful step further, and offers a Medieval Christmas Market, with vendors and stands outfitted to give the impression of having stepped back into time. My thing....soooo my thing. :-)
Eliza jumped right up to play a ball and pin game....
.....and won a little sparkly stone.
Lars had no interest in playing any games at all. He was more interested in the funny & unusual food offered every few steps.
But, he discovered that the best thing about the Christmas Market is offering to help by returning our cups or wooden sticks (from grilled bread) for the "deposit" money.
Which his Dad let him keep, it being Christmas ;-) after all.
2 comments:
I'm very curious about what those unusual "medieval" foods are. How keen that the old time boothe game had an old time prize like that. So interesting. (And now I'm curious if they pay for that stuff to be returned so there's no litter....(or ?)... did they have a way to clean things for reuse in medieval times that still seems keen today?) Anyway, I loved the post...thanks so much!
The sticks were for bread that is wrapped around the dowel, and then grilled over fire. The Norwegians did this a lot, too. :-) We returned the dowels for the "deposit" money. Usually the stands are serving food and drinks with real cups and plates...taking them back to the stand gets you a handful of coins. I'm not sure how or where they clean them during the market, but the cups are printed with "Esslinger Weihnachtsmarkt" so they are being used year after year.
The ball and pin game was cleverly done -- she didn't knock over enough pins to win a big prize, but he said that everyone who plays wins something. He had her close her eyes and then dig her hand into a wooden bowl full of these sparkly rocks. VERY SMART and prevented the five-minute search for the perfect color. :-)
Post a Comment