Weihnachtsmärkte Woche 2: International

Big fun this week–four markets!

Note: “Private” means sponsored by a business or organization, as opposed to being sponsored by a government entity.

Salzburg

In Salzburg alone for a day, I found a good holiday atmosphere.

Salzburg Christkindlmarkt (city, on-going)

In Salzburg you will find a hundred stands around the cathedral/Mozart/Altstadt area, about a dozen Krippen (nativity scenes), and a whole mess of tourists and students. The stands were fairly standard but covered a wide range of traditional gifts and decorations, some regionally produced. I spent a lot of time looking, but ultimately decided to bring home only a fancy pastry. I found the Krippen more interesting.

Special food: Jägerbosna. Bosna is a spicy sausage invented in Salzburg after the war, served with onions and curried mustard in a soft bun. The variation I chose is made of venison.

Sternadvent (private, on-going)

I stumbled onto this market sponsored by the brewery Sternbräu accidentally, but was impressed. It features higher-end local handcrafts, and decorated throughout with wings. Since I had been walking in the cold for five hours, I chose to sit in the lounge.

Special food: Salzburger Nockerl, in a special “tapas” size. This dessert is a very sweet eggy custard, baked with meringue arranged in three peaks representing the three mountains that surround the city. There are variations, but they must always have the three peaks. It’s usually served family-style in a large casserole dish and I had previously only seen it on TV…it is delicious.

The Krippe was also very nice, hand-carved, and featured Alpine animals.

Waldweihnacht auf Gut Mergenthau (private, weekends)

Mr Radish was looking for something different, and we found it. I will translate “Gut” as a “large family farm from the pre-industrial age”, but picture in your head an extended family, with multiple generations in multiple households of distant cousins living on the property along with hired hands. These days in addition to farming trees, Gut Mergenthau is also an events venue, with a 21st-century barn-shaped dance floor with big glass walls and modern toilets just outside the main compound. On Advent weekends, all the barns and stalls are filled with local crafts and products.

A special highlight of this market was the Greifvogel Auffangstation Mittelfranken, a local raptor rescue/rehab, showing off some of their birds.

The food stands were also supplied by local organic farms and businesses; the shot of amaretto in the apple punch was generous enough to enable callbacks when the band played “Rudolph.” Somebody has to teach the children of Bavaria “like a light bulb!” Why not me?

Special food: Wildsau vom Spieß. Slices of wild boar that had been roasted on a spit, served in a Semmeln (hard bread bun) with red cabbage and a creamy sauce. It was amazing.

Adventsmarkt, Europäische Künstlerhaus Oberbayern (district of Oberbayern, one weekend)

Despite the name, I think it’s actually just a juried art show with a Glühwein tent. Some of the art was really nice, but the atmosphere was dreary. It was uncomfortably crowded full of people who were there to be seen, muddy indoors and out, and I don’t recall hearing any music.

No special foods, and the bratwurst vendor splotched on too much yellow mustard, to hide the lack of seasoning in the sausage. Oi.