Christmas Markets in Germany

So, I am a little behind on my blogs, but alas... I am sitting in a cozy (hygge) little cafe in Copenhagen and I am finally able to get caught up on some things since returning here and the holidays and such.

After much anguish from Mike, I was able to convince him to head to Germany for the Christmas Markets before we headed back to the US for the Christmas holidays. I had heard from SO many people that we really needed to go! And, since I know we probably won't be in Europe next winter, it was important to me that we go. We don't have a car, so we rented a car and took a drive down to Hamburg, Germany. The drive was only about 4 hours and was pretty painless (says the passenger who sleeps at the sound of the inginition being turned on). We did have to take a ferry over, which was EXPENSIVE at $150! It was funny though, because the ferry sells things tax-free. And, for the Danes, that means time to stock up on beer, liquor, candies, etc. I find it so odd that you can get Danish beer--- made and produced in Denmark, cheaper in Germany! I guess it just goes to show you how taxes can REALLY get you here in Denmark! Needlesstosay, we saw this tiny little hatchback FILLED to the top with cases of beer. I mean, at LEAST 10 cases. I am sure that poor little car would have bottomed out after hitting a pebble. Here is Mike driving us to Germany... so thrilled I am taking his picture!

I digress, back to Germany. So, we started our little excursion in Hamburg with the.. uh.. Hamburgers (I am not making this up). We went to the beautiful city center and just enjoyed the evening with Hamburger-anian food and German beer and wine! As we were walking around the city center, we first hit the "wine/beer tent". Incidentally, you can always find one at the market because 1)they are everywhere and 2) they are crowded! Mike had a hot chocolate with a shot of Amaretto and whipped cream. I started the night out with a warm glass of glühwein, which is a warm, German mulled wine. I really saw the effects of how that warm alcohol warms you up from the inside out... and, I liked it!
Next, we hit one of the many markets, there were probably about 7 of them, all within walking distance from each other. At each of the markets, we noticed that about half of the vendors were all devoted to food & drink. Which, if you know me, was not a problem at all! The other vendors sold cool things like wood carved decorations (ie. Nutcrackers), soap, steins, etc. This is a picture of the main one located in Hamburg City Center.
Now for the food.. the food was so good! We had everything from this melted cheese contraption (actually from Switzerland). They take a whole hunk of cheese with extreme heat over it. It melts & causes the cheese to bubble and bake. They then take a scrapper and scrape the goodness onto some bread. See the picture below and drool. And, homemade donuts that they were frying right in front of us! To die for!
Then, as if we needed even more food, we stopped off at Paulaner Brauhaus. It is a very typical (Bavarian) German restaurant. It specializes in Bavarian food and most importantly, it has Schweinhaxe or pork knuckle. To make this special pork knuckle, they take the knuckle, skin on a fry the darn thing. The skin gets crispy & good (what we call chicharones in Mexican-talk). The meat just falls off the bone. I mean, really, does it get any better? I had asked for a salad because I was looking for at least a little something healthy. And, they brought me a salad completely dressed with way too much dressing. I ate it, but man, Bavarian food... is not light at all! Mike is proud of his Schweinhaxe!
Top off all this goodness with lots of beer & wine... we were happy campers. Next stop, Lubeck! We headed over to Lubeck, Germany to continue our tour of Christmas markets. Lubeck is known for their marizpan. They are especially known for Niederegger marzipan (http://www.niederegger.de/) and stollen. The place was an absolute madhouse when we got there, that being said, once I tried the marzipan, I knew why! The stollen & marzipan were SO good! Here is a picture from the Lubeck city center and me holding the largest cinnamon sticks I have EVER seen. I wanted them... Mike said "no".
After a great weekend in Germany, we headed back to Denmark. It was a great experience and I highly recommend visiting the markets if you ever get a chance. There is really something magical and special about them. Mike and I really enjoyed it and, at the end of it all, he was glad we went (which, I knew he would be!).