The Nicer Side of the Weihnachtsmarkt
I did a bit of Christmas shopping with my friend Laura in the Weihnachtsmarkt this evening, and it was lovely. (The center of the market is set apart from the area with the abominable beast of steel, so all was well.) There was live music throughout our time there--sometimes a choir, sometimes an instrumental group--and stands selling all sorts of crafts and Christmas
decorations.
Gluhwein is perhaps the biggest attraction at the Weihnachtsmarkt. It's a kind of mulled wine, and people wander around drinking it out of glass or ceramic mugs. It's not uncommon here for an outdoor stand to sell beverages in nice glasses with a deposit, rather than paper or plastic cups. I cannot attest to the gluhwein, but I did have some delicious roasted almonds with a sugary coating. Laura got a Jena specialty (though I can't remember the name right now), and that was also quite good. They start with something that looks like pizza dough and tastes quite garlicy, fry it, and top it with salt and whatever else you want on it. (Laura had one with cheese.) In the end they look like oblong mini pizzas without the sauce. Chocolate covered fruit is big as well--apples, bananas, skewers of strawberries, all dipped in nice German chocolate. Michael brought me a chocolate covered apple while I was in the Frauenklinic; it was a lifesaver.
Just before we headed home, I caught this picture on the left. If you look closely, or click on the photo to zoom, you should be able to see various horn players leaning out of the windows. They were playing through the windows out over the square; it was great. Earlier there was a quartet playing from a rooftop terrace.
I'm not sure I've really succeeded in capturing the markets, but there you have it! On an unrelated note, Michael and I went out for pizza tonight--our first attempt at getting pizza in Jena. We found a restaurant run by a family from Venice. The restaurant itself was very nice, and the pizza was pretty good. It wasn't great, but there are plenty of pizza places to try yet. There is a very large Italian population in Jena, so surely we will find the perfect pizza at some point in the next three years. Fortunately, the restaurant tonight had Italian ice cream, and that was delicious.
decorations.Gluhwein is perhaps the biggest attraction at the Weihnachtsmarkt. It's a kind of mulled wine, and people wander around drinking it out of glass or ceramic mugs. It's not uncommon here for an outdoor stand to sell beverages in nice glasses with a deposit, rather than paper or plastic cups. I cannot attest to the gluhwein, but I did have some delicious roasted almonds with a sugary coating. Laura got a Jena specialty (though I can't remember the name right now), and that was also quite good. They start with something that looks like pizza dough and tastes quite garlicy, fry it, and top it with salt and whatever else you want on it. (Laura had one with cheese.) In the end they look like oblong mini pizzas without the sauce. Chocolate covered fruit is big as well--apples, bananas, skewers of strawberries, all dipped in nice German chocolate. Michael brought me a chocolate covered apple while I was in the Frauenklinic; it was a lifesaver.
Just before we headed home, I caught this picture on the left. If you look closely, or click on the photo to zoom, you should be able to see various horn players leaning out of the windows. They were playing through the windows out over the square; it was great. Earlier there was a quartet playing from a rooftop terrace.
I'm not sure I've really succeeded in capturing the markets, but there you have it! On an unrelated note, Michael and I went out for pizza tonight--our first attempt at getting pizza in Jena. We found a restaurant run by a family from Venice. The restaurant itself was very nice, and the pizza was pretty good. It wasn't great, but there are plenty of pizza places to try yet. There is a very large Italian population in Jena, so surely we will find the perfect pizza at some point in the next three years. Fortunately, the restaurant tonight had Italian ice cream, and that was delicious.
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