Our adventures began at Potsdamer Platz, where the Christmas market was laid out in one long row, 2.5 magical kilometers, making it easy to navigate and appreciate. This was the perfect introduction. Highlights included seeing pretzels in their natural habitat, some tasty little donuts, and a lone little boy riding a carousel to the strains of "It Must Have Been Love."
The next afternoon, Rachel and I trekked through the Heart of Darkness into the depths of West Berlin to visit the market at Schloss Charlottenburg. I bought some delicious organic nougat, Rachel bought some lebkuchen, and we took the U-bahn back to Alexanderplatz due to sub-zero temperatures.
But we hadn't had enough Christmas market for one day. The advantage of the Alexanderplatz market is the feeling of being constantly watched by the TV Tower, arguably my favorite public monument of all time. I can't really explain why I love it so much, except for the fact that it's always there. Watching. Waiting.
Gendarmenmarkt was probably the best. Even though they charged 1 Euro admission, they more than made up for the cost with all of the free samples. Foods and crafts were fancier here, but they were missing traditional Christmas market staples like wurst and gluhwein.
On our way home, we swung by the Opernpalais Christmas market for a last hurrah. I ate a Langos, the ordering of which allowed me to speak my longest German sentence to date: "Ein langos mit zucker und zimt, bitte." I was so proud.
The thing about German Christmas markets that makes them infinitely more bearable than American craft shows isn't just the Christmas spirit, the fairy lights, or the novelty I experience as a foreigner -- it's the lack of repetition. Sure, each Christmas market has the same stalls. But there's only one of each stall at each market. You see the wood crafts, the lace doilies, and the scented candles -- and then it's over. Kitsch is kept to a strict minimum in order to concentrate on what's really important: Food.
my mum wanted us to find a christmas market in puerto rico... but we didnt.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so magical. So efficient and organized. My kind of wonderland. (Wunderland?)
ReplyDeleteI suggest you watch Berlin Alexanderplatz, a film by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It's a mere 940 minutes long.