H of the house of L: New post - Christmas Markets, part 2 : Munich Marienplatz #christmas #weihnachtsmarkt #marienplatz #muenchen #munich

Happy Friday (the 10th)!

With two weeks to Christmas, I'm continuing my series on Christmas Markets, which will eventually take me to Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, and Prague.

Today is a short installment about one of the more central markets in Munich.

One of the main and most popular Christmas markets in the Bavarian capital is found in the Altstadt (Old Town) at Marienplatz. The market here is spread out in front of the Neues Rathaus, and this year's giant of a Christmas tree hails from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, if the signs nailed to the trunk are true. There are stalls offering Christmas decorations and tree ornaments; candied hearts with declarations of love ("ich liebe dich"); scarves, hats, and mitts for bipeds or quadrupeds; roasted nuts; grilled steak or, of course, the humble Bratwurst; fried potato pancakes; and the ubiquitous Glühwein.

Glühwein (mulled wine) is heated red-wine with spices, e.g., cloves, citrus, cinnamon, sugar, etc. At any given Christmas market, Glühwein can be had from any number of countless stalls. You can often order Glühwein augmented with a shot of rum or liqueur or "mit Schuss". Not only do you pay for the Glühwein, there's also a modest deposit for the mug in which the hot grog is served. After finishing the drink, you can keep the mug as a souvenir of your visit to the market, or you can return the mug from the original booth or stall and get your deposit back. It's easy to see how over time your cabinets become filled with Glühwein mugs which change annually and can be different from one market to another (or even, one stall to another).

Over a number of sessions were consumed (or destroyed): a few Glühwein ... as far as I can remember ... and a few Wurst ... as far as I can remember. Walking through the markets at any time day or night can be problematic, if one stumbles into the market either hungry or cold with the delicious smells of food and drink wafting through the air. But rest assured that with a few euros jangling in your pocket waiting to be freed, it's always good to know the invitation to consume and partake is always open.

I took the following photos all at Marienplatz last week.

- HL, 1900h GMT - 10 Dec. 2010