Christmas Market

December in Europe brings Christmas markets (Weinachtsmarkt), and Weinachtsmarkt brings Glühwein. Nazy likes Glühwein: a mulled wine which is warm and spicy. (December temperatures are cold in the outdoor markets.) I have researched the Internet to get a more complete understanding of Glühwein, the iconic drink. The tradition began in the Middle Ages (the first documented Glühwein appeared in Germany in 1420) as a way to make bad wine, or wine that had gone bad, drinkable. Note: Drinkable does not mean ‘tastes good’.

[I am not making this up. All of recipes that I’ve seen have “cheap wine” as the first ingredient.]

Recipe: Add sugar (the cheaper the wine, the more sugar), cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and lemon and heat. Enjoy! There is a similar drink in the Nordic countries called Glögg. (They add raisins and almonds instead of cinnamon and cloves.) The drink is called boiled wine in Romania and glowing wine (Греяно вино) in Bulgaria,

The Christmas market in Zürich is not as festive as the ones we’ve been to in Germany, Perhaps it’s the venue: the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) doesn’t exude the historical ambiance of an ancient city. In addition, the Bahnhofstrasse decorations consist of a sophisticated, computerized, giant timepiece constructed from florescent tubes (December in Europe brings Christmas markets (Weinachtsmarkt), and Weinachtsmarkt brings Glühwein,
Nazy likes Glühwein: a mulled wine which is warm and spicy. (December temperatures are cold in the outdoor markets.) I have researched the Internet to get a more complete understanding of Glühwein, the iconic drink. The tradition began in the Middle Ages (the first documented Glühwein appeared in Germany in 1420) as a way to make bad wine (or wine that had gone bad) drinkable. (Drinkable does not mean ‘tastes good’.)

[I am not making this up. All of recipes that I’ve seen have “cheap wine” as the first ingredient.]

Recipe: Add sugar (the cheaper the wine, the more sugar), cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and lemon and heat. Enjoy! There is a similar drink in the Nordic countries called Glögg. (They add raisins and almonds instead of cinnamon and cloves.) The drink is called boiled wine in Romania and glowing wine (Греяно вино) in Bulgaria,

The Christmas market in Zürich is not as festive as the ones we’ve been to in Germany, Perhaps it’s the venue: the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) doesn’t exude the historical ambiance of an ancient city. In addition, the Bahnhofstrasse decorations consist of a sophisticated, computerized, giant timepiece constructed from florescent tubes (just like the lighting fixtures found in a cold, harsh and dreay maximum security penal institution). In short, the decorated market reminds most observers of an industrial zone, The Glühwein and the crowds serve to ameliorate the situation.

The markets offer traditional holiday handicrafts – alpaca sweaters from Peru, silk scarves from Laos, bronze Buddha sculptures from Tibet, stacking dolls from Яussia, worthless currency from Zimbabwe, (and Iceland) , “real” Pashmina from India, hippopotamus carved from African ironwood and pistachios from Iran. They even have some stuff from Germany and (gasp!) Switzerland.