Christmas Markets!

When I started telling people I was moving to Munich in December and how I was going to die from the cold, I would be invariably met with the reply, "You can go to the Christmas Market and drink gluhwein to keep warm!" The most vocal advocate of this method of keeping warm was, naturally, Pooey, who would suffix the statement with, "FUCK, IT'S YUM!!!" and then reminisce about foods she ate when she visited a market in Berlin. 

According to the guidebooks I've read, Munich is even MOAR famous for its Christkindlmarkt (aka Weihnachtsmarkt), and I've seen a few on my short time here. The most famous is the one in the city centre, Marienplatz, but I've been told it's completely taken over by tourists now and I should visit other ones instead.

The first one I visited was the Mediaeval Christkindlmarkt in Wittelsbacherplatz. I went with Julia, another postdoc from the lab. 

 

 A wooden ye olde tower! 

 

Xmas tree complete with REAL snow. So purdy. 

 

Julia and Sonya lined up for some Feuerzangenbowle, but the queue was too long and slow so we got normal gluhwein instead.

 

Enjoying my gluhwein :D

 

And then Sonya bought some Apfelkuchel - apple fritters!

Walking through central Munich in the morning while shopping, I came across this little market in Promenadeplatz just as it opened!

 

I came back later in the day and it was much more crowded than this.

 

And because it was so early (about 10:30am), I resisted the alcoholic drink and bought these roasted pumpkin seeds instead - Chilli und Zucker flavoured! Btw, pumpkin seed guy...kinda hot.

By the end of the day as I was laden down with shopping so I decided to go home relatively early. As I walked from my S-bahn stop to the house, I heard a musical thumping noise

 

It was a marching band, complete with period costume!

 

Another view of the band, showing their hardcore instruments and uniforms.

I then returned later in the night to get some gluhwein with Peter, another house inhabitant. 

 

Being from Kenya, he'd never had this before!

 

And I of course enjoyed it very much. Because it was quite late (and cold), the gluhwein stall also gave us from free bratwurst. Miam, but so much sausage.

So that's that for now. New photos from other markets will be on fb!