Christmas markets
Given the cynical over-hyped world we live in, there are few experiences today that really live up to their image. One of those is a visit to a Christmas market in Vienna.
The Christmas market (German: Weihnachtsmarkt or Christkindlmarkt) is a collection of wooden stalls on a square or open space during the weeks leading up to December 24th.
At most markets you’ll find a mix of stands selling traditional Christmas foods, decorations, art and crafts, handmade toys, honey and other delicacies, candy, jewelry and so on.
That rather clinical description fails to do justice to the concept, though. The combination of crisp winter air, snow, tasteful lighting, steaming mugs of mulled wine (German: Punsch or Glühwein), laughter, hot baked potatoes, roasted chestnuts and the scent of a thousand candles produces an experience of a lifetime. (OK, I may have exaggerated the number of candles.)
In recent years, the local authorities have worked hard to ensure an almost complete absence of tackiness from proceedings. Today’s Christmas market is a tasteful affair, where toys are made of wood and tree baubles of glass.
Though they’re worth visiting just for the atmosphere (go when it’s dark to get the best experience), the markets also make for excellent shopping. You’ll normally find a range of potential gift items; carved flowers made of soap, Victorian-style candy, sculpted candles, handcrafted decorations, wooden nativity scenes and much, much (much) more.
There are dozens of markets around, varying in size from a couple of stalls selling food to the many hundreds of stalls that make up the Christkindlmarkt on the Rathausplatz. The latter competes with the markets in Schönbrunn and on Spittelberg for the title of Vienna’s best. We’ll explore each in later articles.