The Munchener Christkindlmarkt officially opened Monday, November 21st at 10 am. My sister and I visited it the following morning. One of the first things we noticed was that it was quite a big smaller than the one we had been to in 2016. This, I think, is the first time the markets have taken place since 2019 when, the pandemic shut down pretty much everything the following year. Even the scaled-back version, however, was fun to see. All those boarded up stalls I had seen on Sunday were now open for business and there was certainly lots of activity around. Here are a sampling of some of the stalls:
Six years ago there was also a stuffed animal display in Galleria (department store) sponsored by Steif. We couldn't wait to see what is looked like this year. It was fun watching both children and elderly people getting so much enjoyment out of the moving displays of teddy bears and other animals. It was magical.
The Glockenspiel in the town hall tower in Marienplatz (the big famous square in the Altstadt) commemorates two events from the history of Munich: The marriage celebrated in 1568 between Duke William V and Renate von Lothringen. In honour of the bridal couple, a knight's tournament was held on Marienplatz. The Bavarian knight triumphed over his opponent from Lorraine. Secondly, the lower floor, shows the coopers dance. After a severe plague epidemic, barrel makers are known to be the first to venture out onto the streets and dance to amuse the population who were frightened by the plague. Every day at 11 am and noon, the Glockenspiel plays and the characters in the tower act out these two events. We were lucky enough to be there at noon to see the "performance". Here is some of it (apologies for the quality of the video):
Unfortunately, the weather wasn't really cooperating so we had to duck into the Augustiner Brauhaus for some soup and a drink to warm us up.
After that respite, we continued to wander around the market checking out the area called "Kripperlmarkt" (nativity market) where you an buy beautiful creches or the miniatures to create your own.
From that section, we wandered to the Rindermarkt where there were more stalls selling every kind of Gluhwein and other warm alcoholic drinks you could imagine. When we were in Nuremburg 6 years ago, we were intrigued by one called Feurzangerbowle. However, the place selling whatever that concoction is was always packed with people - most of them drunk and loud. So, we never did get the chance to try it. This time was different. Now, you can find the recipe on the Internet but the guy told me it is basically red wine mixed with sugar that has been caramelised with lots of rum. We had to try it and it was delicious! It also was a good antidote to the cold and damp air!
With that, we were almost done with our first "market day". We stopped to see some of the skaters at the Karlsplatz before heading to our hotel. I am not sure I am exactly in "the Christmas spirit" yet but it is clearly apparent from today that Christmas will be upon us before we know it!
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