Weihnachtsmarkt! Translation: Christmas Market!

These are free outdoor street markets that are in almost every German town square during the advent season. Vendors set up in stalls decorated for Christmas. There is usually a large Christmas tree trimmed and lit in the market place. The custom is common to Germany and parts of Austria and dates back to the 1300’s.
I had the opportunity to be in Germany for the first advent and toured the Christmas Markets in Moers, Düsseldorf, and Cologne.
In Moers, there was a stage with a band playing music, a skating rink, pony rides, and lots of Glühwein! This is one of my favorites! It is a warm spiced red wine, usually served with a shot of something sweet, like amaretto!
At Düsseldorf’s Christmas Market I had the best treat I’ve ever had in Germany, Flammkuchen! This is a wonderful comfort food! It is bread covered with Crème fraîche and bacon and then placed into a very hot brick oven. There is also a potato version, which I could not help but shove in my mouth!
As one would expect, there were bratwurst vendors as well! They use the original charcoal grills to get the best taste. There were hearty spicy Karkauer, original bratwurst, curry sausage, and roasted mushrooms with garlic dip. The brats are served on a delicious roll with optional mustard. I would highly recommend any mustard from Germany!
In Cologne, we tried many different sweats. They sold crepes with toppings like nutella, waffles with toppings, glazed almonds, roasted nuts and the Kartoffelpuffer with applesauce or sugar. Kartoffelpuffer is a fried potato pancake that is normally enjoyed with applesauce.
Another popular vendor is the Stollen Stall. Here you can buy Stollen, which is a bread-like cake made with citrus, nuts, marzipan, and covered in icing sugar. Stollen dates back to the 1400’s in Germany and is often given as a gift during the Christmas season. Germans even use a special knife called a Stollenmesser to cut and serve the Stollen.

Guten Appetit!

Kathy: Reporting back from Germany!

Well I have returned from Germany, the Land of Perfect as my fiancé calls it! Although I can not confirm that, I will say the food in Germany is outstanding! And I did my fair share of eating! I was very impressed with the numerous outdoor markets! The olives were to die for!


















We spent most of our dining experiences in the Northern Rheine region. In Moers we had curry sausage called, Currywurst with pommes frites (AKA French Fries). The key to this dish, is the sauce. The sausage itself is usually a simple fine bratwurst.





We also traveled to Munich and enjoyed some traditional Bavarian food, and beer! Perhaps the most famous beer gardens in the world is in Munich, the Hofbräuhaus! They brew their own beer and serve a very traditional Bavarian dish, White Sausage, or Weisswurst. Although this sausage does look a bit strange, it is delicious. It is boiled and therefore does not turn brown. They serve it with a sweet mustard that I was just crazy about! I smuggled some back to the States! The skin of the sausage is very hard and therefore not eaten. Most Germans suck the Weisswurst out from the skin. My stomach was a bit too weak for that, so I carefully cut the skin off and enjoyed!
You wash the Weisswurst down with about one liter of HB beer!






And of course, no trip to Germany would be complete without a pretzel! I was skeptical that the German Pretzel could really be that much better than an American one. I was proved wrong! I don't know what type of dough they use or how they cook them, but the German Pretzel is truly superior!




Well what about breakfast?
This is a traditional German Breakfast.
It consists of an egg (usually hardboiled), a slice of ham, slice of
cucumber, slice of tomatoe, slice of cheese
(usually Gouda), and a croissant and/ or roll.







If all of this looks a bit too heavy for your taste, there were salads to choose. The vegetables in Germany are very fresh and make for an incredible salad. I enjoyed a Fried Goat Cheese salad.








After being in Germany for so long, we decided to make some food items to remind us of home. Michael smoked some pork ribs and made a homemade BBQ sauce.
Ingredients included:
Spicy Ketchup as base, olive oil, sherry vinegar, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika powder, garlic, chilli, honey and brown sugar, and maybe a spit of tequila.
He smoked the ribs for 6 hours at about 250 degrees F.
During those 6 hours we drank a 5 liters of Becks! Yum! Oddly, the beer in Germany does not provide you with a hangover the following day. I'll have to look into why that is.


















I then used the Lemon Square recipe on this blog from Adrienne. It was a nice treat!