Christmastime in Munich

Olaf and I jetted off to Germany and Austria the day after we got back from California. Olaf had business and we both wanted to visit at least one Christmas market this year, as we will be spending Christmas with my family in Folsom. 

First stop, Munich. The first day was a wash. Olaf was in meetings and I was nauseous from lack of sleep. These are the kind of days I say slow down and focus on the basics: finding food, drinking water, and making sleep a priority. 

Day 2 was a Friday, so we got to spend the evening together. First we went to Käfer, a gourmet grocery store outside the center of town. 

Me outside of Käfer

After wandering around the store, we headed back to the center of town. I went into a few stores, found a Christmas gift for my brother, and then we started searching for a good Christmas market.

The main market was on the main Marienplatz, and charming with the surrounding old buildings, but overly stuffed with people. 

Christmas Market on Marienplatz

Closer to the Viktualienmarkt we found a more charming, less busy market. The decorations were tops- detailed and very Christmassy :)

Ornament stand

Feuerzangenbowle (mulled wine with hot sugared spicy rum) stand- yum!

Happy it wasn't too cold

As you can see from the last blog post, Olaf has a new obsession with gold. My dad started it by taking him to the old gold mines when we were home for Thanksgiving. 


Imagine Olaf's excitement when he saw this sign:

"Attention, New! Currywurst with Gold flakes, 23 karat"

He started singing his song, all Rumpelstiltskin-like, "All that shines is not all GOLD!!!" 

People stared. I didn't care. He can do as he likes, it's his country.

Crack. Head.

Besides selling Currywurst for 7 euros, this stand was notable in other ways.

One, it was situated underneath a giant German Christmas pyramid, which might be called a "Drehturm" (Something which ALL Americans love and want in their homes, no exception.)

Also, they had the largest mayo and ketchup bottles/ udders I have ever seen.

Check those out

Olaf likes Currywurst, and I like Kartoffelpuffer. 

And Feuerzangenbowle.