Memories of a Weihnachtsmarkt - Vienna, Austria
Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 9:35PM This year’s holidays bring about a touch of sadness in me. Now, I am overjoyed at seeing my parents, four sisters (one of whom is pregnant), the melange of brother-in-laws, and the extended family, all of whom live 500-ish miles away. I just can’t help but think of my holidays last year and how much I would love to be back there.
Last year I was working on my Masters degree in England (which I now have)and it just wasn’t feasible for me to come home for every holiday. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was positioned on either end of a close friend’s birthday – making it the perfect time for a celebratory get-away! With a week of planning, Birthday Girl, another friend and I managed to zip of to Austria for 10 pounds! (European flights are simply amazing!) Vienna was our one and only stop – mostly for a Klimt exhibition that ended up not even being there – but it was still an incredible weekend.
Our first morning in Vienna, we made our way out early - well, early for a vacation- looking for a delicious local breakfast, not that we had any idea what it was. We found a cute cafe and just asked for the most popular item with our preferred beverages. Turns out that the traditional breakfast it a bulkie roll, ham and cheese.
Now, I am not a fan of ham; I grew up eating it at least once a month and every Easter. Unless it has a pretty thick layer of honey glaze, I am just not interested. This meant that I was slightly dismayed at the plate that was in front of me. Bread - delicious. Cheese - love it! And then there was the ham.
Not to seem any more of a tourist than I was, I took part of the roll, placed butter on it, a slice of cheese and finally the ham. All I can say is that it was the most delicious breakfast I have ever had. The soft bread and butter, with the delicate and mouth-watering flavor of the cheese, and then the ham, adding a touch of salt to create a perfect explosion of flavors that, even now, I have trouble describing it. I have tried, unsuccessfully, in recreating this seemingly simple meal. The cheese is a butter cheese, generally a German cheese, but this one was made in Austria, and the ham - well, it seemed to be just ham. Then of course, bread and butter. Maybe one just needs to be in a quaint cafe sitting on a side street in a country where they don't speak or understand the language to fully appreciate this meal.
After devouring our first exciting trip into Viennese culture, we continued on to view the many Museums (as Museum Studies students, we had to stay true to our hearts). While we did visit a few museums, The Albertina, The Freud Museum, The Music Museum and even a butterfly habitat (to get out of the cold), however, we constantly became way-laid by the markets. They have quite a few Weihnachtsmarkts, or Christmas Markets, throughout the city, including a large one in the main park in front of their city hall. Everything was being sold at this market. Candles and bath soaps, as we would see here, but then there were marionettes and stalls for meat - only meat. The rustic faux-cabin stalls for the exhibitors created a quaint holiday view, somehow naturally meshing with almost human sized bear and snow-flake lights intertwined in the trees. This alone instilled the Christmas spirit in me, the array of smells and tastes were only an added bonus.
Backing up a minute, I mentioned that I was in England working on my degree, for about a year. There are no pretzels in England - they are practically non-existent there. I don't know why, but it was a crushing realization. (I imagine if I had searched harder I could have found them, but ultimately, I just didn't have the time for that). Returning to Vienna: shortly after the delicious breakfast we've already discussed, I saw someone eating a pretzel. It was one of those large soft pretzels, with a bit of salt. (I may have drooled a bit.)
I spent the rest of the day searching for the soft pretzels, ultimately finding them in the Christmas market! They weren't sold by a street vendor either - no! The glorious pretzels were in on of the cabins, hand made by German pretzel makers (I suppose I could call them bakers, but 'pretzel maker' works better, as it was the only thing they were selling). While there was quite the range of pretzel flavors, I admit that my general soft pretzel love tends to lean toward the lightly salted variety, so I felt no need to experiment there, but there was an array of flavors, some with ham, some with cheese, some with a combination, and of course there was the ever popular cinnamon and sugar.
My favorite smell (and taste!) was the gluhwein – a mulled wine made with spices, oranges and lemons, and occasionally even some brandy. I have made and enjoyed mulled wine before, but there is no comparison with pointing to the barrel of steaming wine, holding up three fingers and then handing over the money to receive three mugs with Santa’s image on it, and three tokens (to receive your cup deposit when you return the mug). Everyone in the Christmas market was walking with a mug, drinking the libation and spending money! In my opinion, it is as close to Christmas heaven as one can get!
The warm mug(s), delicious aromas, lights, shopping and intoxication made walking through the cold rainy evening, with two amazing friends, one of my favorite Christmas memories. The array of items sold here quickly accomplished my gift giving list, and then as I walked away with the excitement of the season, and maybe a few too many Gluhwein, I wondered when I would be able to make it back.
To see other cool travel photos, check out Delicious Baby's Photo Fridays...
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Megan is a Development Coordinator for an Arts Non-profit. As a lover of art, it is her desire to travel as much as possible to view all the art, old and new, that she possibly can. She currently lives and works in Northern Virginia, with her oldish pup Oliver.
Megan has spent quite a bit of time traveling the USA, only recently has she been able to spend more time abroad, and she hopes to continue with that. She loved the time she spent in England working on her MA.
Reader Comments (7)
Very interesting, and beautiful pictures!
Okay, that meat + cheese + bread + butter business for breakfast is the reason I can't EVER live on the continent. I could happily eat my weight in that stuff every morning. Mmmmmm.
I've been to Austria several times, but (incredibly) never to Vienna. Thanks for the mini-break today! Ciao!
Sounds great!
I like butter cheese, but we don't see a lot of it here in Michigan. I sometimes see it in northern Ohio, but I'm sure it's not the same as your glorious Austrian cheese :)
I've got a few photos I pulled out from a visit to a German-inspired Christmas market in Chicago a while back so to write one of my blog entries for next week. This really makes me wish I could eventually visit a real European Christkindlmarket. though.
That sounds so magical! All the food and the sites, culture, customs and all those things that I love so much about travelling, coming to life.
We should definitely go travelling together (again)
;)
We do not eat any pork & lean towards vegan, but we really loved our two weeks in Vienna last fall. Both Austria and Germany were delightful surprises on our open ended world tour. Thanks for bringing back the memories!
The music performances are so spectacular in Vienna, we might just have to go back this year!
Reading your blog post made me hungry! I love to see Vienna. I hope to visit that city in the future. Love reading your post! - Goddy