Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Christmas Market - Weihnachtsmarkt


Yesterday we went to our favorite indoor Christmas Market (Weihnachtsmarkt) in the City of Bonn. There you can buy all kinds of Christmas merchandise and gifts, especially traditional things such as crib figurines, toys, wood carvings, nutcrackers, candles and lambskin shoes to place underneath your Christmas tree. Many are difficult to resist - as will be the glass of delicious mulled wine you are offered or the grilled sausages that are very welcome on a crisp winter day.




There are beautiful decorations such as these red stars …




…and little wooden snowmen and Saint Nicks…




…and the widely popular colorful wooden nutcrackers in many different sizes.




Then there are wooden so-called “smoking men” (you can place a little incense cone inside and it will "smoke" - hence their descriptive name)…




…and some more smoking men…




…then there are countless wooden decorations to choose from.




There is the famous hand-made lace from the well-known City of Plauen, you can choose from countless lace table runners, table clothes or ornaments.




There are tiny wooden music boxes…




…and more carved gifts for the collectors..




…and tiny wooden churches...




…and the famous Angel Orchestra.




You can also choose to buy beautifully glazed Polish ceramics from the City of Bunzlau…




…like these Christmas trees…




…or these Christmas tree ornaments…




…or these snowmen..




…more beautifully painted ornaments…




…and some more.




Who can resist this hair…




…or these wooden painted stars.




These snowmen from another pottery would look great on any front porch (you can place candels inside to make them "light up").




I absolutely adore these lovingly carved wooden figurines.




There was also some music…




…and some more amazing lace…




…love these delicate snowflakes…




…and equally delicate stars.




And who would not want to take a look at these delightful wooden figurines depicting different winter scenes.




Christmas Markets such as this one are always fun and worth more than one visit! This particular Market lasts only for about a week and the wooden sheds are all indoors, that is in a rather huge glass-domed hall with actual chestnut trees, a bit like a huge winter garden - quite special and I always look forward to visting the Market with the family each and every year!









18 comments:

  1. I would go bankrupt if I had this store near me! Love everything in every picture - especially the smoking men!

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    1. Thanks, Cathleen, before I go shopping at that particular Christmas market, I always make a resolution...and I never keep it...well, it is the the Holidays after all and who can resist these wonderful gifts and collectibles, certainly not me!

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  2. We've had a German-style Christmas market in Vancouver for the last three years - it's enormously popular, with lines going around the block. The goods are all imported from Germany and many of them remind me of the lovely things you show in your post. It's nice to have such traditions come over here.

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    1. Teresa, thank you so much for the comment - I have heard that the German Christmas markets have become quite popular abroad, there are so many of them now and they always seem to be quite a success. Well, they do have quite a festive atmosphere.

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  3. I would love to visit a German Christmas market - it looks magical.

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    1. Thanks so much for the comment - Christmas markets are special and it is indeed a lot of fun to visit them at this time of year.

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  4. Andrea, On Monday night a couple from Aspen were in Las Vegas and we met for dinner. They are long-time friends and travel constantly. She and three girlfriends had just been to Vienna for three days to enjoy the Christmas markets before going on to Paris for a week. Since I had always heard of your German markets, I asked her to explain what they were and what was offered for sale. She tried but your pictures absolutely tell the story. I have so many friends that have "done" the markets and now that my time is more my own and not so confined and structured, I am definitely going to try to do this. Thanks for lovely pictures.

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    1. Mary, I really appreciate all your lovely comments and as far as the European Christmas markets are concerned, somehow they are a "must" if you get a chance to visit Europe at this time of year and sometimes, pictures tell the story a bit better than words but I am sure that your friends really enjoyed their visit to Vienna, there are so many extraordinary places to visit there especially at this time of year.

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  5. Andrea - I love this! It looks like such a wonderful place to lose your self in. Beautiful pictures.

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    1. Cher, thanks for the lovely comment! It is easy to loose track of time when visiting this market - it is always like a "little holiday" and a welcome change of pace from our busy lives at this time of the year.

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  6. The Christmas Market is so beautiful. I love all the beautiful items, especially the lace and nutcrackers. I told my husband to get prepared, some day we are going to Germany during Christmas. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures.

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    1. Thanks, Geraldine - I am sure you would love to visit one or more of these markets!

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  7. Oh Andrea.. I've always wanted to go to a christmas market.. i wish i could have come along.. beautiful pics.. thank you for sharing them!!

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    1. Sarwani, thanks for the lovely comment - I will be posting pictures from my favorite outdoor market on Decemebr 16th, it is the most adorable one-day only event!

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  8. I wish I had such a gorgeous christmas market around here. Love the smoking men and the hand painted tree ornaments!

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    1. Paula, thank you, I actually used to collect these "smoking men" (Räuchermännchen) and I put them on display in our living room every Christmas season and the incense that they "smoke" really creates a lovely seasonal ambience.

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  9. I can spend my entire fortune if I get to go to this market. Well, I really hope I can visit one day! How do you resist to buy everything from here... unless you have everything! :) Thank you for sharing all these pictures. You must have been so busy taking pictures and shopping around at the same time. I enjoyed this post VERY much. Now let's start dreaming my trip there...

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    1. Nami, they just might be a visit to a EU or German Christmas market in your future, who knows?! But it certainly would be fun and I am sure that you would adore it.

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