From the start of December in Germany you will find Christmas Markets all over the country. Many stalls offer traditional food and drink such as ‘Grilled Wurst (sausage)’ and Glühwein (mulled wine). You can find other stalls offering clothes, wooden objects, paintings, toys, photographs or anything linked to Christmas. Here is a photo of part of the market.
On Saturday I went to the east of the city on my local U-Bahn then walked to the Kaulsdorf Christmas Market. There I had a Thüringer Bratwurst as I waited for Jan to call me. Yes, he was in town with Arancha and baby Emma. I was pleased to see many of his old school friends with him and with their wives and children. His mother was also there watching over the pram. A real family meeting.
I took photos of all including Jan and family. Many with Emma but I do not show photos of her on my blog at her parents request. Instead you can see Jan with me and a couple of his old school friends sipping different liquids. It was great to see them again and quickly catch up on news. As they refilled their glasses I said my goodbyes and left for the local U-Bahn station.
I traveled towards Alexander Platz and got out two stations before on the Karl-Marx-Allee. I then went to a cafe/restaurant. I met the ladies in my Kowalke Gang and settled down to enjoy a late afternoon performance of readings and music.
The ‘stars’ were Ines and Jakob. He provided the music. She read out various traditional texts from different countries with the theme of Christmas Stories from all over the world. Here is a photo of Ines with my Kowalke Gang. She is in the middle of the back row. Thanks Ines for a wonderful event. Looking forward to more next year.