The Marienplatz is the center of the Christmas markets
and it spreads out on the streets from there like the spokes of a wheel. The Marienplatz is a huge plaza bordered on
one side by a colossal structure called the Neues Rathaus, that is the “New
Town Hall.”
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| Neues Rathaus (aka Congress) |
It is so massive and ornate
that, at first blush, you would think it were a cathedral, not a government
building. And if this is the “new” one,
built in the 1500s, what in the world could the “old” one look like? Rob and I thought it was fitting, though, to
call a building where politicians work a “Rat House.” This building houses a huge glockenspiel with
larger-than-life figures that twirl and dance to the music and the bells. It doesn’t function every hour because it is old
and fragile but we were lucky to arrive on the platz just as it began to
play. Thousands of people were stopped
in their tracks, staring up in awe at the tower.
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| The glockenspiel |
The Christmas markets are amazing. They are created of booths made of wood, detailed
and decorated with garland, trees, ornaments and lights. (Where do they store this stuff for the other
49 weeks/year?) Mile after mile you can
stroll and admire the arts and crafts, all made carefully by artisans here in
Germany. You will not find “Made in
China” labels here. The organ grinders
play carols and the bells in the towers peal.
The one thing you cannot do under any circumstance is sit down. When you go to the Christmas Market, order
food, have a glüwein, whatever it is you wish to do, you do it standing
up. There is no place, NO WHERE, to sit
down. At the end of a cold day walking
on the cobblestones, it becomes time to find a warm place to plop down. Which is where the gasthaus comes in
handy. We came upon the Andechser am Dom
and decided to have a little bite for lunch.
Some friendly Krauts invited us to join their table and we were really
glad. It was cozy and the folks were
smiling and happy. Christmas time does
that to people! One lady was eating tartar
and I was intrigued so I asked her about it and we all began to chat. She was the most outgoing of the group and
when Rob asked about the walleye on the menu, she cried, “Eeeeeew! Ach, NEIN!
No fisch! Ugh! This is a bräuhaus!”
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| "Nein, no fisch!" she said! |
They wretched and we laughed. We came back here for dinner and Rob ate (wait
for it) schnitzel while I savored the tartar. The locals are usually right.
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| At the Andechser am Dom |
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The Andechser am Dom - Yes, they eat
outside! They think it's Summer! |
We wandered home after dinner in the evening and all the
Christmas markets were ablaze with Christmas lights and buzzing with activity under
the watchful eye of the beautiful Neues Rathaus. It was a happy day for us.
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Marienplatz, Neues Rathaus
and Christkindlmarkt |
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| Marienplatz Christkindlmarkt |
The next morning, we arose and packed up. Our next stop is Röthenburg and we took the
back roads through the countryside to get there. In a small town, Höchstädt an der Donau,
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| Hochstadt Palace in Hochstadt an der Donau |
just
around the bend a huge castle suddenly appeared.
It was built by Count Philipp Ludwig in 1574 for his new bride, Anna,
the Duke’s daughter. Thirteen years
later, she was widowed and lived in the castle alone for 17 more years. Now, the courtyard inside the castle is used
for concerts, events and as a café/biergarten.
Continuing along the road, in Nördlingen, the locals sent us to the Red
Ochsen Gasthof. It is a tiny little room
where an old fellow and his wife are the cooks and today’s fare is written on a
blackboard. We sat down at the old
wooden table with a pretty little tablecloth in the middle and pillows on the
chairs. Rob chose rind goulash with
spätzle and gravy and my lunch was a big bowl of suppe containing vegetables,
many kinds of meat cut in tiny pieces and maultaschen (little raviolis
containing meat and vegetables). Like everything
else we’ve had the pleasure to eat, the food prepared here was delicious.
I don’t know about the Krauts. They’re petty gruff and impatient. If the shortest distance between points A and
B is where you are standing, you’ll be run over as if you are invisible. We stepped into an antique shop in München
and a crabby old Kraut asked for what we were looking. We explained that we were just looking around. He waved his arms and yelled, “This isn’t a
museum! I have to pay rent for this
store in this building! Do you want to
buy something or not?!” OK, auf
wiedersehn, Herr Scheisskopf! I’d like
to find a wine glass like my Mom’s favorite glass but one thing is for
certain: if that crabby old bastard did
have one in his store, he still does.
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