CURIOUSER NEW YORK

Christmas in Germany: the story and traditions of Weinahtsmarkt and Glühwein

It's Christmas Eve today and almost time to go back to NYC! I must admit, I'll be missing German Christmas markets, even though they will be soon closed anyway for the season.  I, personally, think they add quite some magic to the holidays. Without them, German cities wouldn't bring upon us the same kind of joyful holiday spirit. It's a special, special time when Christmas markets open, and I do love my Glühwein on a cold snowy day... The tradition of Weinahtsmarkt has been around for centuries and Glühwein is as old as the Christmas market itself . However, as much as it is popular in Germany, the Glühwein recipe does not originate in Germany. To learn more about the history of Glühwein and how I've come about it, click here .

Yesterday I tried Apfelkuchen - a delicious and relatively contemporary addition to the Christmas market 's expanding drink selection in Germany . Warmer Apfelkuchen translates to "warm apple pie". It consists of mostly Mulled Cider, which is essentially spiced and heated apple juice, a traditional and tasty seasonal drink that is usually non-alcoholic. With the addition of a liberal amount of Zubrovka bison-grass vodka (a sweet Polish vodka with a flavor similar to apple) the beverage becomes a Warmer Apfelkuchen. However, after trying hot white cocoa with Baileys, hot cocoa with Rum, Weisswein (a white wine copy of  Glühwein ) and Apfelkuchen, I still prefer a good old  Glühwein . Here's why it's so good and so popular in Germany . But there's just so much more to try!...

I'm in Germany right now to visit my family for Christmas, so most of my blogs will be about the happy holiday Christmas time in Germany - from foods I love and miss when back in USA to street fashion and German lifestyle. I'd like to start with the Christmas Market, or, as the Germans call it - Weihnachtsmarkt. It's one of the things I miss about Europe... So, the things we eat at Weihnachtsmarkt: The Kartoffelpuffers...

I'm in Germany from 12/12 to 12/26, so everything will be around Germany and its wonderful Christmas time, when the German cities become magic, like a fairytale, thanks to the presence of beautiful Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market.) Expect many photos from Germany as my Daily Inspiration! To learn more about Germany - where I've been, what I've seen and what I've tasted - in greatest details - click here .

When Christmas comes, most likely you will go home to celebrate the holidays with your family and friends - in the city or away. And, what's the best way to pump up your Christmas holiday spirit if it's not with the Christmas tree market scene?!

I won't be original - [and the only one] - who would say that one of the best things about Christmas time is Christmas Market, or as they call it in Germany, where I've been exposed to my very first old school traditional Christmas market at the age 14 - Weihnachtsmarkt .  Christmas Market, Union Square/NYC. A view from the top. It was in Gottingen, a small German town (here's more on the town from my upclose and personal experience), where I first learned the joy of Christmas market traditions and which - up until this day - I consider the best Christmas markets in the world. I still very vividly recall - as it was yesterday - the smell of freshly made steamy Glühwein (Mulled wine) - [the memory of which is kept by my family in the glasses one can keep for paying an extra .50 Euro], Brätwurst (usually described the way the sausages are made - grilled or pan fried, and sometimes cooked in broth or beer) and Kartoffelpuffern (potato pancakes/cutlets deep frie...