Today I get to experience a Christmas market thats open. Actually, I will be taking a day trip to two cities to two Christmas markets. Im starting to feel festive already. After breakfast, I took a stroll before heading out of town
This is the canal that runs down Konigsallee. Bordering the waterway are high end luxury shops like those you find along Rodeo Drive or Ginza
Looking back towards Cornelius Platz.
A spear wielding aquatic centaur, surrounded by cherubs, pouncing on prey. Thats what I see
The schedule board at Dus HBF. I found that the Deutsche Bahn app was a great tool. Not only did it give you the schedule with times and platforms, but it also prvovided pricing for the different transport options. It made getting to the right train less confusing and on time
The 24 hour tickets wre a great convenience. For the price of a roundtrip, you could use the ticket for 24 hours within a certain area. Get on and off where you like. Depending on when you left, you may still have time to use the same ticket the next morning
Oberhausen, Ober, is the first of two destinations today. Their Christmas market is located at the Westfield Centro mall. I will need to hop on one more mode of transport to get there. The stop is conveniently located next to the Ober HBF. However, its Sunday and it can introduce some problems as many shops and offices can be closed. The kiosk was working to purchase the ticket but it would only accept coins and no paper. The adjacent office was closed and the tourist information center was also closed. Ended up having to use my credit card for the roughly 8 euro 24hr ticket
I liked the vibe of the open seasonal market compared to the closed ones. This market starts on either end of the mall and connected by huts in between.
Right at the entrance is a small toboggan hill for anyone to slide down on. It looked like real snow/ice. To my eyes, not much of a thrill but fun for many
Its still somewhat early as they have been open for only an hour at this point. As the day goes on, the masses invaded and sometimes became hard to walk up and down.
Care for a shot of schnapps? How about a gummi bear in the shot? They had several options to fill the cup and whet your whistle. I dont know if there was anything special about the gummi. Were they laced with alcohol as well?
I believe that these were chocolate covered marshmallows. They come in a variety of flavors
You will probably notice that I dont eat alot of sweets. For one, Im more into the savory items and second is for health reasons. Its got to really be tempting for me to indulge. Otherwise, the will power is strong with this one.
More sweets in the form of nougat, marzipan, and other stuff
Seasonal home decor items
To the left were market shops while to the right were mainly restaurants and shops. There was also a small arcade.
Not only sausages but you can find a veriety of salami. The samples were free flowing so you can sample and see which product you like
Some metal crafts on display and for sale. Looks like there may be some personalizing they can provide
A shop of different woodcrafts from dolls to ornaments and decorative items
Outside the shop is a handmade display shelf in the form of a reindeer. These items and some of the items in the store look to be cut from a laser cutter.
A large wooden doll drew alot of attention and picture taking.
Some roasted glazed nuts in colorful paper cornets to carry around with. Chocolate covered apples and other chocolate covered items on a stick. Cookies adorning above
The Christmas decorations above as visitors peruse below. The ferris wheel peeking out from yonder. Theres a vendor selling backed potatoes.
They have different toppings and I dont remember from memory what they were but I think I can make out jalapenos, chili con carne, hollendaise, and of course butter
The menu also includes egg salad, tzaiziki, shrimp cocktail, salmon lox, and herring. Prices range from 4 euro for plain butter to max at 7 euro
The markets are international and not only have german food but others as well. This stall has pasta mixed in a large wheel of parmesan. You could also get a garlic sauce and truffel paste too
Some more wooden handicraft
Placques with sayings. Stars are a big motif in some of these markets.
Though this is half the length of the next market, its so dense with shops that it seems larger.
What is Christmas without ornaments?
Some beautifully decorated ornaments that you probably wont find in bulk packs at the local Target
I know you are probably wondering, "Is there a ferris wheel at this market?" Well yes there is and you will see a little more of it later. BTW, there is a Legoland store if you are interested in that kind of thing
I mentioned stars before
The whimsical miniatures always draws me in to take a look. These are motorized and adorned with LED
This shop offers a number of grill items including sausages
Like many other grill joints, they also offer currywurst but it looks like the offer it differently. That large pot, I assume, is filled with wurst in a curry sauce
Fried items, especially fish is very popular when paired with fries
They offered other deep fried seafood including shirmp and calamari
Soup in bread bowls. The soups offered are gulasch, split pea, tomato, and a special soup. Were it any cooler, I would have warmed up to soup
Flammlachs(flame salmon), salmon on possibly cedar boards cooked over an open fire. I had the similar preperation when in Seattle while visiting Tilicum village.
A Lego giraffe in front of the store situated next to the obligitory ferris wheel. There will be more to see when in the vicinity of a seasonal market
NIGHTMARE FUEL!! Dont look! Dont look or you will be cursed!
I had to enjoy a warm kinderpunsch. Goal is to get at least one souvenir mug/cup at each city. Even within each city, there could be a number of different mugs/cups. It would be difficult to get them all
From across the water, its almost like a behind the scenes look at the festival
I went back to the flammlachs location and got one in a roll with some lettuce. There was a choice of 2 sauces. The salmon was moist and flakey with a slightly smokey flavor.
In later reasearch, kratur schmand is some kind of sour cream sauce. At the time, I didnt know what it was. I recognized the senf dill(mustard dill) sauce and opted for that. I believe the chose correctly.
This direction is heading back the way I came in from the tram stop. Mall on left and Christmas on right
Other wooden crafts but more utilitarian than decorative. Utensils and cutting boards for the kitchen
A wide range of kitchen tools, containers, and pepper mills
Wanted to get one more item to eat before leaving for Duisburg.
Mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce with a half slice of sandwich bread. This was so so rich. The sauce got to a point where I could not take another bite. Its not that it was bad. The mushrooms with garlic tasted good but the cream sauce was overwhelming after eating through 2/3.
At the far end of the mall was a food court sponsored by Coca Cola. If you get tired of the fair food, you could duck into here for a burger, chinese, donut, etc.
Some enchanting glassware
Later in the day, the crowds showed up to add energy to the atmosphere
Duisburg HBF was a larger station that I imagined. I thought it would be the size of Ober but I was mistaken. As far as the central stations in the cities, it reminds me of the stations around Tokyo. They are the hub of activity because everyone passes through them to get somewhere
I guess Im at the right place and the Santa hat promotes the right attitude
The front of Duis HBF. They really should place the name of the city on the building for us tourists
The gateway to Konigstrasse where they hold their market
Twice as long as Ober, the huts are more spread apart with more open space in between
Some other mugs available at the booze vendor above.
This is where I stopped by for dinner on my way back to Dus. They are located close the eastern entrance near the station
The mandatory pyramid...and the optional bar at the base?
Standing room only. Because there are very few seats.
The off looking Lifesaver fountain at the center of it all. Its a brightly colored blue bird being hugged , in front, by a woman. I have chosen to take the picture from the back to save you from seeing too much butt.
At the far end is city hall near the ferris wheel. Some locations also had a carousel of some sort. This happened to be the swing type that lifts you off the ground
Sat down with some gluhwein inside a warming hut as therfe was a drizzle outside. As coincidence, I had the hut all to myself while I enoyed my beverage and relished my new cup
Before leaving, had another bratwurst for dinner. the sausage was just as plump and juicey as I had before. I dont think you could go wrong with any of the grill offerings
