I still had time on the 2 24 hr passes from the previous day. Since Ober is on the way to Essen, I decided to stop in to get some spatzle. Its a german noodle dish and I was not sure it would be available at other locations. Took me a while to find the place.
I ordered it with cheese and speck, kind of like bacon bits. When I saw the stand yesterday, they were making the spatzle fresh on a machine behind the counter. I enjoyed my dish inside a hut I had all to my self as the fair was just opening up. Now off to Essen!
Once you head out of Essen HBF, head due north along Kettwiger Strasse. Its lined with several types of shops on either side. About 1500 ft down, as the Google crow flies, hang a left and that will take you to the southern entrance to Kennedy Platz
Sure, why not put up a ferris wheel near a statue of Emperor Wilhelm I on horseback. Along the way are Christmas teaser huts. These are stands that dot the pathway to the sanctioned location
I cant help but stop and look at the miniature. Many depict the architecture of buildings found in alpine villages. To me the snow capped structures lend an air to the season
So far, this was the most minis I had seen all in one place. His inventory was quite vast
I went a bit further down the lane before turning left and made my way to the northern entrance
At the plaza proper, the first thing we encounter is a gluhwein stand. There was somewhat of a unique draw to this. Enough of a draw for me to purchase from them
I didnt mention it earlier but the leather crafters were numerous. Wallets and purses for sale. Pouches and other decorative items were available. I think I may have even seen lederhosen in another city
I will not be here in the evening so I will miss out on all the lighting they put up
Some souvenir mugs at a different gluhwein stand.
Speaking of gluhwein, a talking moose named Charly adorns the previously mentioned vendor. I thought the effort put into putting this singing talking motorized moosehead deserved my euros.
Plus, it was close to the location of where I got a krakauer sausage in the ridiculously small roll. This is more of a polish sausage and had quite a bit thicker skin. At times, attempts to take a bite resulted in squeezing out the filling and leaving an empty casing. Could not bite through it. I added some ketchup and mustard from the dispenser. They mad you feel like you were getting condiments from the ketchup/mustard cow.
Charly adorned the frosted mug from 2020. Since we were in 2023, I brought it back to swap out with this year's model
The lady was nice enough to change it for me. Charly is still on the mug but the year was not specified but it didnt matter too much. Watch the video to see Charly in action
Would have loved to take this Pringles Advent calender home. However, it would have been much too large for my check in and I would need to buy a second suitcase and pay the extra check in fee.
Whew, after all that, it wouldnt be worth the 25 euro to buy it. 24 cans of Pringles in a array of flavors. Im not sure why I didnt stay a few hours longer to watch the lights come up. There was still plenty of daylight when I left
I didnt have dinner in Esssen and was not feeling like a sit down when I got back to Dus. The Mcd, Bk, and KFC near the hotel are open til 1am. Though it was not that late, I went to get a salad with tnders at KFC. While there I noticed the fried cheese nuggets and chili cheese fries. I saw similar at BK. So I also got BK chili cheese nugget and cheese nugget at KFC. Apparently this is chili as in the pepper and not in the con carne. I ate this in my room overlooking the street and went to bed
This post is short. I didnt take as many pictures as I thought. I must have taken more video. Those will eventually be edited and posted after the pics are up
