As we mentioned, we decided to go to Prague over the Christmas weekend since we didn’t have any family in town. We still have another day before we fly back to Frankfurt, but it has been a wonderful time. Apparently a lot of other people had the same idea and it has been extremely busy, even on Christmas Day itself. Old town was packed with tourists and we were glad that we booked dinner reservations in advance. There is a lot to share, but for the moment we are just soaking it all in and trying to absorb everything that we have seen. This is just a tease of some of the sights that we have seen. Prague has lived up to all expectations, a truly memorable experience.
Charles BridgeChristmas Tree in the Old Town SquarePrague Castle Complex
Being here in Germany, away from family and friends, we are missing the normal exchanging of gifts that would normally occur. We decided to do something personal for the friends that we have made since arriving and chose to bake some chocolate chip cookies in order to share a little of our memories with our new friends. It is a simple recipe and that is fortunate since we couldn’t find some of the same things that we would have normally used, but even so, the cookies turned out just fine. In fact, we would say that they were quite delicious, although we have learned that cookies or biscuits or not quite as common here as they are in the United States. They certainly love their sweets, but it is more about candy, cakes, and pastries than it is about a plate of cookies to be left by the fireplace for Santa to enjoy. What we enjoyed the most was the faces of our friends as they tasted these tempting treats. Sure, the cookies were good, but sharing something personal was even sweeter. We hope that you enjoy!
Plate Full of Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips, or chunks
2 1/4 cups all-purpose-flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
Delicious Cookies
Directions
Preheat an oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt the butter in a microwave or on the stove. Whisk the eggs, sugars, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and then fold into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon. We didn’t have baking soda, so we left that out and brown sugar here is more like a granulated sugar, but it worked equally as well. We also couldn’t find chocolate chips, but we did find chocolate chunks and even chopping up a block of chocolate would have worked. Place heaping spoonful’s of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, leaving about an inch to two inches between each cookie. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the center is still soft. This batch makes about 30 to 36 cookies.
We had heard a lot about how wonderful the Christmas markets would be before we ever left the United States to spend some time here in Germany. Even though the markets are just now being put together in Frankfurt and will be opening this Wednesday, we have already been to several Christmas markets as we have travelled the past couple of weeks. Obviously we will share posts on all of the food, wine, Glühwein, and various souvenirs, but we thought that we would share some things that we have observed that we were not told about and were not prepared for.
The markets seem to be around all of the major attractions in the various cities and towns. While this can be awfully convenient in some respects, it does detract from the ability to truly absorb the sight that you are trying to see and photograph. Having all of the stalls in front of a cathedral or palace doesn’t make for ideal picture taking and sometimes one of the giant Christmas trees blocks the view completely. Add to it the extra crowds that come to the market on top of those visiting the attraction and it can feel quite claustrophobic.
Market outside of the Dom in Cologne
There can be multiple Christmas markets all going on at the same time in various parts of the city. It probably isn’t true of some of the smaller villages, but in the larger cities there can be many different Christmas markets. At this point, we have seen up to eight markets in one city, Köln (Cologne) and are not sure how many we will have in Frankfurt, but we have walked past two getting set up just in the old town area. In theory, it should keep down the crowds because they have multiple to choose from, but as far as we can tell, people go from one market to the next, so it doesn’t keep down the number of people you have to traverse through.
Setting up the Market in Old Town, Frankfurt
The items sold are not often unique, hand-made, items, but tend to be the same items sold at each of the various markets. Obviously the markets are commercial, so it isn’t too surprising, but if you are hoping to find that perfect gift that can’t be found anyplace else, you will have to do some searching. It isn’t that there aren’t some truly special items that you can’t find anyplace else, but you will just have to take some time to figure out what is from a local artist and what is mass-produced.
Market outside Cathedral in Vienna
Not all Glühwein is the same. You have to be careful, some places will add rum or other liquor to the delicious, warming treat, making it even more likely to take you to a happy place. Often you can ask to have something added, but other times it is just added for you. Be careful, it can sneak up on you if you have a couple of glasses, but it will definitely put you in the holiday spirit.
Glühwein Mugs
People don’t pay any attention to where they are walking. We see the same effect in airports and train stations, where people walk without looking where they are going, but they are especially bad in the markets. Perhaps it is all of the shiny lights making them look anywhere but in front of them, so don’t be surprised to have several people walk right into you as you make your way through the crowds. Don’t get us started about the parents with strollers who fall into this category, it is as though they use their children as battering rams to move through the crowds.
View from inside Alten Limpurg
As we mentioned, we have already enjoyed some wonderful markets and are definitely looking forward to ones that are about to start here in Frankfurt. We will likely avoid them on the weekends, when the crowds will be even worse, and we wouldn’t be surprised if by the time Christmas actually gets here, we are a little tired of having to walk through the markets to get to some of the places we like to go. Unfortunately, the market in the town square is directly outside of our favorite watering hole, Alten Limpurg, and you can no longer even see the fountain and buildings from within restaurant.
