My Munich Neighborhood Christmas Market

Guest Contributor post by Stephanie Levy





For the last European Christmas market in our series, I'd like to take you on a tour of my local neighborhood market in Munich.



I especially enjoy this market because it is not so overly commercial, and many stands feature handmade items that benefit charities.



I was amazed by the variety of hand-felted items at this stand.




These colorful felt baby house shoes were especially adorable,



while another stand featured all sorts of creative objects and gadgets made out of wood.



Fur caps and wool socks were quite popular this year.



This year was the first time I've seen these hats sold at the German markets.




Glowing candleholders help brighten up the short winter days in Germany.



For those with a sweet tooth, there was a big variety of tempting goodies.




My daughters became huge fans of these cinnamon sugar covered stars.



A trip to the Christmas market wouldn't be complete without indulging in some of the most typical German/Bavarian treats, including: Auszogene (sweet fried dough with powdered sugar), mulled wine for the adults and spiced punch for the kids, and Dampfnudel (a yeasted dough bun that is steamed, and then topped with hot vanilla sauce and cinnamon sugar.)



People all gathered round to view the hand-carved, wooden nativity scene, which is very typical for Alpine culture.



I can't begin to count how many times my children rode this old-fashioned carousel; I believe they could have ridden for hours on end.

Wherever you are celebrating in the world, I wish you a happy, cozy, relaxed holiday season! I hope you enjoyed our little European getaways in this series, and I am sending my warmest greetings to you today.

All the best and I'm looking forward to a great start together in 2012,

xoxo
Stephanie

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Stephanie Levy is an artist and illustrator originally from Memphis, Tennessee, USA, now based in Munich, Germany. She studied art at the University of Tennesee in Knoxville, and the University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany. In January 2012, she will begin the second session of her new e-course called Creative Courage. This unique online course helps creative women start fulfilling their creative dreams, and include 12 exclusive guest interviews with artists, writers, bloggers, and inspirational women from around the world. They will also be taking a special "virtual field trip" to enjoy art, culture, and design in Barcelona, Spain. To find out more click here.

Jan Halvarson

6 comments:

Peggy said...

Oh Stephanie, thank you for sharing these lovely photos!! Do you know what is so funny? I remember seeing those same style hats at the Kriskringle mart when we lived in Bamberg in the early 70's! :)

And the auszogene... umm delicious!

Once again thank you for sharing with us!

Dori Patrick said...

Very lovely!

Monika Wright | I Love It All said...

Had to pop in when I saw Munich Christmas market! My Mom is German and her sister still ives in Solln. We live in Walland, 45 minutes from UT, used to live in Berlin {when it was still East and West} and a dear friend is from Memphis. Small world. Going to check out your Creative Courage class now.

Marta G. (A Bilingual Baby) said...

How beautiful! Thanks for sharing the pictures. I'd love to go to a German Christmas market and this one looks charming. Merry Christmas from Barcelona,
Marta

Zane said...

ahhh so cute :)

Maggie said...

I love this post! I just returned from Austria where my sister-in-law lives, and their markets are very much like the ones in Germany. So lovely! We actually flew into Munich, and I only wish we'd had time to visit these as well!