Strasbourg Christmas Markets

 

The whole city of Strasbourg was already decked out for Christmas when we arrived, helped along by some pretty brisk weather (though nothing like Maine in winter) and a dusting of snow a couple of days into our visit.   The snow and a few showers didn’t slow down the crowds, who materialized around 11 am and grew on into the evenings.   

It’s really not so much about the shopping – it’s about the crowds, the music, the smell  of vin chaud  and hot donuts and gingerbread, the lights and the babble of languages. 

 

The smell of hot spiced wine is how you can tell you’re getting close to the market.   Sometimes it seemed as though every other stand was selling vin chaud, or one of its cousins.   You could have vin chaud rouge (red),  veritable vin blanc d’Alsace chaud ( Alsatian white wine – hot),  or even with honey or with cherries.  

 

You could spend your entire evening sipping and nibbling your way through the markets and never even make it to dinner.   Sandwiches, waffles (gauffres – the thick sweet Belgian ones),  Christmas candies, gingerbreads, and cookies, the local Christmas cookies called bredele,  freshed roasted nuts and crepes, and of course, Alsatian sauerkraut – every person walking by was munching on something.