Munich and Nürnberg for the Christmas markets, 2018

Headed off for a month in Germany for the holidays. A few days in München and Nürberg for Christmas Markets, then back to Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin for four weeks.

Took off in darkness, landed in darkness the next day. Dislocated having lost a whole cycle of daylight.

Bavarian hospitality is a nice welcome after a 15 hour journey. Some sausage, some obazda, plenty of beer... All is well

Munich is cold! But everyone is outdoors at the Viktualinmarkt and the Christmas markets. Ken needed a bit of glühwein for warmth.

Excellent dinner at Restaurant Johanna's in Munich. Specializes in game, fine dining, great wine list. A bit out of the middle of town but worth the trip. hotel-neumayr.de/restaurant-johannas-muenchen/index.php

Sobering visit to Munich's relatively new Nazi history museum, the Documentation Center. Like the Topography des Terrors in Berlin, a forthright and direct presentation of events that led to the Nazi Reich. The US needs a museum like this for slavery. ns-dokuzentrum-muenchen.de

Schäufele, a German dish where a pork shoulder is braised in beer until the meat is tender, the fat rendered, and the skin / rind perfectly crispy. Imagine if you could have both carnitas and chicharrónes and didn't have to choose between them.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%A4ufele

It’s cold! Isn’t Ken cute in his winter outfit?

Nürnberg is home to the most grotesque and disturbing fountain. I like it.

Starting to get into the spirit of Christmas in Nürnberg. In Germany you celebrate the advent of the Christ child by walking around shopping for kitsch, eating fatty snacks, and drinking hot wine fortified with schnapps.

So this sculpture dates to 1981 and is titled "The Carousel of Marriage". By Jürgen Weber. atlasobscura.com/places/ehekarussell

Also this is confusing but hear me out... In Nürnberg the Christ child is a teenage young woman.

Here she is, the Christkindl herself, flanked by her two.. Magi? Little sisters? The religious details get a little lost here but the Christmas spirit was wonderful.

I should have listened to my own video. The two companions are Rauschgoldengeln, gold foil angels. Living Christmas ornaments, basically. Nothing says Yuletide quite like a dying daughter during the 30 Years War between Protestants and Catholics. christkindlesmarkt.de/ihr-besuch/shoppen-schenken/ein-goldener-himmelsbote-der-nurnberger-rauschgoldengel-1.2235837

The Christmas markets in Nürnberg really are quite lovely. Lots of handicrafts, plenty of food and drink, happiness and warm lights and decorations.

From station to station, back to Düsseldorf City
Meet Iggy Pop and David Bowie

Had a second Schäufele, it was amazing. This one claimed to be "Szechuan Schäufele" with a promise of Szechuan pepper but it didn't come through. Still, this is a dish ripe for embellishing with interesting spices on top of the basic good German roast pork + beer sauce.