Glühwein

Glühwein is wine that has been spiced and heated up – although not boiled! It is drunk in winter during advent and as such is strongly associated with Christmas in Germany.

The main spices used are cinnamon, cloves, lemon and aniseed and both red and white wine can be used, although red wine is more common at the markets. It is also available ready-to-drink in bottles and cartons at supermarkets.

In English it is known as mulled wine.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

Download a transcript

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Räuchermännchen

Räuchermännchen are wooden figures that originated in the area around the Ore mountains.

First appearing in the early 19th Century, they are used to burn Räucherkerzen – candles that let off a scent when burnt.

They are usually in the form of a craftsman or someone from a particular trade such as a woodsman.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

Download a transcript

Download the MP3 file | Subscribe to the podcast

Frankfurt Christmas Market

I haven’t had much of a chance to visit the Christmas Markets this year. I had good intentions of blogging and podcasting from different ones, but in the end the weather has stayed bad and to make things worse I was ill for the past week.

So yesterday we braved the elements and wrapped up warm to at least visit the Frankfurt Christmas Market. Last year I was critical of the high prices on some of the stalls, so I was interested to see if they had got any worse. I found out that it is easy to spend a lot of money on very little!

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I also found out that Sunday evening was not the best time to go – it was absolutely full and there was little or no chance of taking a leisurely look at the stalls. You either went with the flow or got out of the way!

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Listen to the podcast to find out more. Have you visited a Christmas Market this year?

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(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)

Download the MP3 file | Subscribe to the podcast

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