Fotoeins Friday: Glühwein returns with a hot punch
The pots are stirring, the ovens are stoked. Grills are fired up, roasters are full. Time to fill the little mugs with mulled wine (Glühwein) in regular “red” or a variety of fruit flavours; there are also non-alcoholic versions. There’s the ever-present bratwurst, accompanied by other cuts of grilled meat. And you’ve gotta have fried potato pancakes (Reiberdatschi) on the side: plain or accompanied with a bit of savory garlic sauce or a generous portion of sweetened apple sauce. And maybe, just maybe, there’s Christmas cake or gingerbread waiting for you at the next stand. Christmas markets in Germany typically begin the fourth week in November and run through to Christmas Eve.
Reiberdatschi is also known as Kartoffelpuffer or Reibekuchen throughout the rest of Germany. I made the photo above at Schwabinger Weihnachtsmarkt auf der Münchner Freiheit in Munich’s Schwabing on 10 December 2012 with a Canon EOS450D (XSi) camera and the EF-S 18-55 IS II lens with the following settings: 1/30s, f/3.5, ISO800, 23mm (37mm) focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com.
Fotoeins Fotografie 
6 Responses to “Fotoeins Friday: Glühwein returns with a hot punch”
Such a beautifully worded description – visiited the Munchen Christmas markets last year and this post takes me right back – I don’t drink so tried the non alcohol version, which was lovely and warming in the cold weather too 🙂
LikeLike
Hi, Shikha. The hot drinks are vital when there’s a chill outside: hot non-alcoholic drinks definitely count. But when I smell the fruit liquour, it’s hard to avoid; I just want to gun it down … without getting too drunk! 🙂 Thanks for your kind comment!
LikeLike
I love Christmas markets but I am not a big fan of Glühwein. I like the taste of it as it is just Christmas for me however sometimes they add too much alcohol into it which ruins it for me. A slight bit of alcohol inside is okay but as soon as it is overpowering the Glühwein idea of a flavor it is just too much :p
LikeLike
By design, the alcohol content of Glühwein is high, but the high added sugar content doesn’t help either. That’s why I have to alternate between Glühwein and food to absorb all those sugars. In the chill of a late autumn night, I do not mind the alcohol. 😉 But there’s all sorts of fun food to find and eat at these markets, too.
LikeLike
I’m going back to Frankfurt on the weekend of the 12th because I just can’t survive a year without the Christmas markets and proper Glühwein!
LikeLike
Hi, Charlotte. While I was in Frankfurt, people were prepping for Weihnachtsmarkt, from Zeil to the Mainufer – the usual. 🙂 My friends definitely know me well: they asked why I arrived in Germany the weekend before Weihnachtsmarkt – it just worked out that way, but I missed the markets in Frankfurt and Köln, but I’ve already seen them in Speyer and Heidelberg. I also have Berlin and Leipzig coming up. I love Weihnachtsmarkt and Glühwein, too, and it’s very hard when I miss out on a given year. Enjoy your time back “home” in Frankfurt; please have a Glühwein for me, too! 🙂
LikeLike