Fotoeins Fotografie

location bifurcation, place & home

Posts tagged ‘Weihnachtsmarkt’

Lights of Hope, St. Paul's Hospital, Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, fotoeins.com

Christmas on display

Above/featured: Annual “Lights of Hope” display at St. Paul’s Hospital: Vancouver, BC – 24 Nov 2018 (X70).

Display (noun):

•   a performance, show, or event staged for public entertainment.
•   a collection of objects arranged for public viewing.

e.g., a display of Christmas lights, food, and drink in an open public venue.

In Germany, there is no admission charge to any of the multiple Christmas markets in a town or city, and there are no restricted drinking areas, as you’ll see people carrying mugs of hot steaming goodness up and down the open streets. But all the same, it’s about the lights; it’s about food, drink, and frivolity; and it’s all the better if it’s snowing or there’s a few centimetres of the white fluffy stuff on the ground.

Is there a Christmas market where you live or where you’re going to visit? Enjoy the display, and please have a Glühwein for me.

Or two. Or three.

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Potsdamer Weihnachtsmarkt, Blauer Lichterglanz, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Potsdamer Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market)

Located about 30 kilometres southwest from Berlin, Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg. The proximity with Berlin means it’s an easy afternoon- or day-trip to visit Sans Souci Park and a relaxed wander through the city’s Old Town. But there’s also an easy half-mile (800 metres) walk through the heart of the Old Town to see and sample the city’s Christmas market during the holiday season by day or at night. Accompanied by sparkling (blue) lights, the sights and smells of mulled wine, hot chocolate, grilled sausages, roasted nuts, and sweets from various market stands are sure to tempt even the most stubborn of passers-by.

Potsdamer Weihnachtsmarkt, Blauer Lichterglanz, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, fotoeins.com

Christmas pyramid

Potsdamer Weihnachtsmarkt, Blauer Lichterglanz, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, fotoeins.com

This Brandenburg Gate (1770) is smaller but older than Berlin’s version.

Click on the arrow-window icon at the upper-left corner of the map below to view the legend.

I made the photos above on 8 December 2015. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-9d6.

Leipziger Weihnachtsmarkt, Christmas market, Markt, Leipzig, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: A Christmas star shines on Leipzig

It’s time once again for the Christmas markets, and in Leipzig, I found this beautiful illuminated star at the Leipziger Weihnachtsmarkt at the city’s market square. Leipzig has continued the tradition of a Christmas market for the last 500-plus years (since 1458). It’s a reminder for me to find the nearest market and get me some Glühwein. You can read much more about the Leipzig Christmas Market (in English) here.

I made the photo above on 2 December 2014 with Canon EOS6D, EF 24-105 zoom-lens, and the following settings: 1/1000s, f/5, ISO10000, and 58mm focal length. Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH (LTM) hosted my visit on 2-4 December. Access to public transport was kindly provided by LTM and the MDV Mitteldeutscher Verkehrsverbund regional transport authority. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-7aj.

Lucia Weihnachtsmarkt in der Kulturbrauerei, Prenzlauer Berg, Kulturbrauerei, Berlin, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Christmas at Berlin Kulturbrauerei

In Berlin’s “Kollwitzkiez” neighbourhood within the area known as Prenzlauer Berg1, a big Christmas market takes place inside the site of the former brewery Kulturbrauerei2. The Christmas market has a decidedly Scandinavian feel with the Swedish Lucia legend as the bringer of light at the beginning of a dark northern winter.

The 2016 version runs November 21 to December 22 inclusive. There is no charge for entry with operating hours: Monday to Friday from 3pm to 10pm, and weekends 1pm to 10pm. The nearest metro station is Eberswalder Straße (U-Bahn U2) with connections to rams 12, M1, and M10.

1At present this is contained within the Berlin administrative borough of Pankow.

2 The Kulturbrauerei is listed in the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

I made the photo above on 6 December 2015 with the Canon 6D, 24-105 zoom-lens, and the following settings: 1/50s, f/4, ISO16000, 24mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-95G.

Obermarkt, Wormser Weihnachtsmarkt, Worms, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Wormser Weihnachtsmarkt

While I’m exploring a number of German cities in the Mittelrhein region, I’m in Worms during opening week of the Christmas markets. Despite the rainy weather in Worms, people have filtered into the central Christmas market. Near a big Glühwein stand cluster a group of people, their hands holding precious mulled wine.

I get a few blank looks, but I’m used to that. Once I begin speaking German (or some version of passable Denglisch), I know what I’m getting when I purchase a Glühwein and I have to pay an extra “Pfand” (deposit) on the mug. Fully warmed by the hit of hot smooth alcohol, I return the mug to the same stand; to the young woman behind the counter, I say “Zurück, bitte” for my deposit back.

Obermarkt, Wormser Weihnachtsmarkt, Worms, Germany, fotoeins.com

“Lehmann’s Glühwein Stadl”

I made the photos above on 21 November 2015 with the Canon EOS6D and EF 24-105 L zoom-lens. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-7vr.

Jesuitenplatz, Altstadt, Koblenzer Weihnachtsmarkt, Koblenz, Germany, fotoeins.com

Koblenz: Christmas markets in the Old Town

Someone once said to me: “when the weather gets cold and crappy, it’s never too early for Weihnachtsmarkt.”

I replied that depends how early into opening week it is, how many people are aware the markets are open, and how many people are around.

It seems early, but I’m having Glühwein at one of Christmas Market stalls in the southwest German city of Koblenz.

Markets have been set up at six plazas in the city’s Old Town:

  1. Jesuitenplatz (J)
  2. Liebfrauenkirche (L)
  3. Münzplatz (M)
  4. Am Plan (P)
  5. Willi-Hörter-Platz (W) and
  6. Zentralplatz (Z).

At the intersection of the Mosel and Rhine rivers, within this special wine-growing region, it makes sense to have a ‘white’ Glühwein: it’s hot, it’s got alcohol, and it’s goin’ down somethin’ awful smooooth, like throwing on warm tonic to ward the late-autumn humid chill.

What’s also important is how all of this fuels the remaining two of my four weeks in the country.

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Augustusbruecke, Neustadt, Dresden, Germany, fotoeins.com

Dresdner Weihnachtsmärkte – Dresden’s Christmas Markets

You’re visiting Dresden, either on a day-trip from Berlin or Leipzig, or you’re staying in Dresden for a couple of nights. By day, you’ll see, for example, the Semper Oper and the Zwinger, and you’ll walk through the Neustadt. At night after dinner, you might catch the golden glow cast by lights on the architecture.

But by late-November in the Saxon state capital city, you will likely encounter at least one of the following Christmas markets in the city:

  1. Augustusmarkt am Neustädter Markt
  2. Weihnachtsmarkt an der Frauenkirche in der Münzgasse
  3. Advent auf dem Neumarkt
  4. Mittelalter-Weihnacht im Stallhof (Residenzschloss)
  5. the big central Striezelmarkt am Altmarkt

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Schwabinger Weihnachtsmarkt, Schwabing Christmas Market, Münchner Freiheit, Muenchen, Munich, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Handmade wares at Munich’s Schwabing Christmas Market

Outside of Munich’s city centre crowds diminish and it’s no different around Münchner Freiheit. When I’m in town meeting friends, the area is complete with cafés, pubs, bistros, and restaurants. The square is also home to the neighbourhood’s Christmas market, which for area residents is a relaxed and quieter alternative. Various stalls ply food, drink, and handcrafted items of various shapes and sizes.

With MVV public transport, the Schwabing Christmas market at Münchner Freiheit is accessible with the U3 or U6 subway (underground) lines in about 15 to 20 minutes from the city centre to station Münchner Freiheit. Eichenau and Pasing are respectively 25 and 12 km west of Munich’s city centre, each accessible with S-Bahn trains.

I made the photo above on 10 December 2012 with the Canon EOS450D (XSi), EF-S 18-55 IS II zoom-lens, and the following settings: 1/30s, f/3.5, ISO800, and 18mm focal length (29mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-7kp.

Willy-Hörter-Platz, Altstadt, Koblenzer Weihnachtsmarkt, Koblenz, Germany, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: Christmas stars in Koblenz

I’m on a 4-week 13-city cross-country tour throughout Germany, and beyond the hectic schedule, I’m definitely taking time to enjoy this opening week of the Christmas market in Koblenz, a city several millennia in the making at the special junction of the Mosel and Rhine rivers. Next to the Rathaus in the city’s Altstadt, stands are up with the usual array of food, drink, and a variety of wares to look and buy, including illuminated Christmas stars. Time I find me some Glühwein …

Thanks to Koblenz Touristik for access to Forum Confluentes and the Romanticum, and to Romantic Germany for their support in various cities along the Rhine river. I made the photo on 25 November 2015 with the Canon EOS6D, 24-105 zoom, and settings: 1/200-sec, f/4, ISO1600, and 58mm focal length. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-7tS.

My Berlin: In Neukölln for Two Christmas Markets

The simple truth is out there: Berlin is massive. Though local transport options provide easy access to all one might hope to see, eat, drink, or do in the German capital city, fact is, my to-do lists have never shrunk, and it’s all I can do to keep up. The task seems almost impossible in a short stay, but that’s never stopped me from trying.

Why I haven’t spent more time in the borough of Neukölln is a minor mystery. Perhaps, it’s my long-honed instincts to avoid the new wave, to focus once more on the old wave. Perhaps, it’s my stubborn contrary nature. But thanks to friends’ recommendations, I’m inside two Christmas markets in Neukölln on two consecutive weekend evenings.

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