Weihnachtsmarkt in Vancouver
Barb and I have only spent one Christmas away from home together which was in December of 2001 when we went to Germany. For me it was my first time in Germany and being there at Christmas time was a unique experience that I will remember forever. By far, one of the highlights of the trip was my introduction to the Weihnachtsmarkt (pronounced: vine-ockts-market and is German for Christmas Market). As you might imagine, when we heard that there was going to be a German Christmas Market in Vancouver, Barb and I couldn't wait to go.
Word of the Vancouver Christmas Market seemed to have spread quickly as we had to line up for about 30 minutes to get in. Located at the corner of Georgia and Milton streets right next to the Queen Elizabeth Theater, the market was crowded on the day that we went. It was a sunny, Saturday afternoon so the weather was perfect but it seemed like most of the city had the same idea as we did to go to the new market.
Once inside the entrance gate, it was shoulder to shoulder crowded but everyone seemed to be in good spirits. The layout of the Christmas market was quite similar to those that we had been to in Germany with the vendors housed in wooden structures which were all lit up with a variety of Christmas lights and trim. A variety of different types of vendors were there: some selling food (of course the typical German bratwurst on buns could be found), hot drinks such as glühwein while others sold winter hats, gloves. In general we found that there was a fairly good mix of what I would call "German stuff" and locally made products.
One of the most popular stores in the market was the Käthe Wohlfahrt store which had a line up of several hundred people waiting to get in. Käthe Wohlfahrt is a well-known store in Germany that sells mostly hand-made wooden German Christmas ornaments. We didn't get into the Käthe Wohlfahrt store but Barb and I have been to the store in Germany (and many, many others like it). Suffice to say our house has a fairly good representation of German-made Christmas things that we have bought over the years.
One of the fist things that I noticed while inside the market was the amount of people speaking German. It seemed that I had only heard more German spoken only when I was in Germany.
All in all we had a good time at the Christmas Market. About the only negative thing was the crowds and in many ways it reminded me of the crowds that I experienced during the Olympics earlier in the year. Of course the market being popular is a good thing and it gives promise to it coming back next year – perhaps in a larger location.
After we had got home that night after rising the Christmas Market, Barb and I talked about how we wanted to go back to Germany again during Christmas and experience the real Weihnachtsmarkts and of course everything else that we didn't see on our first visit there. Of course if we do make that another Adventure you'll be sure to read about here on my blog.
I've posted some of my other pictures from the Vancouver Christmas Market here.
Take care.
Baden
