Archive for December, 2008
Christmas markets
Friday, December 12th, 2008
Germans love Christmas. While it’s true that in America stores begin to set up their Christmas displays and play manically cheerful holiday tunes, this phenomenon is even more notable here. In November, small wooden stalls with pitched roofs begin to appear in all the squares and plazas of the city, boarded up and lying in wait for the season to begin. By the beginning of December, these clusters of temporary buildings have blossomed into busy Christmas markets decorated with countless little lights, Christmas trees, boughs of pine and holly, and innumerable ribbons and bows.
These markets are endlessly popular, and you can’t miss them because they tend to cluster around the larger train stations. No matter what day of the week it seems to be, nor how many weeks before the actual holiday it is, you will find families bringing their children to ride the merry-go-round, people young and old hanging around the tables in front of the “Gluhwein” stalls with steaming mugs of hot spiced wine, lines before the many sausage and sweets stands, and even groups hanging around enjoying street accordionists, carolers, or other musicians. The Christmas market seems to be the one place that all the otherwise grumpy Berliners transform into a happy, cheerful population.
The markets vary from place to place. Some are enormous and offer attractions like fireworks shows or ferris wheels, while others are small and tucked away in hidden courtyards. Sometimes there are bigger temporary stores set up that serve as restaurants with the traditional German food of the season, usually involving potatoes, sausage and/or bacon, and of course lots of cabbage. At one market I found a store selling every glass Christmas ornament you could possibly imagine. Shoppers went around with miniature wicker baskets, choosing a glass pickle here, a ballerina there, or maybe opting for some more traditional bulbs and sparkly glass icicles. While you never know exactly what you’ll find at the Christmas market—once we saw what looked like a troupe of old Russian soldiers in uniform, and a few minutes later they turned out to be opera singers—there are of course staples you can count on like roasted chestnuts, gingerbread cookies, and chocolate.
Ku’damm and KaDeWe
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
Kurfürstendamm, or “Ku’damm” as they call it, is the main downtown area and shopping street of Western Berlin. I’ve heard it described the Champs d’Elysees of Berlin, although the French probably wouldn’t agree, and later someone else said that another street, Unter dem Linden, is actually the Champs d’Elysees of Berlin, so I’m wondering why any comparisons are made at all.
Regardless, it’s a broad boulevard, and there are many shopping centers, cafes and big stores selling clothing in the area. The zoo is around there too, as well as the famous ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Everything seems to be decked out for Christmas now, with small temporary stalls lining the street offering holiday-related things. In the back of this photo you can see the ruins of the church and blue lights that were set up behind. Later that night there was a fireworks display there as well. 
It’s a nice place to walk around, and there’s a famous and unique old department store there that’s definitely worth seeing, called “Ka De We.” They just recently put up their resplendent Christmas displays, turning the main foyer of the building into an opulent wonderland of glitter and sparkles. They went so crazy with the ornamentation that it’s like an art installation, surreal and amazing to see. Here are some photos:
It’s also interesting to visit the top floors of the building, where you can find any conceivable food item and lots of places to eat. (I’ll admit it’s my favorite floor.) It’s the designer store of food: great for looking at the lavish displays and interesting items. (Like the gigantic four-foot-high teddy bear made of solid chocolate.) We had a fun time taking pictures and getting in trouble from cranky salespeople for doing so. Speaking of chocolate, I’m not sure there were quite enough Santas on this table:
