Sweets - Around the World

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."  
 Charles Schulz

I admit it, I'm a chocoholic. I don't even try to hide it. So wherever I go I tend to pop into chocolate places and buy a few to sample. Usually more then a few. I haven't been to Belgium yet, and I know they are most famous for their chocolate. But I have been to Switzerland, and so far they top my list of having the best chocolates in the world. And Oprah agrees with me. She had these chocolates on her My Favorite Things show. The chocolates are – Teuscher champagne truffles. (http://www.teuscher.com/)//

Teuschers New York at Christmas

I have to admit that the first time I tried these I was not traveling. I had a client who had gone to New York and had gone into the Teuscher store there and had purchased a box of nine truffles for me as a thank you gift. He was a regular client who I had helped many times, a very nice man. The funny thing is, I had watched Oprah's show the week before and had actually gone to Teuscher's website and looked them up. They were a bit expensive, so I did not order them, but thought that if I ever got to Switzerland where they are actually made, I would definitely go to their shop and buy some there. Then my client brought me the box. They were to die for. I savored every single one of those truffles, one a night for 9 nights. A few years later I found myself in Zurich, Switzerland. We were walking down Storchengasse Street, and there was the Teuscher store. I went in and bought quite a bit of chocolate. They even gave samples. There are stores in major cities throughout the U.S., and they sell their chocolates online. 

My friend having a Frozen Hot Chocolate

If you are into chocolate, then a stop at Serendipity's in New York city is worthwhile. They are famous for their drink – frozen hot chocolate. It is quite tasty. They have quite a few other desserts that looked quite good also. But it's not just a dessert place, their meals are quite good also.  I had their lemon chicken with asparagus for dinner, and loved it.  But leave room for dessert.   http://www.serendipity3.com/)

Chocolate is not my only weakness. I love to sample pastries, and while in Paris I have to say that we had the best croissants. And they were memorable for more then one reason. My daughter and I were in Paris for the first time, back in 1989. We had breakfast at our hotel. We were on a limited budget, and I knew we would be sampling food later, so I suggested that we just have a cup of hot chocolate, and head out. We ordered, and then the waiter placed a basket of croissants on our table and walked away. I thought, how nice. So we enjoyed the croissants with our hot chocolate. Then our bill came, and we found out that we were charged per croissant that we had eaten. Our breakfast was over $20 each. That put a limit on the rest of the days spending. But they were melt in the mouth delicious, and probably worth every cent.

Tip: Never assume something is free, just because it is set on the table. In the USA if a basket of bread is put on the table, it is usually free, but in many countries, it is put there as an option, and if you eat any of it, you will be charged per piece.

In Jerez, Spain we spent a wonderful afternoon touring the Gonzalez Bypass where they produce some wonderful sherry. We fell in love with their 1847 Solera, and brought a couple of bottles home with us. Since then we have ordered cases to be shipped to us. I know we have good sherries that we can get here in the states, but sometimes something is so good, and it reminds you of a wonderful experience, so it is worth the extra trouble and expense to relive that experience.

Teuschers Chocolates

So when traveling, I say sample the things from that region, especially the sweets. When in Italy you must eat gelato. Even if you've had gelato elsewhere, nothing beats the gelato in Italy. And Shaved ice in Hawaii is to die for. If you ever find yourself in the town of Kanlica, Turkey make sure you stop at the cart in the main plaza and try their homemade yogurt with the powdered sugar toping, I've never had anything quite that good. Whenever you travel, stop and try the local sweets, the Turkish delight, marzipan, chocolates wherever you are, sherry in Spain, gingerbread in Germany, and even the tofu cookies in Japan. You won't know until you try them, they may become a new favorite.

Christmas Markets

A Christmas market, also known as Christkindlmarkt, Christkindlesmarkt, Christkindlmarket, and Weihnachtsmarkt, is a street market associated with the celebration of Christmas during the four weeks of Advent. These markets originated in Germany, Austria and Alsace but are now being held in many other countries.

 

As a travel agent you sometimes see advertisements of things you had never really thought about doing, and the reaction is “I want to do that.”  In 2000, a flyer came across my desk for a trip to “The Christmas Markets of Germany and Austria.” It was a tour being sponsored by AAA, the company I worked for. I just had to do it. I had some vacation time coming, and I was so excited about it.

I went home and told my husband, and he really didn't get at all excited. It sounded like a shopping trip to him. He said, why don't you find a friend to go with. I immediately called Bonnie. She had been my roommate back in my college years and we were still best friends. She thought it sounded like fun and said yes. So we went.



Nuremberg Christmas Market

We flew to Frankfurt where the tour started and we traveled by bus down what the Germans call “the romantic road”, with stops at quite a few Christmas Markets. The biggest of the markets is in Nuremberg, and it was pretty fantastic, but even the smaller towns that we stopped at were great.  One of the best stops was in Rothenburg which is home to Kathe Wohlfahrt's Christmas store.



What are Christmas Markets?  Every town in Germany and Austria has a town square. In the town square at Christmastime, they set up a huge tree, and stalls.  And there are people singing carols. But the smells of the food is what hit me first. There are stalls that are serving the German sausages on rolls, and stalls making spiced nuts.  





And then there is the gingerbread. Lots of gingerbread stalls. And best of all, the hot Gluhwein. That is a spicy hot wine drink. Since it is cold out, just holding onto the mug is great. And talking about the mug, when you purchase the drink you get to keep the mug – they are great souvenirs. The mugs are a dark blue ceramic and each city has a different design logo on their mug. I have a whole set of them, and at Christmastime I serve hot Gluhwein or Tom & Jerry's in them.

The stalls also sell anything and everything you could possibly want to give someone for a Christmas present, as well as the best ornaments of all time. My weakness is the ornaments. For years I have made it a point to buy at least one Christmas ornament wherever I travel. That is not always easy if you are traveling to a country in the summertime, but I find something. I don't want something commercial that says where it is from, but something that will remind me of the trip when I hang it on the tree. As an example, while in the Canary Islands in September, I kept looking for an ornament. There were none to be had. But finally I found the cutest little frog, and he had a string of lights wrapped around him. He's just little, and doesn't have a string to hang from, so I wire him onto a branch each year, and when I do, I think of that trip.

While at the Christmas markets, I have to admit that I went a little crazy and bought lots of ornaments. Some I gave as gifts, but a lot of them go on my tree.

The trip included stops in Munich, as well as Salzburg and Innsbruck. We spent one afternoon taking a gondola to the top of one of the mountains in the Alps. Every city included a city tour, so we really did lots more then just go to Christmas Markets. It was a great trip. And we got a little snow, something that I rarely see anymore, since I live in Southern California. Bonnie lives in Washington state, so for her it was not a big deal.

When we got home from that trip and told about our adventures, our husbands both said that it sounded like fun and they wished they had gone. So in 2005 we returned to the markets as a foursome. The guys agreed they'd have a beer while we shopped. Although Bonnie's husband made the comment that there probably wasn't enough beer in Germany to cover the time while we shopped.
 



Regensburg Medieval Christmas Market

On that trip we actually started in Prague, then went over to Nuremberg and took a river cruise down the Danube all the way to Budapest. That was the way to travel, no packing and unpacking. The Christmas Markets in Prague and Budapest were quite nice, and of course we had been to the Nuremberg market before, but it is the most famous and a must stop if you are doing the markets. In the small town or Regensburg we had our most memorable market experience. The main market in the town square was very ordinary, and that is where most people from our cruise went. But I had read about a market that the locals went to, on the grounds of the palace. They said that the royalty actually mingled with the people at this market, and that the theme was medieval. There was an entrance fee to get into it, but it was different from the other markets, and if you should decide to do a markets tour or cruise and find yourself in Regensburg I would suggest giving it a try, it was quite different and fun.


Booth at Regensburg Market



Both times we went to the Christmas markets we came home loaded down with mugs from the Gluhwein, gingerbread, spiced nuts, and lots of fun ornaments and gifts. A great way to get yourself in the holiday mood, and you can do it and still come home and have Christmas with the family. The Christmas Markets start in early December and go through the holidays.

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One of the ornaments that I bought on my trip to Germany was a glass pickle.  For those of you who may not know about a pickle as an ornament, it is a traditional ornament for the Germans.  Here is the Christmas pickle tradition:

The glass pickle ornament is an old German tradition. It has become a welcomed addition to the present unwrapping dilemma of who is first. The pickle ornament is supposed to be the last ornament you hang on the tree. It should be hidden among the branches in an out of the way location. On Christmas when you are ready to open the presents everyone should search for the pickle. The first person to find the pickle receives a special prize, a piece of candy or some other token. They are also the first to start opening the gifts. The pickle has become a keepsake, which is handed down to future generations

To Read more about Christmas Markets you can go to the link - Trip Reports from trips we have taken - in the column to the right and click on Chrisktmas Market trip December 2006.  The trip report is from the emails my husband sent home to family and friends while we were traveling.