I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! We spent our Turkey Day on a four-hour train ride, which was crowded and not too fun, and at the Erfurt Christmas Market, which was very fun! The market is the main reason we're here in Erfurt - it's an exceptionally big one and has a beautiful setting on the cathedral square. And it snowed last night, so it's extra pretty! And the food is great! I finally got my potato cakes, and we sampled several other delicious things as well.
Erfurt is a nice medieval city in the very center of Germany. Aside from Reformation-themed tours (Martin Luther was a monk in the Augustinian Monastery in 1505-11 and ordained a priest in Erfurt Cathedral in 1507), Erfurt is mostly off the tourist trail and we've come across no other non-Germans here so far.
Since David and I had a thorough visit here in 2008, I was able to focus mainly on the Christmas Market this time around. This is all for research purposes, of course, as I intend to write some articles on Christmas markets for the website. Here are a few photographic highlights of our two nights in Erfurt.
Yesterday (Thu Nov 25)
Thuringian sausage
Various types of bällchen - one of my favorite German treats
Ham and cheese on pretzel bread - I can't get enough pretzel bread when in Germany (I've never seen it in the States)
Today (Fri Nov 26)
Back side of the cathedral and church that overlook the market
The most delicious pretzel I have ever had. Seriously. It had just come out of the oven and was steaming hot. Yum!!
River view
Christmas market in the daytime
Cathedral and church on the hill above the market
View of the Christmas market from the cathedral steps
Cathedral steps
Making Langos, an unsweetened flat donut similar to the Bauernkrapfen in Salzburg. Apparently it is a Hungarian specialty. They come with a choice of sweet or savory toppings, including paprika of course, but most people seemed to choose ham and grated cheese.
Potato cakes! Very good ones, too.
Tomorrow we head west to Mainz for a one-night stopover.
