12.22.2011 Gendarmarkt Christmas Market

"hip hip hooray for the holidays!" she cheered, leaving the office

Hellooooo holidays! Today is the last day of work, and my friend has arrived in Berlin so the adventures will be double the fun!

We met up after I got off work and went for the best known ramen in town. I haven't been there before, but the reviews were good, and the atmosphere is super cool. The restaurant is small and the menu is simple, a few basic ramen dishes and some sides like edamame and gyoza. When we arrived at their door with our faces full of curiosity peering through the window, the guy in the kitchen put up six fingers --it was twenty to six and they weren't open yet. 

That's okay, we figured we would take a stroll around the area to kill some time. Indeed, we returned to the ramen shop an hour later (because we found a bookstore with hundreds of books/magazines/journals from all over the world about architecture/fashion/design/film/food and an odd copy of The Great Gatsby wedged between it all) and it was full. 

We squeezed ourselves in between strangers on a bench and ordered our ramen. The coffee filter lamps gave everything a warm glow as we watched the two men in the kitchen speak to one another in Japanese as they placed ramen in hot soup. They also have these buttons that you can push to (I assume) speak to the employees. For some reason I didn't try to push them although on most days I would, maybe next time. 

1. Cocolo, meaning heart,                                                                                     2. communicator machine 

 

1. A chocolate store,               2. Do You Read Me? A bookstore with a selection of books too good for me

This is the REAL Gendarmenmarkt! I heard that this one was the nicest in terms of atmosphere, so I've been avoiding it so we could go together. This would be his first Christmas Market but I think I was still more excited about going than he was. Inside, we watched skilled tradesmen chisel away at a block of wood to form tiny figures in one corner and a potter turning his clay in another. We also made sure to try all the interesting looking food.   

This man poses in the corner for me, by accident.

We had quarkballchen. These are like deep fried balls of dough with sugar on top. The inside is still soft and slightly gooey but not in a gross way. It is kind of like when you eat something right out of the oven (and it is so hot it isn't ready) when you should wait for it to cool and set instead. 

Next, we tried Kaiserschmarn? mit appfelmis or, in English, pancake pieces with applesauce. This was all right. They were like tasty tater sized pancakes with sugar and applesauce on top. Although the sauce was the best part, those quarkballchens were still the winner.

Raclette cheese with chili pepper? melted on rye bread

And then we had Raclette. Well actually, we went back to the market the next day just to eat this but still, this was the winner hands down. How could one deny really good cheese melted on really good bread? This was also the only market I've seen serving Raclette cheese. 

1. purchase and eat,                                                                                     2. the lineup

1. giant round of cheese being melted,                                                 2. almost ready to eat, om nom nom

1.Wurst,                                                                                              2. toppings

 German Cheese

more cheese, land cheese?

Shelves of figurines carved out of wood and painted by hand.

1. This man is making felt things!                                                          2. This man was chiselling this chunk of wood all night

The final pieces are so tiny that you need a magnifying glass to be able to marvel at the work

One, she makes me think of Valerie, two, she looked like she could read our palms

We thought she was cute, standing in the little doorway among her work

Potter looking for more clay

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane...

In his brown leather suitcase is a little pond and a boat running in circles

powered by a candle!

Christmas elves

Man selling textiles

metalsmith

I initially thought these were funny faced figured with their mouths all open, but now I know why. Incense is typically lit during Christmas time and the smoke comes out through the mouth!

A wonderful first evening, wouldn't you say?

P.S. An otherwise update: My ceiling was leaking so now they are sucking out water from the walls, until January. It makes this air-sucking noise when you turn it on.

P.P.S. Have you noticed that the imaged are more focused with better lighting and aperture? Thank my friend's camera (and maybe my future camera)