Burg Lictenberg Christmas Market 2014

That weekend after Thanksgiving, on the 30th, our FRG all went on another "month of deployment down" outing and this time headed to a small Christmas market in a nearby town. It was a medieval market and, with it being the first one I had gone to, I was very much looking forward to it.

I rode to the market with Melanie and Jenny and we saw the rest of the group there. Now that I've been to other markets I realize that this one was "small" but I really enjoyed it. It was set up around a smaller old castle and all the booths were on the paths the wound around the building and its grounds.

This was the entrance of the market.

First - we bought gluwein (my first time trying it!) and it was delicious! Gluwein is a warmed wine with spices and fruits. This one was a white wine with cinnamon and apples.

Jenny and Melanie and their baby gluweins!

There were lots of booths and different items to buy- it was a bit overwhelming! After going to a few markets I think the best way to experience them is in smaller groups. There is so much to see and explore and when you're in a huge group you spend most of the trip trying to find people you've lost while walking around. This time just having it be the three of us was nice and easy to move around.
  
One of the first stops we walked past was making sweet bread. They wrapped the dough into a cylinder and grilled them over hot coals. I knew I was going to get one of them - just waited till we were on the way out! 

It is so impossible to only buy one or two things with all the cute stuff the vendors sell! I loved these iron/wood candles. Jenny bought one of the iron scrolls. I want to say it said something about life (or luck) being better in twos? I don't remember exactly. 

And there was even a goat next to one of the loom tents!

As we walked further into the market it got a bit more medieval-y. There were even some dancers performing near some of the booths.

The dancers.

 Then, with this being a medieval market there had to be creepy medieval-y stuff to buy.

Creepy skull with hair.

And I saw cannabis scented incense? That was a first.

They had fire pits placed around the market- LOVED THEM. It was super cold out so it was nice to have little warming stations strategically placed about that we could visit.

pardon my terribleness in this picture.

massive advent wreath!

 Below are two photos that show a little bit of the castle. 

One of the many things one of the vendors sold were these wooden candle holders. Melanie ended up buying one. They're super cute! I totally wanted one of them!

Before we left Jenny snagged some food. Pasta with bologna and potatoes? It took us forever to figure out that the meat was bologna. Melanie (who is German) couldn't figure out how to translate the dish's name into English and didn't know what bologna was BUT once we pronounced it ba-log-na she knew exactly what we were talking about. I found it a bit comical.

These three cups were our gluwein cups. We ended up keeping them :) At the markets you pay a deposit for the cup and, if you keep the cup they obviously keep the deposit. I wanted to keep it because it was from the first Christmas market I visited.

Lastly, before we left we stopped to snag some of the sweet bread. I got one covered in cinnamon- super yummy! I love all the amazing goodies and foods they sell at their festivals, so sinful.

yummy sweet bread.

The only thing I bought besides food or gluwein was this tree pictured below. It was hand carved and this one was about 16'' tall. I know when we are done living here we will have so many neat Christmas decor pieces and household decor- I'm excited to see what all we accumulate!

The market was fun and very close to home. Burg Lictenberg is only about 20 minutes away. It would be a nice little day get away for next Christmas season and we just might hit it again next year (with Robert of course!)!