Memories What makes the Bonn Christmas market so special
Bonn · The singing moose, the Christmas pyramid, the Ferris wheel: there are many things that make the Christmas market in Bonn. Here is a personal review of an event that cannot take place this year.
Take a sniff. Isn't there something in your flat or house that smells like advent? A candle with baked apple aroma? Or a neighbour preparing eggnog? Another one roasting chestnuts in the oven? No? Then let’s wait a moment before you read on. Just take a quick look to see if you still have an Advent-scented candle from the previous year in your cupboard and light it. Or is there still a bottle of mulled wine in the cellar? No matter. We would now like to take you on a virtual journey through the Bonn Christmas market. This wonderful collection of stalls, which would have been officially opened with music in front of the Sterntor this Monday. But because of Corona, all that remains is to take a virtual tour. And of course, it is much better with that certain scent in your nose.
These delicious potato pancakes at the stand in Vivatsgasse! There’s always a long queue here but we still join it. Mmmm. Afterwards we go to the mulled wine stand. By about 7pm, there are so many people that it’s hard to get through the Bonn Christmas market. Unthinkable now with the pandemic. The stand with the singing moose on the roof is of course an absolute highlight. Our grandchildren always have lots of fun when we stop there.
The two English ladies we met there last year could barely stop laughing. What fun the two women had. They come every year, they told us. They really like the Bonn Christmas market, without all the junk and the constant sound system blaring. But this year they will have to stay at home because of Corona. What a pity. They will certainly miss the Bonn Christmas market. We do, anyway.
High quality at the Bonn Christmas market
For many years now, we have been buying a special mug at the Christmas market in which mulled wine or punch is served. Our youngest daughter insists on it. She already has a whole shelf in the cellar full of them. Each mug has the year written on it. 2020 will probably be cancelled? Or maybe there are some? We move on. Our eyes cannot get enough of the displays on the stalls selling handicrafts and other beautiful things. This is probably unique for a Christmas market. Hardly any jumble, lots of quality. A portion of hot chestnuts is a must. Even if the six or seven pieces in a bag for four euros are quite expensive. In summer we walked the Keschtnweg in South Tyrol where there were thousands of chestnuts along the path.
If the grandchildren are here, we will of course have to do a few rounds on the little Ferris wheel. Which can be a challenge in the freezing temperatures. Every meter further up in the air makes us shiver with cold. So back to the mulled wine stand again. This time to the pyramid on the Friedensplatz. Around the "Engel Treff" all hell breaks loose. There is never an evening without flocks of work colleagues meeting there for Christmas celebrations. A similar sight can be seen in front of the mulled wine stands on Münsterplatz. Parents enjoy a mulled wine with a bratwurst while their children press their noses up against the window at the Galeria Kaufhof to see the Christmas scenes with the Steif stuffed animals.
Donations to “Christmas lights” campaign are still possible
But now we have made your mouth water enough. We are convinced that next year we will be able to enjoy all this again in person. Oh yes, one more thing for our own cause: our stand for the GA “Weihnachtslicht” (Christmas lights) campaign can only be visited virtually this year of course. For many years now, the many donations and proceeds from the sale of donated CDs have been helping to provide a wonderful Christmas celebration for the elderly and needy in Bonn and the surrounding area. Donations are still very much needed, especially in the current circumstances. Bank transfers can be made to: GA-Weihnachtslicht, account number DE76 370 501 980 000 004 770; BIC: COLSDE 33, Sparkasse KölnBonn.
(Original text: Lisa Inhoffen, Translation: Caroline Kusch)
