“We haven’t passed the latest beer price increase by the breweries on to our customers either,” says Markmann. “In the end, there will be a shortfall in profit, but it is also a thank you to our customers for the past few years.” And it is the main topic of conversation at his counter. Many people tell us: “It's great that you have kept the same prices,” Markmann reports.

A group of ladies from Neuss who have just been on the new nostalgia carousel at Mülheimer Platz are satisfied with the price of their ride. “It’s just like in the old days. The carousel could just be a bit further in the middle of the market,” says one. Parents filming their children on the horses and reindeer also have to go to the rear to avoid having the scaffolding from the Karstadt building in their shots. A ride here costs 3.50 euros. But many people buy six chips for 15 euros from the stallholder Roland Barth. “The enthusiasm for the carousel is absolutely overwhelming,” reports Barth. His six-chip ticket with 2.50 euros a ride is valid “as long as I own the carousel,” he promises.

The fact that the mulled wine costs 3.50 euros plus deposit, the same as in previous years, is also something to do with the handling of the change. “Of course, we could increase the price by ten cents every year, but then we'd just be doing maths the whole time,” says Peter Barth, first chairman of the Bonn Association of Stallholders. Besides, in his experience, “if the customers are not ripped off, they are happy to drink a second mulled wine.”

He thinks that the prices of four or even 4.50 euros per cup, as charged in many other places, are too high. “I don't know how they make their calculations.” The stallholders are not dependent on Russian gas, he says, nor has the increase in the minimum wage had an effect. “If you want good staff, you have to pay more than twelve euros anyway,” says Barth. On the first few days, he says, it was already just as crowded at Bonn's Christmas market as it was before the pandemic. “We opened and bang - the people were there. You can't ruin such a great atmosphere with high prices,” says Barth.

A family of four visiting the Christmas market still has to have just under 50 euros in their pockets: two portions of chips with ketchup (3.50 euros each), two sausages in a bread roll (four euros each), two carousel tickets for the children (3.50 euros each), two children's punch (three euros each), a white and a red mulled wine (3.50 euros each) cost a total of 35 euros - and don't forget the deposit of up to twelve euros for the cups.

Roasted almonds have never been particularly cheap because the base product is comparatively expensive. Here a 100 gram bag costs four euros, and 250 grams cost ten euros. Special varieties like chilli almonds cost 4.50 euros. Those who like even more sweetness can get poffertjes with Nutella or three potato pancakes (Reibekuchen) with apple sauce for five euros. The more luxurious products at the Christmas market include the flame-grilled salmon in a bread roll at nine euros and Prague ham in a bread roll with coleslaw for 14 euros.

If you are still looking for an original present after returning your mulled wine cups, you might find what you are looking for at the stand with decorated Christmas dog biscuits run by Michael Bügler on Bottlerplatz. The XL bone costs eight euros, the small one four. The owner of the dog bakery hasn’t noticed much reluctance to buy. “It's a matter close to the heart for a pet to get a Christmas present too,” he says.

(Original text: Bettina Köhl, Translation: Caroline Kusch)