Christmas market in Bonn Numerous mulled wine mugs disappear every day
Bonn · One of the most coveted souvenirs from Christmas markets is mulled wine mugs. In Bonn as well, many mugs are taken along every day, not returned to the stand. Those who operate the stands are prepared.
Whether red or white, with elderberry or direct from the winegrower: Mulled wine is part of most people's visit to the Christmas market. But not only the drink itself is popular - also the mugs in which it is served. At the Christmas market in Bonn, they long ago became collector's items.
The mulled wine carousel at Bottlerplatz in front of the Sterntor is one of the places where mulled wine mugs are in great demand. "It's probably 100 a day that don't come back," says Peter Barth, head of the mulled wine carousel. Calculated for a whole season, he is talking about 3,000 mugs disappearing into private pockets. But that's not a problem, because: "We see it more as a service. If someone takes our mugs with them, it means we have a recognition value."
Mulled wine mugs for the Christmas market in Bonn already ordered in March
This year, the collector's item from Barth's mulled wine stand shows perhaps Bonn's most famous citizen: "If you drink until it is empty, you can see Beethoven on the bottom of the mug," explains the boss. The imprint is designed by the stand owners themselves. Barth already commissioned his motifs in March. Of the estimated 4,000 mugs ordered, about 500 remain at the end. "Most of them are taken along, but of course a few are always broken", explains Barth. Mugs left over will become replacements for the coming year.
The mugs are also a coveted item at other mulled wine stands at the Bonn Christmas Market. Sissy Kipp from the mulled wine pyramid "Engel-Treff" confirmed that "relatively lots of" mulled wine mugs are taken along every year. In contrast to Barth’s mug purchasing strategy, the mulled wine mugs are reordered here during the Christmas market season. At the mulled wine station of the Neuen-Barth family at Münsterplatz, about 20 to 30 mugs are taken along by customers on a daily basis, estimates Monika Neuen-Barth.
But the Bonn stand operators are by no means referring to this as theft: "The deposit price is the purchase price," Barth clarifies. Taking it with is allowed.
Orig. text: Britta Röös
Translation: ck
