Proper Snow!

It's been a pretty crappy winter - characterised by rain, cold and grey grey grey. It has been pretty miserable. In German I guess you could say we have had several months of 'Graushleier' - which is a veil of grey over the city. Well that's certainly what it has felt like.

Until yesterday!

Snow bloody snow :) It's unbelievable how much of a mood changer snow can be, and how different the city can look. One day its DDR cold war spy shit and the next day its a fairytale winter wonderland. :)

We made a snowman and he was happy.

And this week is the only week you can buy fireworks...(sale restricted only between 28 - 31 December)

So we went out to get our fireworks and some essentials for the coming days.

The snow is not quite treacherous enough to stop riding, but you do have to be extra careful. Most roads are cleared and this is 100% safe, whereas some of the cycle paths are not so clear - but they do have grit thrown over them which helps. We got a flat tyre today, so I'm suspicious that the grit had something to do with that.

It's always funny to see that people actually use sleds, and have to park them!

Out our go-to supermarket we got our fireworks, our beers for Silvester (New Years Eve) and were super surprised to see how much Stollen (German Christmas bread) had been discounted. The normal ones we buy are usually just under 3 Euros, and these had now been discounted to between 32 and 70 cents. For some reason both of these that we bought cost  35 cents.

For some reason 2L Diet Coke was also discounted...to 10 cents? wha!

Renowned Stollen comes from Dresden and this is usually the pricey stuff. We got one today for 3 Euros that is usually 12 Euros....and it comes in a tin! If it comes in a tin it must be fancy.

Also this time of year is celebrated with 'pfannkuchen'  - German donuts, and the supermarket were selling these, fresh, for 40 cents each so natch we had to get a couple.

And of course we got our bag of fireworks...a 'family' assortment :)

Christmas, Snow, Snowmen, Stollen, Fireworks, Beers, Pfannkuchen, Silvester...this last week looks like it will make up for the dismal winter we have had so far :)

Rixdorfer Weihnachtsmarkt Berlin

It's Christmas Markets time again in Berlin.  This is our third time around in Berlin for this festive season and it brings mixed feelings. On one hand there's the excitement, It's Weihnachts Markt time!, and on the hand there's the cynical view that its the same old crap with over inflated prices.

This weekend we went to check out the Rixdorfer Weihnachtsmarkt. Rixdorf was in old old times a former town of its own, but with various reforms it became subsumed into the greater Berlin and swallowed up by the Neukölln disrtrict.

We have been down near this area before in previous trips (south of Rathaus Neukölln) and didn't find much of interest. We were surprised to find that in this Alt Rixdorf area a very different experience, a place with its own distinctive architecture (think stables and blacksmith shops).

And then on top of that, the Christmas Markets around Richardplatz :)

We were meeting some friends there and didn't realise that the markets were so large. We found one of them and then rallied around a meeting point...the Rixdorfer Getränke Markt (a Späti!).

Just on the edge of Richardplatz, and the Christmas Markets, this Späti offered super discounted Glühwein (hot wine, with or without a shot of spirits) and of course the normal beer offerings inside, without forgoing any of the Christmas Market atmosphere. 

Normally a Glühwein at a Market like this would cost 3 euros plus. Down at the Rixdorfer you only have to fork out 1 euro (or an extra 50 cents for your spirit shot). A bargain for the Berliner on a budget.

The markets themselves are much less gimmicky and tacky as the more central ones (Like the Alexanderplatz ones....errg). For some reason there was quite a bit of Korean food there, and also a whole section of religious stalls....what has religion got to do with Christmas?

We really enjoyed these markets, the aimless wondering around the Richardplatz, the lovely setting, the lack of tourists and of course the pfennig friendly Späti. Recommended :)

Unlike other well known markets that run for a month or more, this one is only on for one weekend.

Open:

05. Dezember - 07. Dezember 2014

Opening Times:

Friday 5 - 9pm

Saturday 2 - 9pm

Sunday 2 - 8pm