Advent Calendar Day 11

Window #11

I love visiting the Christmas Markets in Germany. The first trip we took was to Nuremberg in 1999 where this mug is from. The Glühwein helps keep you warm as you wander in the market square. You buy the mug with your first cup of wine, then with every refill you pay just for the wine, and trade your mug for a clean one. We collected tons of mugs every time, enough to pull them out at Christmas for mulled wine gatherings.

My favorite Christmas markets are in Nuremberg and in Munich. We haven't been able to get to Germany during the Christmas season for several years, so tonight I decided the next best thing was a Christkindlemarkt dinner with potato pancakes, applesauce and sour cream, my favorite nibble at the markets, with some Glühwein to accompany.

I didn't make any Lebkuchen the traditional treat of Nuremberg, but I did make a traditional doorstopper English fruitcake today. I've been macerating the dried fruit for several days. Today I whipped up some butter, sugar, self-rising flour, and eggs, mixed the fruit in, and baked it in a slow, slow oven for most of the afternoon. Couldn't be simpler, but then you are left with a fruit cake to eat — which is somewhat easier with  brandy butter on the side. I am always fascinated by traditional foodways, and realised that in northern climates in December there are no fresh fruits, so of course sweet treats for the holiday season were based on the fruits and nuts preserved when they were harvested months before. And the fruitcake has a shelf life that will last the winter as the fruit is doubly preserved by drying and by alcohol.

Today was a busy day. We bought a Christmas tree this morning, but whilst having a terrible struggle setting it up at home, we realized the poor tree has a terrible kink in its trunk so it can't stand up straight and tall — our poor scoliosis tree. Tomorrow will be the decorating day.

Tonight we went to a June Tabor concert at Kings Place Concert Hall.  She has such an amazing voice. I always feel so calm after hearing her sing. She was previewing her new album to be released next year with music about the sea, very eclectic music from across the British Isles and France. She hasn't played London in a couple of years, and the small Kings Place is a perfect venue for her intimate music.