The Vienna Christmas Market 2011
Having talked about the Sibiu Christmas Market in Romania, for today’s article let’s maintain the subject but shift countries to Austria and the Vienna Christmas Market.
Austria’s capital, a place where romance and fairytale landscapes abound, plays host to several Christmas Markets actually, the most well-known being the one at the Vienna Rathausplatz and the one in front of the Shoenbrunn Palace.
The latter one started on the 19th of November and will end on the 26th of December and it’s a great place to acquire some very special Christmas surprises and souvenirs for those at home. The event features over seventy-five exhibitors from both Austria as well as neighboring countries, and every week pretty much will feature some type of concert or activity.
The range of exhibits and items that you can see and purchase at the market range from glass angles and carvings from the Erz Mountains to carefully lathed boxes, perfume flacons or hand-painted pewter figures.
Something that all the items will have in common is that they are all worked with incredible attention to detail as well as high quality. Visiting this market is like taking a trip back to the past thanks to the range of items that it offers its visitors, from colored candles and ceramics, to hand-embroidered tableware typical to Austria at the end of the 19th century, to once-popular instruments like kaleidoscopes.
During the entire Advent period, the Market will be feature the presence of professional gospel and brass ensembles who will perform a variety of music genres, from swing to festive numbers.
Children will be very well catered to with an angel offering lots of fun times as they discover the market little by little. In the White and Gold Room kids can listen to stories and poems and guided tours for the older visitors will offer a bit of context and information about Christmas in Schonbrunn.
The entire area will be dotted with mushroom-shaped heated shelters which proved to be very popular last year and if you’re feeling a bit peckish, rest assured that there is a virtual battery of savory traditional snacks and foods ready to stave off your hunger indefinitely. There are dumplings, noodles, pork and fried potatoes as well as soups, baked potatoes, pancakes and waffles, not to mention a chocolate fountain, pretzels, tea and punch, there are lots of options to choose from.