The Butterbretzel, I have decided, is a far superior breakfast product to the croissant.
This revelation comes from my limited daytime excursions which started with finding a bakery right next to my “hotel” in the morning, and later a sausage seller for lunch in the afternoon. I didn’t have time to do much else because I’d carelessly managed to plan lessons more or less throughout the day, so by the time I’d finished work it was dark again and the only thing left to do was visit the market once more.
In the morning there was a lamentable lack of anything breakfasty in my hotel-cum-squat, so I nipped out to try and find something to eat quickly before my first session. Luckily, there was a bakery a stone’s throw from where I was sleeping and I was soon quite excited that my German now extends to checking if they speak English first, then bludgeoning them with what I think is German until I get something approximating what I want.
Imagine my delight when I left holding exactly what I asked for: a Butterbretzel (with butter, this time) and a big cup of coffee. Encouraged by this success, I made it across the road in the afternoon to Wurstdurst, where I lunched upon vegane Currywurst with chips and a mountain of mayonnaise, washed down with healthy swigs of Fritz-Kola. It was lovely.
In the evening I had had plans to find more bits of market and the part with the big wheel that I’d spied last night, but somehow got distracted and/or lost and ended up at the Nürnberger Burg looking at the Christmas tree and enjoying the view of the old town. It was cold, a situation remedied by more Glühwein. Not just any Glühwein, but special Feuerzangenbowle, a strong red wine punch made with a good quality red wine, fine spices and what the leaflet describes as a “robust” rum. The Glühwein is made normally, then the rum is poured onto a sugar cone placed over a metal dripper, and then set alight. Hot rum and melted sugar then drip into the dripper and into a waiting mug of Glühwein, just before it is served. The result is dangerously moreish and served with a Speculoos.
One of Nürnberg’s many projects to contribute to international understanding and European unity since, well, you know, is the Christmas Market of Nuremberg’s Sister Cities, nestled on a cosy little square just north of the main market. I had a hot toddy from Glasgow, and had a nice chat about the weather with a French lady from the Corrèze who was selling onion soup and vin chaud. There were other arts and craftspeople from cities in places like Ukraine, Romania, and Turkey as well as offerings from further afield such as Palestine, China, and Nicaragua.
To soak everything up before bed I had a falafel from a place round the corner from a place called Sindbad which was good, but not as good as last night’s.
