Before leaving for the trip I did a quick search and thought to myself "Oh, this is way less busier than Brussels". I initially thought I'd have a nice brisk walk and float in the air chasing the smell of freshly made hot chocolate. Was I wrong!
I am no longer a fan of loud crowds and have a very limited social energy in, that is why I was pretty happy not going Brussels or Antwerp. But upon the entering the city I could only see people and more people. "Did the internet pull a fast one on me?"
"Wintergloed" is the yearly winter festival and has been going on for 5 editions, now. The whole city takes part in this and I absolutely loved every moment of being there.
Instead of hot chocolate, I was seduced by the unavoidable smell of mulled wine coming from what seemed to be the crowded part of the street. And like Jerry floated to the smell of fresh cheese, so did I to the smell of mulled wine.
As part of the Wintergloed, which literally translates to"Winter Glow", there is an ice rink, a light festival, two Christmas markets, free buses, concert, and a "frozen bar". Now, that is way too many things to do in just over half a day.
From my time in the Cologne Christmas Market, I knew these are markets that I genuinely enjoy and there's always something interesting to eat or drink.
This Christmas Market was at the Simon Stevin Square. To a nerd like me, it made the Market just so much more special.
If you notice there is a lot of use of decimals on his monument. That is because he played a huge role in the decimal notion. He also pronounced the use of Dutch in mathematical and scientific writings. It made the Market a little cooler for me.
This one is much smaller than the other Wintergloed Market. There were quite a few stalls but the market itself wasn't too huge. The center of the market was mainly the bar area which is always the most fun place.
Unlike the Christmas market in Cologne, the bar here was very simple in design. It is more function than anything else. There weren't any workshops either. And only one ride for the kids.
I bought a Belgian waffle to go along with the walk around the market. Curiosity got the best of me and I asked the lady if this was the only Christmas Market. She asked me if I have kids. I said no with and clearly estranged by her question.
Turns out, this is the smaller market where the focus is mainly on "partying". That is drinking, eating, and a bit of shopping from the handcrafted shops. The other market, the bigger one, is the more "traditional" one. That's where the large Christmas tree is along with the workshops and play zones.
The waffle lady was certainly right. There were a lot of shops selling homemade and other types of handcrafts. From jewelry to show pieces. The ceramic items always grab my attention...especially if they're "homemade". It takes a lot of learning and practice to get those things to look good, even more so if you want them ready to sell.
The woollen shop had everything that was made in factories and so did most of the jewelry shops. There was one, however, that did some glass jewelry. Along with that she had some clay show pieces.
The longest queues were however in front of the stalls selling drinks. Mostly the one stall that was selling mulled wine.
I really love the small cups they serve it in.
You can take those and go wherever you like. If you bring it back, you get back your 3 euros deposit. If the 3 euros don't bother you, then you can take the cup home. Which I think nobody ever uses again. Hah.
I mulled over the thought of getting a cup of mulled wine from here. But the long lines and the crowd wasn't too appealing. Plus, there's a stall almost everywhere to get some yummy mulled wine from.
The foodstalls were such a flavorful mix. You'd think it'd be all typical Christmasy and holiday-ish snacks and food. But no. There were the typical Belgian food stalls, like the one I got waffles from. Also, the wurst and candy stalls.
The last thing I expected to see in a stall in a festival was cheese wheel pasta. There were other types of food from different cultures like churros and turkish sweets, too. But the cheese wheel pasta...Firstly, I never thought of it as a Christmas food, and secondly, never did I think it'd happen outside a dining atmosphere. So imagine me doing a double take and looking into the cheese wheel to make sure it was not something else. Or is it a Christmas dish?
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