Wiesbaden, Germany
Season’s Greetings Readers,
It’s winter once again here in Germany, but there is something very different this year: No Snow yet. It has definitely gotten cold, and we are even seeing frost on the morning grass but no real snow fall.
This year I visited the Wiesbaden Christmas Market, notably one of the bigger markets because of the local casino (Kurhaus) that has a major influence on the local economy.
I think I’ve mentioned before that Wiesbaden is one of the richest cities in Germany, there is a lot of old money here, and I think one of the biggest attractions to this market is not really the shops, usually the shops are pretty generic, but the local wine.
Gluhwien is a traditional hot wine serve throughout Germany especially during winter or Christmas markets because it is served hot. In Germany, wine is produced locally to the regions where they sell traveling to different markets offers variations to the tastes of the wine that you can buy.
What I find especially delectable are the numerous assortments of treats. I am a big foodie and have a rather big sweet tooth. 
In Germany chocolate is a little different than in America; they don’t use as much sugar, but that can be quickly counterbalanced with the marshmallow that they use to accompany it. I have found that most of the time I can only eat a small amount of the treats because the marshmallow is too sweet but I will peel off the surrounding chocolate and toss the rest.
Another great attraction to the Wiesbaden area Christmas market is the ice skating rink. I use to ice skate a lot when I was younger when my parents took me, but growing up in Southern California all the ice skating rinks were indoors, so being outdoors is such a nice experience. Being under the night sky, listening to open air music, the laughter of the children around you, and the occasional person that has had a little too much Gluhwien all make for such a unique experience that you just have to participate in for yourselves.