Our All Saints Day Outing

Since we had the day off yesterday, Andy and I decided to cash in our newly purchased monthly bus passes and head downtown. We had been told that all of the shops would be closed for the holiday, but still thought, "surely there must be at least one store open." But, there weren't. When we got to the Stadtmitte around 10am, the streets were deserted. We were among an elite group of strollers that came downtown to window shop. This actually turned out to be quite fun. Whereas on a normal day, window shopping is only for the brave (since stopping to gaze will likely get you mowed down by a hurried shopper), with the streets empty we had all of the time in the world to peer into each and every store. What was really cool, was that each and every item on display had its price posted right next to it. So we knew right away which stores would be worth coming back to (i.e. which stores were cheap), and which ones are over our heads (like the one with the $3300 chef's knife in the window).

Although none of the retail shops were open, there were a few cafes open and there was also a little winter festival set up (Wintertraum). There were several small food stands there, with Glühwein, Bratwurst, cookies, confections, strudels, you name it. There was also an ice rink, which had the coolest thing: 3-ft tall plastic animals with handles that children can latch onto for balance when they're skating. We ended up eating bratwurst and currywurst for lunch there and sharing some spiked, hot wine....very tasty. Being there definitely got me excited for the huge Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) that starts November 30th. It's gonna be awesome. Cookies and crafts and carolers and Christmas trees everywhere! I can't wait. :)

For now, it's back to werek! (insert Scottish accent here)