please empty your brain below
"at a price which would look high in euros let alone pounds"
Britain seems unaware that the pound is worth about the same as a euro these days. Ouch!

Jeremy | 25.11.09 - 7:32 a.m. | #

Why? It's still November... Have you sold out to the other side?

Blue Witch | Homepage | 25.11.09 - 7:40 a.m. | #

I did find a booth selling a cup of tea for £1.50 at the Winter Wonderland. The fair has a bigger site this year, with 2 "avenues" of attractions instead of one. The circus is also new there. Most of the rides at this event come over from Holland or Germany, and so it is a chance to see some European fairground attractions. I always go along a couple of weeks before the opening date and watch the rides being assembled, that Roller Coaster was probably the first to be built. The "Black Hole" ride, which is there this year, is also a coaster but you ride in the dark. The tall "Tower Drop" ride is, I think, appearing for the first time in London .

John | 25.11.09 - 7:41 a.m. | #

As a smaller collection of faux chalets are erected just outside the Jubilee Line station at Canary Wharf, I was led to ponder how our love of a classic Dickensian Christmas has so recently transformed into a desire for a German Christmas.

Anyhow, to my mind nothing quite says a modern christmas so much as a fake Bavarian sausage with English "bier" served by a Polish immigrant working in an flat-pack wooden box.

IanVisits | Homepage | 25.11.09 - 9:25 a.m. | #

I have been spoilt enough by the real thing that I have been very underwhelmed by these efforts.

My tip to the organisers, get the Gluehwein (mulled wine) right, and the rest will fall into place.

Germans mainly go to these things to get mildly tipsy on hot wine in the freezing winter air, not to buy kitschy trinkets.

dan | 25.11.09 - 10:50 a.m. | #

I was in Birmingham last weekend and they have a wonderful German Christmas Market there, its bigger than ever this year and is the best I have ever seen outside Germany, all the stalls are staffed by real Germans and the Gluhwein is the real thing, they even serve it in traditional christmas mugs and not white plastic cups, very highly recomended if your in that part of the world.

fishislandskin | 25.11.09 - 11:54 p.m. | #

Actually, I don't know what you're all being so dan=mned miserable about.

I went to the Krautische fayre along the South Bank, last year, and I thought it was a pretty fair attempt at joining into the Christmas spirit

Quite honestly, I look forward to repeating the experience, this year.

Anonymous | 25.11.09 - 11:59 p.m. | #

I love Christmas markets. Over the last few years we have been to Bruges, Lille, Birmingham, and Manchester. This year we are hopping across to Amiens where they seem to have made a big effort: 125 stalls, lots of entertainment, bit of a Jules Verne theme.

IanB | Homepage | 29.11.09 - 5:42 p.m. | #

Yep Manchester is very good and has expanded over the years. Prices are failry high but it is the only place I have found in the UK that does flamenkuken and I feel is much better value than a large "hotdog"

I attended the Mayors River festival a couple of years ago and whilst I enjoyed the music I thought the food was a ripoff. When I was in New York I happened to be there during Philippine Independence day and the food there was cheap and fresh, miles better than anything in the UK in terms of value. Fresh BBQ kebab was around £1:50 to £2 not the £4 + I often see here .

Rick | 02.12.09 - 8:38 p.m. | #











TridentScan v2.10.0 | Privacy Policy