Once again I find myself in Vienna, Austria just before Christmas for a work trip. Many of you know that I retired earlier this year, but I was requested to come back to assist with a workshop this week that I have helped to run for the past seven years. It is hard to say no to an overseas trip and Vienna is particularly beautiful at this time of the year. There are lots of Christmas markets throughout the city, wirh the largest one in front of the Rathaus (City Hall).
In the market there are rows and rows of vendors selling all kinds of products, including a wide variety of food and beverages. My personal favorite is the käsekrainer, a large sausage filled with chunks of cheese that melt when the sausage is grilled. I usually have mine in a hard crusted roll (like a mini baguette) with lots of spicy mustard. The most popular item for consumption, though, appears to be glühwein, hot spicy wine, served in festive mugs. You put down a deposit on the mugs and either return them or take them away with you.
Most of my daylight hours, which seem really limited at this time of the year, are filled with work, but I managed to make it to the Rathaus Christmas Market and grabbed a few photos one evening earlier this week. Hopefully they give you a sense of the festive atmosphere at the market, though you don’t get the smells of the food cooking in the open air and the sounds of the Christmas music, with a variety of individuals and groups performing live.
Merry Christmas in advance and Happy Holidays to those of you who do not celebrate Christmas.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Wow! Thanks for getting the photos. Just magic, fairytale beautiful. Awesome!
You are welcome, Liz. I only captured a part of the beauty. There are trees strung with lights, an ice skating track, and other attractions. I often enjoy the magic best from afar, because it can get really crowded at times.
Beautiful night images Mike! Nice you got to go even though you retired!
If you’re going to go back and help out, Mike, this is the perfect place to do it.
Fantastic photos! In the recent Paris series, when I learned you had retired, one of my thoughts was, oh, no more Vienna Christmas photos. So how fortunate for us that you returned to Vienna. I can imagine how difficult it is to capture these, and appreciate them, Mike.
Just a wee bit envious – what a great place to be in December!
Wow, Paris and now Vienna! I need to retire. LOL! Great pics!!
Paris was planned, but this Vienna trip was a bit of a surprise, considering it is a work trip. Still, it would have been hard to say no when someone was willing to pay me to make a trip like this. I could handle work if it meant a couple of overseas trips a year and nothing more. 🙂
LOL! Yup I could handle that too! Glad you had the opportunity to go both places. 🙂
I had a chance to go to this market last night and it was amazing.. Lovely post 👌🏾
Thanks. I hope you enjoyed the market as much as I did even if it was as crowded as I would expect it to be this close to Christmas.
I absolutely enjoyed it.
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