Left: Budapest
Christmas
Market
Travel writer Steve McKenna journeys along the
Danube soaking in the charm of Europe's famed
Christmas markets and the festive season.
T
he now-familiar, yet always-seductive aromas of
warm spices and roasted chestnuts scented the
air as we sipped our glühwein, tucked into our
apple strudels and browsed the eye-catching wooden
stalls clustered around St Stephen's Basilica,
a magnificent domed landmark in the vibrant heart
of Budapest.
It was the last night of our Christmas on the Danube
cruise with Viking. And although we'd already visited
several festive markets over the past week, each one had
its own character and unique items and temptations.
At this one, for instance, Petra, our local Viking guide,
pointed out a vendor selling Christmas decorations,
including stars and angels, that he'd hand-crafted from
recycled corn husks. Other stalls were doing a roaring
trade in flódni, a multi-layered Jewish-Hungarian
confection, and kürtőskalács (chimney cakes), tube-
shaped sweet pastries baked on a spit over hot charcoal.
While the markets were different, they presented us
with similar dilemmas. We only had so much luggage
space for gifts to take home, and our bellies only had
so much spare room for street snacking, so satisfying
was the onboard wining and dining, from hearty soups,
stews and steaks to dainty salads, cheeses and desserts.
Thankfully it was rewarding to simply wander about and
soak up the festive atmosphere (glühwein or Christmas
punch in hand, of course).
Vienna was particularly uplifting, the Austrian capital's
opulent streets and squares adorned with stunning
illuminations. Skaters skipped across the ice rink by the
neo-Gothic City Hall and light projections dazzled at
the MuseumsQuartier, a cultural district set around the
palatial former royal stables of the Hapsburg dynasty. On
an excursion to the Slovakian capital Bratislava - just an
hour's motor-coach journey from Vienna - we were struck
by the contrasting stripy candy-like market stalls and the
backdrop of elegant pastel-shaded neoclassical buildings.
Christmas
on the
DANUBE
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