The German Market

Goulash. Spicy, earthy from liberal amounts of paprika and some pieces of tender beef, potato and carrot.

Vancouver finally has the equivalent of a traditional German Christmas market. I remember years ago in Manchester in the UK, stumbling upon a quaint, festive looking market with hot cider and mulled wine, live music and lots of interesting stalls right on the street, free for anyone passing to peruse or a destination spot to grab a currywurst sausage or some roast pork and sauerkraut. Vancouver doesn't usually do things as simply. Everything is monitored, controlled and expensive here. I'm not complaining too much, but sometimes it feels as though they take an idea that has worked for hundreds of years in other countries and try to recreate it within their own uptight boundaries. No liquor stores open on Sundays, no drinking on the beach, (or street) and the fact that any type of alcohol is only available at special stores, (not to mention the whole street cart approach). I think they are generally scared to let people get a little bit 'rowdy'. Two police officers approached Neil and myself during a light show for the Olympics, after having spotted us taking a few small sips from a hip flask to warm ourselves up during the pouring rain. "Alcohol is not allowed here" they exclaimed, but in all fairness they didn't ask us to pour the contents out which is what they generally do when they catch some 'illegal' revellers.

So, the market was $5 to enter, the food pretty expensive and the alcohol strictly controlled: case in point:

 

No Funcouver strikes again

I can't imagine the typical German being happy about being dictated to by the local council, or anyone else for that matter, then again, in places where governments are not uptight about alcohol, generally the public are mature enough about its consumption to not need any restrictions. (At the market they actually stamped your wristband each time you had a drink to ensure no-one got more than 3 - what are they afraid of?)

 Anyway, the food choice was great. Here, Neil had a roast suckling pig sandwich with a chipotle mayonnaise and sauerkraut. If you visit the market during the day, you can watch the pig spit-roasting at their stall.

 

Of course sausages featured strongly. The choice was Bratwurst or smokie with optional sauerkraut and mustard or ketchup if wanted. Very simple but very effective. The sauerkraut worked perfectly with the sausage, its sharp, tangy flavour reminiscent of a gherkin pickle on a burger, it just works. The texture of these sausages has never made me really excited, the pink, spongy texture not as appealing to me as a dense, meaty sausage, but they were enjoyable all the same.

 

The Goulash stall

 There were some beautiful wooden toys to buy which have been imported directly from Germany. The opening of this market was delayed for a few days because of a propane leak and consequent fire and many things were destroyed and had to be re-ordered, thankfully, no-one was hurt though.

 

 Neil and I had some hot red wine with rum which was served in a special mug which could be kept for $4 or returned. I thought this was a nice touch.

The beer stall featuring 3 imported beers. If you'd like to try them all, you'll have to forget about that hot cider or mulled wine.

Hot cheddar puffs warm from the oven. This stall had a very strong smell from the Raclette they were using, but appetizing if you're a cheese fan.

Raclette being heated and then scraped onto bread.

 

Crepes. The most popular choice seemed to be Belgian chocolate although they also had a roast beef or ham and cheese option.

Baked apples with pecans, raisins, brown sugar and chocolate.

 Overall, the market was a nice addition to Vancouver for the Christmas season. The vendors have worked very hard to set it up and long hours. There were many people with German accents there who must be happy to have a little piece of their tradition alive, albeit a less than authentic variety.