In many countries across Europe, the Christmas season is marked by Christmas Markets. They have various names and origins, but they all have one thing in common (Christmas). I will try to pass along photos, stories, experiences as best I can over the next few weeks as we (or I) travel to various markets in and around Switzerland. The first example is the Christmas market in Montreux, Switzerland called Marché de Noël (Market of Christmas).
For those that haven't heard of Montreux, it is a beautiful town along the eastern edge of Lake Geneva and the foothills of the Swiss Alps. It is also home to the Annual Montreux Jazz festival and a plethora of wealthy individuals. For the market, the streets along the lake are lined with various stalls, huts, booths, and structures selling everything from candy and cheese to Nativity scenes and Christmas bobbles. There were about 100 or so of these huts, as well as a few larger buildings (one resembled an empty train depot) containing restaurants, bars, and various other sundries. In the picture at left is a lineup of various pots of food. 
Each cauldron held about 30-50 gallons of stuff (the varied stuff: macaroni and cheese, sausage with potato & sauerkraut, soups, roesti, meat products) and smelled great (it's too bad Alli and I packed our lunch to save money...I could really go for some Alpine Macaroni & Cheese).Children can take a train up the mountain (about an hour roundtrip) to visit the Ville du Père Noël (Santa Claus' village), which we did not do as we failed the height requirement. Also the town erected various temporary chalets and sculptures of animals to make one feel as if they were in a Winter Wonderland (without any snow...). 
Some of the sculptures were very realistic (moose, deer, caribou, etc) and others were downright confusing (see photo at right). I can't quite figure them out but surely they have something to do with Swiss folklore.
Some of the sculptures were very realistic (moose, deer, caribou, etc) and others were downright confusing (see photo at right). I can't quite figure them out but surely they have something to do with Swiss folklore.The most interesting thing I saw was this guy roasting chestnuts. 
Roasted chestnuts are vile and disgusting (I recommend you avoid them at all costs), but they are everywhere around here. This setup seems to be the most inventive and creative (although not enough to get me to purchase a bag). We each did get a cup of hot apple cider, as well as enjoy the frosty temps (it was about 1 C, or 34 F...so yeah, not really frosty if you live in Minnesota). I would rate this market as a 7 out 10. It loses points for amount of lame vendors (like the guy selling random designer belts, purses and watches....or the Indian guys playing the flutes, you know the ones in the mall that you can't quite figure out if they are actually playing their instruments or if it's just the CD), as well as lacking a general Christmas feel (there was a Swedish village, sponsored by IKEA. I thought the whole point of these markets was the tradition and lack of commercialism).
Roasted chestnuts are vile and disgusting (I recommend you avoid them at all costs), but they are everywhere around here. This setup seems to be the most inventive and creative (although not enough to get me to purchase a bag). We each did get a cup of hot apple cider, as well as enjoy the frosty temps (it was about 1 C, or 34 F...so yeah, not really frosty if you live in Minnesota). I would rate this market as a 7 out 10. It loses points for amount of lame vendors (like the guy selling random designer belts, purses and watches....or the Indian guys playing the flutes, you know the ones in the mall that you can't quite figure out if they are actually playing their instruments or if it's just the CD), as well as lacking a general Christmas feel (there was a Swedish village, sponsored by IKEA. I thought the whole point of these markets was the tradition and lack of commercialism).
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