Hallo Ladies and Gentlemen

here is your faithful, truthful, etc. (in short: ful - or fool - ) reporter Leonardo from Denver.

Armed (?!?), or better, "equipped" with my new digital camera I surveyed for you the FIRST Denver Christkindlmarkt, organized by a powerful joint-venture of Denver Pavillions and the German Chamber of Commerce.

Oh, look! There is going to be a Christkindlmarkt!!!

Indeed, there is the sign: "A Traditional German Festive Christmas Market".

Let's follow it and see where it brings us...

Ooops, nothing here. Let's walk down this alley and turn right (no, I am not going to build this into a QuickTime VR movie!)

Hmmm, nothing here either... but, wait a moment: there's something down there, across the street...

The first stand: 5 pieces - 5! - of high German craftmanship: "Cuckoo Clocks". And some key hangers, with *fake* clocks... let's move on, this is depressing!

Ok, this is a bit better: toasted almonds, candied apples, and the likes; a mini-sub-selection of what you would find on a "real" stand.

Aha! Something interesting? No, not quite. If you were expecting Leberwurst, Schwarzwaelder Schinken, etc., forget it; there's only four different items, each in its own basket. And three accompanying mustard types.

If you are looking for some authentic Christmas decorations, this is probably your best bet. Not a lot, but authentic.

Oh, a blurry St. Niklaus! I must have been the first one to ask him for a picture...

Is that gigantic toy for me? There's a note on it; let's see what it says:

Great, I am certainly not driving down there...

Only retired (retarded?) Bavarians could think that you would want to drink a beer outside on a crispy December day! The stand is, of course, sponsored by Pepsi and as a side treat, they actually sell Gluehwein ($1.50+tax). I got a cup and guess what? You cannot leave this 5*5 meters area (note a piece of the sign on the right: "NO ALCOHOL BEYOND THIS POINT"). Now, this MUST be America!

Maybe I'll have better luck with food at "Continental Sausage".

No better luck here; the selection is between "Smoked" and "Veal" sausage. I guess the first one only contains smoke and was designed for vegetarians. The dessert has been renamed "APPLEstrudel" in honor of Steve Jobs.

Other offerings of "Continental Sausage" include: ALDI-style goods from Balsen, still packaged in their original shipping boxes

Hey, this is a great opportunity to try and get rid of non-Christmas related items, like these Hero jam.

Oops, the Markt is finished. No more stands. But what else would you have expected?!?

Thank goodness tomorrow Ralf gets here carrying a Grossfesttagspaket by Otto Schmidt Lebkuchen in Nuernberg! Simply the best! Try them out in your favourite Konditorei or at www.lebkuchen-schmidt.com (psst: they ship worldwide, and within Germany, it's free!)

Ciao, Leonardo

4/24/01