A Christmas Market with a Conscience – Tollwood in Munich, Germany

There are so many great Christmas markets in Munich to visit. This is one of my favorites. the entire market is devoted to sustainability.

Handmade Goods from Madagascar

From the Christmas tree made out of recycled plastic bottles at the entrance to the rule that all the vendors present organic foods and sustainability friendly products.

The market, on the grounds of Thereseweisn, where the world famous Oktober fest takes place every September, is vast.

There is an ample selection of food and drink vendors as well as an indoor world market with stalls selling handmade goods and food selections from all over the world.

Our first stop was at the hut of the self-proclaimed Fondue Baron. It so happened I was planning a fondue dinner for New Year’s Eve so I was eager to sample the goods.

Not only was the fondue perfection, the owner was a pleasure to chat with.

He even handed over his recipe when I mentioned my dinner.

The individual servings of fondue came with delicious crusty bread laid out on special handmade wood serving platters.

I am sure if this was not our first stop, we would have gone in for seconds.

Next door to the Fondue Baron was a fantastic stand with delicious spices and goods from Africa. I bought a can of mixed African spices and

I’ve used this delicious mix for so many things this past year, in dips, mixed with mayo or sprinkled on salads and meats.

The next stop was for the obligatory flammkuchen purchase.

There were a few varieties to choose from but we went with the classic version.

Yum.

While we were scoping out our next treat, we checked out some of the amazing recycled sculptures peppered around the grounds of the market.

There was an army of these Trash People standing outside the entrance to the market.

This art flower is made out of old highway signs.

How great is this tin man band?

The king and queen of the market.

It was time for a drink. We were not yet ready for a mug of traditional glühwein. We wanted a gateway cocktail.

There were plenty places to find libations at the market but we were drawn to this devilish and sexy themed stand.

There were some interesting concoctions to choose from.

We chose a very tasty Burning Mai Tai served with a flaming sugar cube on top.

The other drink we chose, not so much. Some sort of raspberry caipirinha that was not tasty and completely forgettable.

It was time for something sweet. We stopped dead in our tracks at this chocolate doner stand. What?

A popular Turkish specialty in Germany, döner kebab stands are found in every city across the nation. A traditional döner sports seasoned meat cooked on a rotisserie, sliced and served inside a soft and chewy Turkish bread, stuffed with fresh veggies and slathered in a creamy sauce.

This was the first time I have ever seen a chocolate version. Had to try. It was very sweet, we could not finish the entire thing but it did not disappoint.

Different variations of shaved chocolate were wrapped in a sweet flatbread, covered with a vanilla sauce and topped with whipped cream.

It was time to work off all the food with some power shopping.

In addition to all the lovely stalls outside, there was a huge indoor goods market with a dazzling array of items from all over the world.

The light fixtures made out of bowls and colanders.

Outside we found this stand where a family was selling the results of generations of traditional schnapps making.

After sampling some of the wares, I settled on a bottle of luscious pear schnapps for my MIL.

We stopped to watch the action at this booth where your could make an instant cast out of your hand.

A sweet but slightly tacky idea, this was one of the most popular stops at the market.

 

I don’t know if it was the schnapps sampling or the shopping but hard to believe it but we were feeling peckish and it was time to eat again.

We were really tempted by this wraps stand with a large selection of interesting international themed wraps.

In the end, classic won out.

It’s always a good time for Käse spätzle.

Even though there were some other interesting noodle dishes on offer, we went with the classic.

See. Käse spätzle makes people happy…

We could leave without sampling a traditional reiberdatschi which is basically a large potato pancake.

We may or may not have downed this with the help of mugs of glüwein.

There is also non-stop music performances at this market. We went back indoors to check out the sound.

The stage was surrounding by another set of fantastic and beautifully lit musician themed sculptures made out of recycled materials.

 

Full and laden with (recycled) shopping bags, as we headed out of the market, we stopped to watch a parade of human light sculptures on stilts.

A magic ending to a magical market visit.