I napped for the first 2/3 of our ride, waking up to an autostrada surrounded by mountains and fog - stunningly beautiful. When we arrived in Bolzano, it was just before noon and the market was packed with Christmas shoppers. Since we only had about an hour before we were scheduled to meet up and visit Utzi the Ice Man (a 5000 year old mummy found in the Italian-Austrian Alps in 1991), I focused on completing a circuit of the market and prioritizing my shopping goals. Given the crowds, this was a challenge.
The Bolzano Christmas market did not disappoint. Hundreds of stands were in place, selling Gluhwein (hot mulled wine), raclette and speck paninis, gloves & hats, crafts, and even CDs.
These beautiful Weihnachtspyramids were made by hand. If you've never seen them before, the lit candles make the fan spin around. The fan spinning makes the interior twirl, a beautiful sight in the candlelight.
Naturally, there were thousands of ornaments. Not all of them were beautiful, some were clearly mass produced and imported from China, but many of them were unique and lovely.
A combination of glass balls, pine cones, and woven twine hang in the candle stand pictured above. Below and to the left, hand-painted glass ornaments and bells with winter scenes. On the bottom right, there are some hand-carved wooden ornaments. As you might have noticed from the pictures, vendors chose to hang some of there nicest (or at least, most eye-catching) ornaments along the exterior of their booths, making it easy to see how they hang and get a 360 view of the product.
I bought a couple but can't show them off - I bought duplicates of the prettiest to give away next Christmas! My shipping deadline has passed so none would make it in time for this Christmas.
Aside from ornaments, there was a wide selection of creches or nativity scenes, ranging from 25 euro for a small set to 600 euro for a hand-carved large set! I also witnessed the work of several resourceful woodcarvers who had perhaps grown tired of the typical Christmas decorations. Witness the below Santas, carved on pieces of branch. Does Martha have this on her website for a DIY gift in this tough economy?
The below elves were far more intricitely designed though perhaps a little more on the odd side. I'd first thought that they were Santa's helpers but now I'm not so sure....
For lunch, our organizer had made us reservations at a restaurant serving typical cuisine of the region. Given the proximity to Austria, there were no big surprises in the menu. The primo piatto was a spinich spatzle in a cream sauce. Spatzle are noodles shaped into tiny dumpling. Made with egg, flour, milk, and (in this case) spinich, the spatzle's origins are primarily in the Bavaria region of Germany. For a second course, they served what seemed to be boiled ham with sauerkraut and a little meatball of sorts that is made out of speck (a dried pork product typical of the region and usually very good) and bread crumbs. I wasn't the biggest fan and ended up being very glad that the spatzle had been so filling!
On the way back from the restaurant to the Christmas market, we ran across Bolzano's typical food market and the most gloriously displays red chili peppers I've ever seen. Hung with garlic, the colors were so vivid on a gloomy winter day that I was tempted to buy up several strings!
After a little more shopping time, darkness fell and it was time to head back to Milan. With some Gluhwein warm in my belly, I bid auf wiedersehen to Bolzano, vowing to return for next year's festivities.
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