Christmas Season – Christmas Markets in Oxford

Today I had a wander around the Christmas Markets in Oxford.  I counted three, but there are probably more.  They are dotted around the town centre, each is quite small, just ten or twenty stalls.  In the main they sell crafts and foreign foods – especially Glühwein (german spiced and heated red wine) which is becoming increasingly popular.

I started my excursion at the castle mound market.  It was cold, but no snow.  One of the first stalls I saw was this one, selling really beautiful hand made tiles.  I like them a lot, but never buy any since I have no idea of what to do with them – re-model the whole kitchen so I can fit some tiles into the splashback for my sink?

So I moved on to the German sausage stall to buy currywurst.  There was a long queue, and since I hate standing in line I decided to come back later and have my lunch backwards – first the sweet, then the savoury!  I had spied a waffle stall, and was wondering whether to try one with chestnut purée, when a family with any number of rugrats pushed in front of me and loudly debated what orders to place.  Back I went to the sausage stall, but the queue had grown even bigger.  So I had some caramelised nuts instead.  Not terribly healthy, but neither is standing around in the cold queuing for currywurst!

The market is scattered all about the castle ground, half a dozen here, three over there.  On a wall outside the castle I found this little bird, which probably looks better illuminated when it is dark but I wasn’t going to stick around that long.

 Having had my fill of no currywurst and nada waffles, I decided to go home via the central but station, intending to check some timetables along the way.  And what do I find there?  Another Christmas market!  This one is entirely French, a dozen stalls selling saussicon, baked goods, olives, cheese, dried fruit, and, weirdly, a huge stall selling woven baskets?!?!?!?  Oh well, why not.  I buy some saussicons – I always buy sausages of some sort at these markets – and leave before I get sucked into some unnecessary purchases.

 But I had not escaped yet!  There was another Christmas market in Broad Street!  This one sells mainly crafts, and I almost bought an amazing planter in the shape of a head (see last photo).  Unfortunately the cash machine I tried to extract some cash from proved uncooperative, and by the time I had found another one I had come to my senses and decided that I did not have space for the head after all.

Anyway, I need my money for tomorrow, when I am going to the London Christmas markets!