Winter in Los Angeles means temperatures occasionally drop below 70.  Winter in Europe means cold, snow, and more cold.  So why would I spend my winter break in Europe instead of LA?  Well, it wasn’t the weather.

My first international trip ever took place during winter break a few years back, as two of my best friends and I grabbed our backpacks and took off from hostel to hostel from mid-December until New Years’ Day.  In-between my first experiences ever with sleeping in hostels, and figuring out Eurail trains, I also got to experience something very un-LA: Christmas markets.

In many of the cities we visited — especially Munich and Vienna — the Christmas markets were quite prominent.  Featuring a series of stalls selling artwork, crafts, snacks and drinks, they attracted a diverse (and heavily bundled up) crowd milling about.

I still recall the smells — a mixture of wood burning, cinnamon and other sweet spices, and the aroma of Gluhwein — or mulled wine.  It’s a heated wine, spiced with vanilla, and cloves, and is the perfect antidote to the harsh winter air that surrounds.  For just a couple of Euros, you get a beverage that warms you up — both physically and mentally.  People gather around small elevated tables, sipping their wine, and gradually growing more and more gregarious as the wine heats them up.  I don’t pretend to be an expert on any type of wine, but I have to say, the Gluhwein pairs quite equally nicely with the cold North-Atlantic air as well as sugar-filled Viennese pastries.

That trip brought about a lot of firsts for me: attempting my first German to native speakers, putting, for the first time ever, mayonnaise on my “pommes frites” and seeing my first Czech Simon & Garfunkel cover band.  But, one of the most enduring memories — and one which I look forward to recreating again — are the sites, sounds, smells, and tastes, of the European christmas markets.

Alex Budak is a recent graduate of UCLA and is currently enrolled as a graduate student at Georgetown University where he studies Public Policy and Social Entrepreneurship. You can see more of his travels on Sosauce, his blog, or follow him on Twitter, @TheBudak.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 3:05 PM and is filed under Europe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.