Derby - Germany Comes To The East Midlands
w/e 11 December 2005
All this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490

German Market

Christmas Markets are a traditional way of celebrating Christmas in Germany and are fast becoming a favourite here in the East Midlands too. All through Advent, one is being held in the centre of Nottingham but the one pictured here is on the Maket Place between the Assembly Rooms and the Guildhall in Derby.

Advent Calendar

The clock tower of the Guildhall forms an impressive backdrop to the market which consists of a number of wooden chalet type buildings housing traders selling a variety of tasty goods. A large advent calendar is also a feature of the market and can be seen here between the stalls on the left.
Reading Santa

It was rather quiet when we visited the market in the middle of the week and even Santa found time to have a break from the preparations for his big delivery run and sat on the roof of one of the stalls to read a book.
Sausages

Typical German food, drink and gifts were on sale at the market including a large variety of sausages ...

Hot Sausages

... and some of them were even hot! Many of the traders had travelled from Derby's twin city of Osnabrück in northern Germany to give the market an authentic atmosphere.
Decorations

Wooden FiguresReindeer RideCraftwork, Christmas tree decorations and wooden toys were also on sale and these large baubles were especially attractive. The wooden figures will delight many a child on Christmas morning and Santa's Reindeer Ride, a monorail carousel where parents could ride with their children, will provide much entertainment in the interim. If the grandchildren had been with me, I might have enjoyed a ride myself!
Nativity Scene

Osnabrück's Christmas market attracts more than a million visitors each year. Here in Derby, the stallholders will not see that many vistors but sweetmeats, mulled wine, roasted chestnuts and potato pancakes along with the other attractions mentioned above make a visit well worthwhile. The market is arranged around something that transcends all the other attractions though as is only right and proper for Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus - a Nativity Scene.
Merry Christmas

Iron Gate leads from the Market Place to the Cathedral and this view must have been photographed many times before by numerous people. I too have a photo somewhere in the archives from a similar position but this one differs only in the lights and the words strung across the road - "Merry Christmas".

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