The Supermarket and the Christmas Market

One of the first things I do any time I am visiting a foreign country is to find and check out a local supermarket, with the reasons being twofold:

1. I like to "see how the locals live." Most local people don't live at the tourist traps, so I very much like to go to their equivalent of a Safeway or Albertsons to see how the normal people live, what is in their market, and to try some of their food.
2. On a pragmatic level, though I don't intend to save money when I travel, I do enjoy finding a way to avoid being taken by the hotel and normal tourist traps. In the picture to the left, all the food and alcohol cost me just a tad of $30 US, which may not sound all that great until you realize the the bottle of vodka ("wodka") cost me no more than the cost of one vodka tonic at the hotel bar. Granted, saving money on a trip is not my first goal, but to avoid getting taken is a nice benefit.

On a different note, Germany has always been famous for its Christmas markets, and while Berlin is no Bavaria, the Christmas market fever is in full swing here. With the snow on the ground and the chill in the air, this is an almost magical place just four days before Christmas--save for that "Gluhwein" that they are trying to push. I'm not exactly sure what it is; Wikipedia only defines it as a "muled wine" and explains that

• "Historically, wine often went bad. By adding spices and honey, it could be made drinkable again"

When I find out what that really means, I will post it, but for now say let's just say that something that sounds wonderful and happy is abyssmal--and I am not sure I agree with the "drinkable again" comment.

Beyond that, I spent the day doing the "Hop-on/Hop-off" bus thing, partly to get a quick overview of Berlin, and partly to avoid the unbelievable, record-setting cold we are seeing. More on that tomorrow.