I was a little in love with the contents of my shopping basket and had to lay everything out on my desk and admire the tableau before transferring the Teltower Rübchen, purple carrots and parsley root to the vegetable drawer. Again and again I'm amazed by the quiet sweetness of these vegetables, released after a stint in an oven or simmered with a meaty bone.

I'll have to accept there's a lull around Third Advent when I can no longer muster much energy for life on the screen. Still, to keep my promise, two markets for the Sunday morning Kurzentschlossene. On the one hand, there's Sinterklaas in Potsdam's old Dutch Quarter, with its brick streets crammed full of treats and crafts from the Netherlands. On the other hand, there's the Stralauer Weihnachtsmarkt. Every time I turn around, someone has moved to Lichtenberg or bought a flat in Stralau. (Lichtenberg! Those here ten years ago will blink in disbelief. But it's where all the interns live now Neukölln is too expensive.) So go to the market, go for a walk, and see what's happening.

Stralau Christmas Market, Am Speicher 1-10, Berlin-Friedrichshain (map) Saturday & Sunday 11am-7pm (today only)

Sinterklaas Christmas Market in the Dutch Quarter, Nauener Tor, Berlin-Potsdam (map) Saturday & Sunday 11am-7pm (today only)

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Comments

[Vanessa]

A joy to see the inside of your shopping bag when it contains such goodies! Root vegetables must be one of the winter highlights. I'm too cowardly to venture out again for the markets but visited a couple on Friday and yesterday. The one at Kulturbrauerei is pretty sweet.

[petoskystone]

mmm yum! such lovely colors! & on winter days to have the leisure & means to warm the oven to roasting with a little olive oil....such sweetness :)

[Berlin Reified]

I keep loading my basket up with these gems. The oven is my best friend in the winter: dinner and a snug kitchen.