Christmas market in Nuremberg 紐倫堡的聖誕市集

I can stop complaining about boring Sundays in December; at least the Christmas markets are open on Sundays and are a good way to kill time! Last Sunday (16th December) I made a trip with two other Hong Kong friends to Nuremberg, in order to visit the famous Christmas market there.

十二月的星期日絕無悶場——起碼可逛逛聖誕市集！我和另兩個香港朋友便在上星期日（16日）往紐倫堡，打算見識一下當地有名的聖誕市集。

A chance to start shopping upon arrival at Nuremberg railway station already! A huge vending machine that can rival a small convenience store.
甫到紐倫堡火車站，便見到這座可媲美小型便利店的售賣機，相信在售賣機林立的日本也沒有如此方便而包羅萬有的售賣機！

The Old Town part of Nuremberg lies behind the city walls, and that was where we were heading.

踏過城門，便進入紐倫堡舊城區。

We took time to explore the streets en route to the Christmas market.

未到達聖誕市集前先看看街景。

We must be getting close!
聖誕市集應快到了吧？

There were in fact several Christmas markets scattered across the town, the largest one being in the main square.

聖誕市集原來分好幾個，最主要的市集就位於大廣場。

We walked through the market row by row and saw quite a few interesting things.

我們走遍市集內的小巷，看到不少有趣的東西。

Wooden Christmas decorations 木製聖誕裝飾

Gingerbread - for decorations only! 薑餅——可遠觀（兼裝飾）而不可食用焉。

Toys in a spin 會旋轉的擺設

Real rarities - still fancy printing this way?
字粒在這世界原來仍未完全消失！

Came lunch time, we were surprised to find a German variation of the pork chop bun that was supposed to be a specialty of Macau. This pan-fried pork chop (instead of the deep-fried original version) was not bad either.

午飯時，站在街頭，嚐嚐德國版豬扒包（豬排包），雖然豬排是煎的並非炸的，但也很香口。

Then we walked into this bookshop that was supposed to be the oldest in Germany, but the interior decor was anything but.

然後我們走進這家號稱全德國最歷史悠久的書店吸收書卷氣（兼吸收暖氣——我們快冷壞了！）

A spinning wedding cake? Almost ...
旋轉風車——跟結婚蛋糕也有幾分像吧

We walked past the market and uphill to the Imperial Castle (Kaiserberg).

走過聖誕市集，我們登上位處小山上的皇家堡壘。

We also climbed up the watch tower.

我們也登上了堡壘內的瞭望塔。

The buildings inside the castle 堡壘的各部分

The views of Nuremberg city 俯瞰紐倫堡市區

Walking downhill again, we came across the international Christmas market selling specialties from around the world.

下山後有個國際聖誕市集，售賣各地特色物產。

The Factory of the World makes everything that we need and sells them anywhere, including this Christmas market! (right photo)
世界工廠甚麼都有出產，聖誕市集又怎能久一席位？（右圖）

The Children's Christmas Market was nearby. It felt like a mini amusement park, and the decorations were of course a lot more playful.

毗鄰有個兒童聖誕市集，裝飾和機動遊戲當然更適合兒童的口味。

Seeing Santa Claus everywhere gets a bit boring. How about a Christmas lady?
聖誕老人見得多了，聖誕仙女呢？

Travel advisories 旅遊忠告

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issues travel advisories for all countries in the world, and the list is nothing short of exhaustive. Obviously Hong Kong’s perpetual air pollution gets a mention (and it touched the nerves of the local media), as well as the haze that descends upon Singapore between July and October. But Australian major cities are not totally spotless in regard to air pollution. Last Saturday I was quite surprised by the reduced visibility on the roads when driving under the broad daylight of noon. Since it was not supposed to be a foggy day, the only possibility was a haze or smog of some kind. I never thought that it could occur on a day with lighter traffic like the weekend. The lab where I am working now is located on the 8th floor of a hospital building adjoining the main building of the research institute, and we have to go through an outdoor stairway whenever we want to enter or exit the main building. The stairway offers an unhindered vi...

When autumn settles 秋高氣爽

Finally the weather has stopped being temperamental in October, and is giving us as many fine days as we ask for. The increasing chilliness in the morning air, however, is a reminder that beautiful autumn days like these don't necessarily last long! The weather was still rather warm for the first few days of the month. On 1st October, my colleagues and I took an early finish at work and went for the Oktoberfest. While it was not as jam-packed and crazy as the opening day , it was still not easy to find a table. We sat outside during the day time and switched indoors in the beer tent after dark. The atmosphere inside was simply infectious. We all entered a state of exhilaration in no time, as we saw a sea of people standing on the benches, dancing and chanting to the music of the band. It finally dawned on me how people could spend a whole day at the Oktoberfest. Beer, it seems, is the best form ecstasy for many people in Western societies! The cooler weather in the following weeken...

Start the Summer … 姍姍來遲的春天，和未有影蹤的夏天

A carry bag from a fashion chain store caught my eye on the underground train last Saturday. The big words on the bag said, ‘Start the Summer!’ Of course the store wants to promote its latest line of summer products. Maybe the locals think that summer isn’t that far away. But to me, summer is still a distant future away and spring has barely started. Proper spring, I mean – or the kind of spring I am more used to … Yes, the weather has generally stopped being uncomfortably cold since the start of April, but winter appeared to be lingering until maybe a week or so ago and was constantly contriving a come-back. Even now, the mornings are still a little chilly and wasn’t too unlike the sunny winter days of Melbourne. But on Saturday I’ve reassured myself finally that winter weather is well and truly gone, and I could safely put away my clothes for the coldest of the days. On the same day, quite a few locals were already donning T-shirts and shorts in the streets. Makes me jealous … Up to ...

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