The Sights, Scenes and Sounds of Munich!

The Christkindlmarkts are AMAZING in Munich!

Every stall is full to the brim with goodies just begging to be brought home.  I am already looking for another carryon sized suitcase because I just KNOW my luggage has surpassed weight limits. 

The Liebkuchenherzen are amongst my favorite sights – the simple phrases are ones I can “usually” figure out with 2 years of high school German behind me decades ago.

Lebkuchenherzen, or gingerbread hearts, are popular in German outdoor markets such as Christmas markets, Oktoberfest, Kirmes, or Schutzenfest. They usually hang from ribbons and carry cute sayings in the center. 

Traditionally they are given to friends, sweethearts, or your family to express your feelings.

If you’d like to make some – here is a terrific recipe! [source]

Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup honey
• 5/8 cup sugar 
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon gingerbread spice mix
• 5 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (single- or double-acting )
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg

Directions:

Making the Dough

1. Bring the butter, honey, sugar, cocoa powder and gingerbread spice mix to a boil in a medium-size saucepan.
2. Boil for several minutes until the sugar dissolves, then remove from heat and cool slightly.
3. Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt into a bowl.
4. Make a depression in the bowl and add the egg, then pour the honey mixture over the flour and mix on low speed until a ball of dough can be formed.
5. The ball of dough might still be shaggy but will form a smooth dough as it cools down, so do not add extra flour.
6. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and put in a safe place at room temperature for 4 to 48 hours.(This dough should rest overnight before baking for best results.)

Baking:

1. Heat the oven to 350 F.
2. Roll out half the dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured board.
3. Use a large, heart-shaped cookie cutter or your own template to cut out large, heart shaped cookies.
4. If you want to hang these hearts from a ribbon, create one or two holes about 3/4-inch below the rim of the cookie before you bake it.
5. Repeat with the rest of cookie dough. This dough does not re-roll well, so take care to roll it into the right size the first time.
6. Place the cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cookies are set in the middle and lightly browned on the bottom. Bake the trimmed scraps to use for practice decorating.
7. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet. They will harden as they cool. Although they are edible, this dough is most often used to make decorative cookies that are hung on the wall or around the recipient's neck and are seldom eaten.

Icing:

1. Use tinted royal icing to decorate the cookies.
2. Tint some of the icing in a separate bowl using normal food coloring. if the icing is not completely tinted you can create swirls of lighter and darker colors as you pipe it.
3. Place the icing in a decorator bag with a leaf tip attached to make the border. Use a writing tip for the words.
4. Decorate as you like. It is traditional to write cute sayings in the center and give the cookies to people you like.

Tips

• These cookies will last for months in a tin or well-wrapped and stored at room temperature.
• While they can be eaten, they are usually made for decorative purposes.

Listening to our guide at the city gate tower!

We really enjoyed him!

The funniest thing is that he was from TEXAS originally – so when you mix a bit of German speak with “y’all!” It gets pretty funny.  He married a gal from Munich many years ago and has made Munich his home.  He made us feel like Munich was home for us too!

And we are walking!  Click to Play:

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A post shared by Bonnie K Hunter (@quiltville_bonnie) on Dec 6, 2019 at 9:43pm PST

the most memorable thing about this trip has been the bells. From Church bells to clock bells to city bells – This is the sound of Germany!  I think I would miss it if I had grown up here, and then left to places where there are no bells.

Modern building – so patchworky!

Munich town hall.

The famous Munich Glockenspiel!

Dis Platz, Das Platz, Another Platz!

Bavaria’s first king.

This is HIS PLATZ!

Colors in the sunshine.

As often as we could, we’d try to find the sunny spot to stand – it was below 0 Celsius this chilly morning – but definitely beautiful!

Royal lions at the entrance gate to the Residenz-

Four giant bronze lion statues guard the entrance to the Residenz, supported by pedestals festooned with a half-human, half-animal face. Note the creatures' remarkably shiny noses. If you wait a moment, you'll see the reason for the sheen: scores of people walk by and casually rub one or all four noses. It's supposed to bring wealth and good luck.

Beautiful!

I thought this was so interesting!

The leaves were freeze dried.  LOL!

Well, that will definitely warm you up!

Munich, you are lovely!

I wished we had more time to spend here.  Our time was divided with a tour of Nymphenburg Palace, which I will save for another day.  Talk about opulence.  Oh my word.

So where are we now?  Salzburg, Austria!  We arrived last evening and our day is just beginning.  We start with a walking tour in a bit over an hour – and my legs are still feeling the more than 18,000 steps we did yesterday.

Today, Tomorrow, and Monday we start our journeys home.  This trip has gone by SO FAST!

You do know that we released Part 2 of our Frolic Mystery yesterday, right?  That part is now found linked under the Frolic Mystery tab at the top of the blog along with the introduction and the link to Part 1.

We also let you know that for the month of December, my Hunter’s String Star PDF quilt pattern is half price at only $4.00.  No coupon needed.

This is the perfect project to get you in a peppermint mood! Pull those reds & neutrals and start sewing!

Quiltville Quote of the Day -

These words from such a young life haunt my heart.

I first read The Diary of Anne Frank when I was 12. I have visited the place where the Frank family and others lived in secret before they were discovered in Amsterdam.

Such an amazing insightful young lady. Her words still inspire me today.

I hope they hit home with you, too!

Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!