Deutscher Weihnachts-Charity Basar Peking

2008-11-29

One of the big events on the Beijing social calendar is the Deutscher Weihnachts-Charity Basar Peking, or German Embassy Charity Bazaar. It's like a real Kristkindlmarkt, but in Beijing. In an embassy compound. It was awesome, and the weather for it couldn't have been better (well, maybe it could have snowed).

The food was fantastic, the beverages awesome, and you could buy all sorts of awesome German treats and things, like Advent stuff, candles, and books. But you're really there for the food. And wine. And beer. MmmMMmm .... It made me miss Europe a tonne. I will be making attendance at this mandatory in the future.

[Click on any photo for a larger view]

I was taking a picture of the embassy but this guy thought I was snapping a photo of him and was absolutely thrilled about it.	Hey, that's the Canadian Embassy! Alright!	Uh oh, what's with all the cars?
Holy crap, there's a huuuge lineup to get in!	Well, it's a nice day out and we're in no hurry, so, no worries!	You had to bring your passport to get in.
I think every single German person in Beijing was here. Along with their Chinese wives and children.		Finally inside, it's a madhoose!!!!
But the smells are intoxicating. I hadn't eaten anything yet today and was getting seriously hungrig!!!	This is the yummy wurst-in-a-bun stand. Delish!	First stop: Currywurst. German sausage in yummy curry sauce (not even remotely spicy) with some bread. Awesome.
Add some Glühwein and it's all good.	Not a lot in the way of seating areas, so you kinda have to make do.	That's the Glühwein stand over there. Also very important.
And so a meal of Currywurst ....	and Glühwein. Awesome. Although, at 10C outside, it's a bit warm for the mulled wine ....
This girl was already pooped from all the walking around.	A photo of me and my friend Emma. A bunch of other friends are here too, but it was getting hard to corral everybody for a photo.	Those yummy sausage buns are calling to me still ....
Inside the embassy there is more .... food! This time with proper chairs and tables. Some awesome German cakes and treats available too. I couldn't resist some Pflaumenkuchen.	And some German potato salad.	The embassy is a really nice building, with German quality all over the place.
	It's kind of a shame there isn't more space for all this.	Pictures of me with my swanky new quality-control-reject Kenneth Cole jacket. (I can't for the life of me figure out why it was rejected).
	Oooh, more food. Had to resist though. I was getting kinda full by this point.

		These are some of the charities that benefit from all this, I believe. Last year they raised 420.000 RMB, which is a goodly sum o' cash.
Afterwards, more walking around enjoying the nice weather. Such a great day for strolling.
Or sitting on your thumbs in bad traffic, if you're so inclined.