The exterior of the large, blue stained glass structure even looks The scrumptious smells made me giddy in hungry anticipation. There seemed to be mainly two food groups: Sweet and Fattening, and Sour and Fattening. The latter included fish burgers, or buns stuffed with fresh herring, mackerel, salmon and deep fried potato cakes served with apple sauce. Of course the obligatory pretzels, steaks and sausages were also being consumed with gusto. I also discovered a Hungarian speciality called "langos," or freshly made bread which was then deep fried and topped with vegetables and or meat. A very enthusiastic customer at the stall assured me that oil saturated bread was "very, very good."

I must confess, however, that my sweet tooth drew me toward the sweeter smelling areas. The whiff of roasting cashew, macadamia, pecan and peanuts was particularly potent. They were being caramelised in a dark mixture with dashes of champagne or rum, amaretto and cognac, at least according to some of the signs in German which I was able to decipher. There were also deep red caramelised apples, dark and white chocolate coated bananas and waffles and a huge variety of biscuits. Stalls serving "Glüwein" or hot mulled wine were also very popular. As I found out the following morning, a cup of this brewed red wine sweetened with oranges, lemons and exotic spices assures a good night's rest.

Apart from the variety of edibles, many stalls were also selling bibelots and handicrafts. These included fluffy teddy bears, wooden toys, crystals and fossils, scented soaps, candles, jewellery and ceramics. One of my favorite stalls sold brushes of all shapes and sizes for a range of imaginable and unimaginable activities. For example, one was designed to clean grooves in wooden ceilings. Another's soft bristles were perfectly suited to exfoliate a sensitive face.

The festivities were also enhanced by a constant stream of live music, which included both traditional and not so traditional pieces.

However, not everyone was enjoying the Christmas spirit. "This has become too commercialised now. The festival in Siersburg, which began in the middle ages, is much nicer," remarked one woman. But I had quite enough excitement for one night.