Christmas markets canceled: where to go with mulled wine and the like? – District of Munich

It is a gray November morning and only a few days until the first Advent. In the district, as everywhere in Bavaria, many Christmas markets should open. Helga Seybold pushes open the huge door to the warehouse. You can already see from the outside: the shelves are full to the ceiling. What is piled up here is what should sweeten the days leading up to Christmas in the Advent season: 30 tons of almonds, 30,000 liters of mulled wine, 15,000 giant chocolate kisses in 24 flavors and boxes of gingerbread. The chocolate manufacturer Fesey in the Hohenbrunn district of Riemerling has ordered all the goodies to be sold on to the stalls at the Christmas markets. But they have now been canceled due to Corona and Fesey, like everyone who has long been on 3G or 2G for punch and bratwurst in the fresh air, is sitting on the perishable goods.

Fesey is a family business. The production of hollow figures from chocolate has a long tradition, meanwhile the third generation has entered the business with the Santa Clauses and Easter bunnies. However, in addition to their own production, the Seybolds also operate a wholesale business for the sale of confectionery in markets. They have 55 employees.

This morning they try to make the best of the situation. Junior boss Maximilian Seybold has advertised on social networks: There is now a factory outlet every day with special prices. After all, a car pulls up every now and then, the trunk is loaded with chocolate kisses. Sometimes someone takes six ten-liter canisters of mulled wine with them. It hardly empties the warehouse, and it does not even come close to making up for the loss. Helga Seybold sighs. It was very difficult to procure the goods in time for Munich, Bavaria and Vienna because of the disrupted supply chains caused by the pandemic. And now the last-minute cancellations.

Sometimes someone drives up and loads the trunk full of chocolate kisses

CSU councilor Helga Seybold accuses politicians above all of making decisions so late. At a time when the stalls were already set up in some places and the goods were about to be delivered. Unlike last winter, when it was clear much earlier that there would be no Christmas markets. The fact that the small dealers have now canceled the orders cannot be blamed. “Where should they go with two tons of almonds?” She says. Even the giant kisses cannot be stored forever. They can be kept until the beginning of January. And then? Helga Seybold shrugs her shoulders. Of course, Fesey has already donated a few boxes to the food banks, “but we can’t give everything away either, we need the money”.

Open detailed view

Showmen can apply for state aid, but that doesn’t lighten their mood either. Kurt Geier Senior from Unterschleißheim is a fixture at the Munich Christmas market. Geiser’s almond kitchen is well known. His stand has been on Kaufinger Strasse for decades. Again this year everything was prepared, the stand was set up, cleaned and prepared, says his son, Kurt Geier Junior, and sounds desperate. He has just brought the booth back to the warehouse in Neustadt an der Donau by truck. A lot of work, all in vain. “If things continue like this, I see black for all showmen,” he says.

In the center of Unterhaching on this first weekend in Advent, a lonely Christmas tree rises up into the snow-covered sky. This is where the stalls with the warm drinks, the knitted socks, the gingerbread hearts and the bratwurst rolls should be. As a precaution, the trade association had already moved the event to the Hachinga Hall in order to ensure greater distances. But these plans also nullified the high number of corona cases. “Fortunately, we canceled early enough so that our stall operators, including many clubs, could adjust to it,” says chairwoman Susanne Röder.

In fact, the butcher’s Bauch stopped all planning and orders at an early stage with a view to the current infection situation. “I had hoped to be wrong with the decision, but the numbers came exactly as predicted by leading virologists like Christian Drosten,” says Korbinian Rausch. The only positive thing about the situation is that the butcher’s shop now has no unnecessary inventory and has been able to avert food waste.

Five weeks on the sewing machine – all for free

The Agenda 21 team, on the other hand, baked and cooked a lot. Christmas cookies and quince jelly were to be sold as well as gift packages made from Fairtrade products. Now the Agenda people are organizing an Advent day on Saturday, December 11th at the “Treffpunkt” on Hofmarktweg and hope that a lot will go over the counter. Mulled wine, on the other hand, is likely to keep a little longer than Christmas cookies, which is why the trade association is planning an early spring market where you could still feel like a hot drink. Stefan Braun from the Edeka store of the same name is also trying to help and immediately offers individual stall operators his parking space.

In Baierbrunn, the community wants to help the associations with two huts at the weekly market. These are to be made available alternately in the coming weeks to offer mulled wine or crêpes, but also knitwear or jam. “At the request of the clubs, we canceled our Christmas market so early that no bulk purchases had taken place,” says Mayor Patrick Ott. In addition, as Nikolaus, he wants to organize a “drive-through” with small presents for children on December 6th in front of the town hall.

It’s not just food that is perishable at Christmas. Petra Obermeier sat at the sewing machine for five weeks producing Christmas decorations in the hope of selling all the lovingly designed stars, deer and pixies at the Grasbrunn Christmas market. “Of course, I can try to offer things online,” she says, “but the business lives off of getting in touch with customers and they are also able to take things in hand.” Now she has packed everything in big boxes, in the hope that the colors and motifs will still be trendy in the coming year.