Tuomaan markkinat 2004

« Warm glögi at the St. Thomas Market which, judging by the price, is lacking vodka. A few pictures from Tuomaan markkinat 2004. »

Christmas markets are always a lot of fun if only to look around and eat food that could harden the arteries of the most healthy person on the planet. The novelty from last year had already worn off and many of the same vendors returned this year, but there is always something you either missed or see in a different way no matter how many times you visit. The afternoon was very grey and gloomy and the market was quite crowded which made for a challenge to get a coherent set of photographs. It's as if November got pissed off over the cold weather and the snow and has taken over in December so we have warm, foggy, gloomy days instead of cold, crisp, snowy days as we should.

The highlight of the afternoon had to be the Santarchists careening through the market and surrounding the 'real' santa while singing and drinking beer. :) The theme of most of the products in the market tend to be practical items of clothing or housewares. I'm not really sure if this is aimed more at tourists or at the locals since some of the products are labelled with "Finland" as souvenirs. In the US Christmas markets I've been to, the offerings tend to be a lot more impractical, aside from the food, with lots of gaudy holiday trimmings for the home.

The polenta dogs were back this year and I really wish they'd be available at the grillis for late night snacks. Jarkko bought a kääretorttu, something that looks like a Hostess Hoho only without the "chocolate" coating, filled with buttercreme, and is the size of a yule log. It could kill a diabetic if they stood too close to it, not to mention the borderline heart cases on a low cholesterol diet. We also got a lihakukko, a meat variation of the fish varieties of the rye crust enveloped lard and meat loaf which is then baked. It's delicious in a i-can-feel-my-arteries-hardening-while-i-chew kind of way. :) Mmmmm....