Dresden Part 2: Gluhwein, Ottoman Tents, and Stollen

Wayward Wine’s EU Austerity Drinking Tour continues today in Dresden (see last Monday’s post). We start the day armed with museum passes (since the night prior was a Meissen tease).

But we weary after a fine exhibit of Russian diplomacy gifts. We almost skip the Dresden Armory, but accidentally stumble into the Turkish Chamber. Amongst many Ottoman weapons, flags, and armor dating from 1591, we stop beneath a tent from August the Strong’s Zeithain encampment against the Turks.

From 1729, this 66 foot long tent of satin, cotton, gilt leather took 14 years to restore. It is amazing.

With the sun setting, we pop into the eclectic Jagerhof folklore collection.

At least the building was cool (the collection felt more like an estate sale). Hungry, we head to town center to hunt down Dresden’s famed Christmas markets:

We pass the WWII wiped out Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) that was only restored in 1994 (the white blocks are new). Soon we are in the thick of Dresden’s bustling Christmas Markets. On high sits the Stollen chalet, where Dresden’s best bakers churn out the freshest of freshest, most amazing baked good the world has ever seen.

No stale fruitcake here! We gorge on moist, sweet, spongy, rum-filled, powdered sugar magic merely disguised as bread.

Dresden is so belligerent in its pride for Stollen, it elects a Stollenmaedchen (stollen maiden) working at a bakery to promote this wondrous dessert and then cut it with a knife nearly her height.

To quench our stollen-laden thirst, we turn to Glühwein (see! Finally a wine review!)

Kelterei Elm, Hüttenfeuer Öko-Glühwein, red wine, sugar, spices. Germany. Organic €3.50 from our local, fairly communist, organic, cooperative, grocery store:

APPEARANCE: looks a hazy, med plus purple. AROMAS: smell clean, developed, and moderately of cinnamon, clove, orange, and black cherry. PALATE: feels very sweet, but also very acidic (this is cool climate Germany), with med minus alcohol 10% (ditto), medium body. FLAVORS: taste medium plus intense flavors of…well, it’s glühwein people, drink it hot with stollen. Very spicy and orange driven. Medium length. Good (3 of 5).