As Winter dawns on us and the days grow shorter and the evenings lengthen in Bratislava, it's not all gloom. Come the 28th of November once again the main squares of the Old Town will be filled with stalls, people and enough hot beverages to keep you warm until the Summer months - well not quite, but until late December anyway!
Last year Hlavne námestie (the main square) and Hviezdoslavovo námestie (long square) were the hub of the Christmas market activities, with Frantiskanske námestie housing a few choice drink and craft stalls. Expect the same this year.
When it comes to food you have a few different options on hand at the markets. For those who want to push their Christmas market experience to the limit there is goose fat and raw onion served up on bread (mastny chleba s cibulou) though, admittedly, I was not one of these brave souls. For others there are savoury (once again goose fat features) and sweet pancakes called lokše. One of my 
©Kevin Troyfriends found out last year that something that looks like chocolate lokše isn't necessarily chocolate lokše, but lokše with poppy seeds - good all the same but more likely to get stuck in your teeth. Shish kebabs with chicken and vegetables, chicken burgers (kuracia cigánska) or pork burgers (bravčová cigánska) and a wide range of tantalising sausages called klobása - a definite Christmas favourite of mine. For those preferring the vegetarian option corn on the cob is served, some partially cooked in dead animal fat, so it pays to spy before you buy. If these savoury delicacies don't appeal to you, you could head straight for a giant ginger bread love heart or another sugary treat that can be found at a lot of stalls and I'm almost certain will keep you on a sugar high for hours.
Hot alcoholic refreshments are in abundance; red (červené) and white (biele) mulled wine (varené vino), medovina, punč (it really does pack a punch) and grog can be found in most of the stalls. The hot drinks can be served in a choice of dcls, three for a small and five for a large cup. Try to shop around when buying your hot drinks - one bad mulled wine doesn't account for the whole place. And one good mulled wine doesn't mean there aren't many more that are as good if not better waiting at another stall for you to try! Taking turns buying rounds with your friends is a great idea but a word to the wise - take someone along to help you carry the drinks, scalding hot liquid can be quite uncomfortable even through winter gloves.
Another good thing about the markets is the wide range of crafts on offer, just in time to buy all your family and friends something a little special for Christmas. There are a large amount of tacky souvenirs floating around out there for all the frantic sightseers wanting to snap up a bargain. But if you look closely enough you can find a few gems, like quality ceramics or bottles of Slovak Medovina, which would make any parent, aunt or uncle pleased, or in my case brother and sister in law - they don't need to know how much it costs in "real money" either.
©Kevin TroyThe Christmas markets are a great way to start the festive season. During the day they are quieter and you have a little more room to manoeuvre around the craft stalls, be a little put off by the amount of fat that the food is grilled in, grab a hot beverage and wander back to work. At night when the lights are turned on, the squares fills with jolly locals, the grilled meats smell so good and the drinks so sweet. To meet and spend time with some good friends and to kick start the festive season, I couldn't think of a better place to be, even for a Christmas cynic like me.
