Crowds at the mulled wine stands – hardly any crowds in the shops
Marion kruger-hundrup michael kresser had had enough shortly after 8 p.M. The flower dealer at the green market packed advent wreaths and fir branches onto the trolley. "I did my main business by day," she says, he said. Experience has shown that it is not worthwhile for him to keep his stall open for much longer. But of course "I am for the long shopping night, the people want to be entertained", kresser added laconically.
"The people, the crowd that pushed its way through the fubganger zone in the late hours of saturday evening was overwhelmingly young. Then an old gentleman, who was carefully pacing his dachshund on a leash, caught the eye directly. And also the elderly woman, who rummaged in the waste garbage can at the fruit market for deposit bottles and beverage cans. Her plastic bag was already full to bursting.
As she shuffled along, she glanced at the gluhwein stands. These were besieged by young people, who had cups with the steaming drink in their hands and chatted animatedly with friends.
Crowds of people at the maxplatz
The same picture at the christmas market on maxplatz. Crowds of people formed wherever there was something to eat and drink. The stalls with woolen mufflers, cake utensils or christmas handicrafts, on the other hand, hardly attracted any visitors.
Appropriately, street musician gerard george kettel belted out the song "summer wine" in front of the fashion house wohrl unperturbed into the dark december night.
Inside, the shops were brightly lit, waiting for customers. There were one or two stores that were not even open, especially in the side streets of the pedestrian zone.
In other stores, the saleswomen stood helplessly between clothing racks: no one came in. The osiander bookstore, on the other hand, was very popular. Perhaps some of those plagued by sudden sleep disturbances were lacking a bedtime reading. Or else the coincidence reeled him in. Like the 28-year-old bamberg woman who openly admitted "not knowing anything about the long shopping night" and now spontaneously took the opportunity to buy a little something for her sick friend.
The many men who were dragged to the jewelry stores by their partners were concerned with anything but trifles. Under the christmas tree it should finally sparkle and flash.
Others were content with less expensive prizes: the one-euro store was full to bursting. The crowds at karstadt, however, were overwhelming: the jewelry display cases were surrounded, but the customers got lost on the higher floors. In the almost deserted women’s clothing department, a woman with various sweaters over her arm strolled to the changing cubicles: "during the long shopping night, there are more staff and you get better advice", the bamberger, at a ripe old age, welcomed the timing of her business visit.
In search of clarity
Even those who desperately needed a new pair of glasses at night were in good hands in the impressive shops. Night blindness seemed to be a particular phenomenon of adolescence: it was astonishing how many young adults were on the lookout for the right vision! And how many were convinced that pomegranates and co. The fruit and vegetable vendors taste better at 9 p.M. Than at 9 a.M.
No further information is available on the further development of the shopping night until midnight. Until the cash register crashes. Down to the last glass of wine.