Nun Farts and Drinking Before Noon
Christmas Market posts are going to be popping up around the web for the next month. Europe is full of the markets and they are indeed pretty cool. Germany seems to be the center of the Christmas Market season and Freiburg is no different. Food and drink are central so here are local highlights.
A dreary Saturday morning I had an errand in town that I had to get done before the place closed at 1pm. I had seen a few things a few nights before that I wanted to look at more closely. Prime among them were Nonnenfürzle.
Gassy Nuns
I had seen these balls at Fasching time before and had heard a translation of Gassy Nuns for Nonnenfürzle. Furze are farts, so this somehow makes sense as Nun Farts. I asked the woman at the stall in our market about the name. I got the “it’s a long story about a nun.” Not really so helpful. Though a little bit of reading[*] in the web says that although the name is quite funny in modern German it comes from an older word that means something to the effect of best made by a nun. The second word on the sign here is Nonnenseufzer which translates to Nun Sighs. This would imply, at least to me, that the idea of these being Nun Farts is not a trick of the non-native German speaker mind and calling them Nun Sighs being a more polite form.
This little balls seem to be Schwäbisch in origin, though definitely a south western thing. They are apparently more common the closer to Fastnacht (party before Lent, like Mardi Gras) it gets. I know I have seen similar things in the bakeries as cream-cheese balls (Quarkbällchen) in the spring as well. Unsure if they are related
They are in essence a donut style dough that is fried as a ball and covered in sugar. These at our market had a filling of apple sauce which was really nice. I didn’t see fillings mentioned in too much of the online searches I did, though one mention of a cherry in the middle did sound nice.
For Americans, think perhaps a quite large donut hole that is lighter and served warm coated in sugar. They are bigger than a golf ball and served (at least at this stand) three for 1Euro 80 in a paper bag.
[*] : http://www.heimatverein-oberkochen.de/bericht453.htm
http://www.suedwest-aktiv.de/region/geislingerzeitung/aus_stadt_und_kreis/4156884/artikel.php
Drinking Before Noon
In addition to tasty treats, Christmas markets are well known for the mulled wein called Glühwein. It is nearly impossible to go to one without a mug of the steaming aromatic wine, the smell of which permeates the entire area of a market.
It is so common to meet friends for a Glühwein in the dark evenings after work that I just associate it with a nighttime thing. Partly because I have mainly experienced it that way and partly the American training that drinking before noon is a bad thing. The Germans however have none of this sillyness and there were plenty of people out before noon enjoying a steaming cup of wine.
I decided to wander the markets and found a stand run by the House of Badische Wine. A cup of white glühwein cost me 3 Euros and 2 for the deposit on their specific glasses. So in the hours before noon, there I was in Germany, drinking. What a neat life. Though I did find that gassy nuns being mostly sugar and fat the wine went to my head faster than I expected.
It’s Christmas Time
So, yeah. It’s Christmas time. Forget packed malls and hours of searching for a parking place, think crowded markets where everyone has a mug of steaming wine regardless of what time of the day it is. It’s gray skies and snow flurries and fried things with sugar. It’s a Christmas Market in Germany.
What to See in Freiburg, Germany - Freiburg Travel Tips
August 6, 2012 @ 7:18 am
[…] Christmas Markets for the four weeks of Advent in November and December. Summer brings wine fests both in Freiburg and surrounding towns. Summer also brings music and local fests in specific sections of town and on the castle hill. […]
Are Germans Any Fun? » Grounded Traveler - Expat Adventures in Germany
February 15, 2012 @ 9:41 pm
[…] Grown men and women in fanciful costumes jumping around making noise. There is even a group in Freiburg that has these great instruments that look to be welded together randomly. Festivals and the mirth and gaiety that comes with them in definitely part of German culture. Christmas markets and all that comes with is the center of most social outings in late November and December; honey and nun farts.. […]
The Longest Travel Day Ever | Ali's Adventures
February 14, 2012 @ 5:15 am
[…] to the Christmas markets where we enjoyed funnel cakes, glüwein, and something that translates to nun farts. Not a lot to report, but I had fun and recharged my mental batteries. It was also a good […]
Winter Getaways – Indie Travel Challenge » Grounded Traveler - Expat Adventures in Germany
January 30, 2012 @ 8:48 pm
[…] said, I do like the Christmas season of festivals and markets. And Fasching time in Germany can be a […]
Imker – Maker Of Things From Bees » Grounded Traveler - Expat Adventures in Germany
December 17, 2011 @ 5:41 pm
[…] deep yellow color are also common. At Christmas Market time, the markets attract more stalls. The second soggy Saturday in a row I ventured out to the Christmas market and an Imker stall to sample the wares and see what […]
December 7, 2011 @ 10:06 pm
We actually have a pretty large Christmas market in my home city of Manchester, England, every year – the traders come over from Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands so it is all authentic local produce from the different places. I love Gluhwein, so it is interesting to see it here as (I assume?) a white wine, as we normally have it as red. But I agree about the smell being everywhere! Also love the Nun Farts, they look very tasty – and the German language always seems to produce some funny translations!
December 7, 2011 @ 10:30 pm
Yeah, that is white glühwein. They had a blueberry version as well. I find that even non-mülled red wine doesn’t sit well on my stomach so I go for white when I can.
The odd thing about that translation is that it apparently developed from a non-funny word over time. Who knew there was humor in the German language.
Authentic imported stuff then? Cool. See if they have fried dough balls in any name!
December 7, 2011 @ 7:33 pm
Mmmmm – they look yummy! We really enjoyed our visit to the Vienna Christmas market – it’s awfully cold to be out in them but I do hope to see more in the future!
December 7, 2011 @ 10:28 pm
You just need more Glühwein when it gets colder. Or in extreme cases you sit in a pub and order Glühwein and Strudel.
December 6, 2011 @ 8:30 pm
Oh to be shopping in a Germany Christmas market instead of the boring mall! I would love to be eating Nun farts while sipping on gluhwein right now 🙂
December 7, 2011 @ 10:28 pm
Ahh.. the mall. Glad I don’t have to find a place to park to go to the market. Nor worry about drinking then driving home.
I wish you a happy shopping experience anyway. 🙂
December 6, 2011 @ 4:20 am
I find nothing wrong with nun farts and drinking before noon:)
December 7, 2011 @ 10:27 pm
Me neither. Should be a weekly thing. Maybe Mondays. Mondays would be good.
December 6, 2011 @ 2:40 am
Germany is the center of Christmas market, because they’re the real deal there, the rest of Europe just copied Germany on the matter.
I can’t that they’re called Nun farts in Germany too (they are in France).
December 7, 2011 @ 10:26 pm
Are they called the same in France as well? I wonder if there is a weird translation thing going on there. The sources I found says that the original word didn’t have anything to do with farts.
December 6, 2011 @ 1:05 am
I would love to try the nun farts!! I really need to get to a German Christkindlmarkt now!!! Thx for sharing.
December 7, 2011 @ 10:25 pm
Yeah you do. When are you coming?
December 5, 2011 @ 11:59 pm
Last night we went and got some nun-fart-like things that were called Mutzen! They looked almost exactly like the nun farts (but no applesauce like yours). So many different names for these things!
December 7, 2011 @ 10:24 pm
Mutzen? Like “caps”? Weird.
Yeah, even the recipes I saw online didn’t have the filling. This stand could just be applesauce mad. They were putting applesauce on the funnel cake too. Ali said this was weird. I trust her though have never had a funnel cake in the US.