On Tuesday night after work I went with A. to Sofia's Christmas Market. The market is located between Sofia University and parliament in the little park that separates the two.

It's really cute but very small but I think that's to be expected. The park isn't really very big and this is the first year of the market.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Weihnachtsmarkt Sofia"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Weinachtsmarket Sofia" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6480318919/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6480318919_120f13d362_b.jpg" alt="Weihnachtsmarkt Sofia" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

The Weihnachtsmarkt has all of the necessary staples: hot wine, pretzels and wurst as well as little houses with Christmas things for sale. The night I was there, there was also a big group of German speaking men there making the whole thing feel extra-authentic.

Even after a whole <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/12/04/christmas-markets-in-vienna/" target="_blank">weekend in Vienna Christmas market-ing</a>, I found myself thinking: this is small but cute. Before going, I'd worried that I might be disappointed. I wasn't. <!--more-->That probably says something about either the market or my standards.

One fact that supports my claim is that all of the signage is in both Bulgarian and German. <em>Super cute</em>. I love details like that.

Anyhow, while small, it's worth checking out because really the reason to go is to drink hot wine outside. <em>Who are we kidding?!</em>

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Sofia&#39;s Christmast Market Wine"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Sofia's Christmast Market Wine" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6480321401/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6480321401_ea8f48720f_b.jpg" alt="Sofia's Christmast Market Wine" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

The mulled wine was good. It was hot, sweet and fragrant. I only had one cup full but given a chance I'd have had a second. About the hot wine. A. told me: this one smells better than yours but it's really sweet. I took this to mean that mine smelled spicier but tasted better. It did get me thinking about how I could tweak my recipe a little.

Here's my big complaint I would have loved my own Sofia Christmas Market mug of wine rather than a styrofoam cup but frankly that's a pretty small thing. I had the best intentions of making A. take my photo with my styrofoam cup of hot wine but the rain ruined this plan as well as our plan to eat German wurst. So our Christmas market adventure ended at a nearby pizza restaurant rather than with wurst and a pretzel. <em>Such is life</em>.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614" caption="Christmas Market in Sofia"]<a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Large" title="Christmas Market in Sofia" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6480320661/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7014/6480320661_981481d090_b.jpg" alt="Christmas Market in Sofia" width="614" height="410" /></a>[/caption]

Rain aside, December in Sofia is really the prefect time to drink hot wine outside with friends. Really a Christmas market in the shadow of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a charming thing--so get out there and enjoy it.