Sorry if the photo is a bit blurry but my hands were cold. This is a shot of one of the many stands at the Christmas market (or Weihnachtsmarkt in German) in Schmalkalden, Germany. I was visiting this central German town on part of a chocolate & candy tour through Germany. Schmalkalden is in a kind of random part of Germany, but the small town (population is around 20,000) has an incredibly scenic downtown. Old buildings and surrounded by forested mountains on all sides. Reminded me of toned-down version of a very Christmas-y Bavaria even though Schmalkalden isn’t in Bavaria….
I was in Schmalkalden visiting the Viba Nougat factory. Germans love their nougat candies and Viba has been around since 1893 selling German-style nougat and pralines. In February the company is planning to open up an entire museum & learning center solely about nougat. I had a small preview of the new complex and I have to say it looks like an impressive undertaking. But, like I said, Germans really do love their nougat nougat candy.
Read about more travel information about Schmalkalden, Germany. Also, if you look closely you’ll see Cybele from the very tasty Candy Blog.