Karlsruhe Local Custom Tips by marielexoteria

Flammkuchen

Flammkuchen is a snack that comes from the Alsace region in France. It's pretty much dough rolled very thin, with creme fraiche, onions and bacon, baked in a wood-fired oven. There's a sweet variation too, with apples and cinnamon but I think you can use almost anything as topping. I tried the salty one and it was good (after removing the onions from it) and crunchy.

A recipe for Flammkuchen can be found at Cookbook @ Wikipedia.

Glühwein & Eierpunsch

Glühwein is a hot mulled wine drink that you will find in any Christmas market in Karlsruhe (and Heidelberg and probably all over the country). The drink is based on red wine and spices like cinnamon, cloves and citrus (the recipe depends on who makes it) and you can even buy little bags of Glühwein spices to make your own at home =) Glühwein reminded me of the Nordic "glögg" and vino moscatel from my home land (although we drink it cold or at room temperature).

Eierpunsch is another yummy hot drink that I drank in Bretten and Durlach. It reminds of eggnog, but it's creamier and they sell it with extra whipped cream on top. I liked it very much, which is weird because I don't like eggnog (the home country has something similar, also a tradition in Christmas time, called "Ponche Crema de Oro".)

In both cases, the drinks are quite cheap and once you're done with the mug you can get some money back by returning it (I think I got 2 euros back), but if you wanna keep it nobody will tell you not to - since you already paid for it when you paid for the drink and it makes for a nice, useful and unique souvenir, as they make new mugs every year.

What a way to keep warm!!!!