Visions of Sugarplums(?) at the Wiener Christkindlmarkt

In between errands today I strolled through Vienna's most touristy Christmasmarkt, with the hope of finding a small, and somewhat nutritious nibbly. No such luck. Instead I found stall after stall of sugar and spice and mostly everything nice.

Buckets of Zuckerwatte.

 Pastries roasting in front of an open (faux) fire.

 Farm doughnuts.

 American-style doughnuts.

 All the self-serve Kekse one desires.

Looking at this sign made my teeth hurt. A waffle topped with cream and chocolate smarties. 

Speaking of chocolate, this stall offered skewers of fruit to drench in the fountain. Almost nutritious, but not quite.

I can not look at these creme rolls without cringing slightly, be it at the grocery or Christmasmarkt. They are like creme puffs on steroids to me. Blech.

These Tredelnik  (Baumkuchen in Austria), though, are much more to my liking. A hollow tube of dough baked on a stick and then rolled gently in cinnamon or vanilla sugar. Simple and not overly sweet. They are Hungarian in origin, and are also favored by the Czechs and Slovaks (and, apparently, the Viennese). We tried them in Budapest last fall and have been hooked ever since.

I enjoyed my Tredelnik with some Punsch, but not the "Energy Punsch," whatever that may have been. Then it was off to find something for lunch with a little protein.