6/22/2023 0 Comments Vienna christmas market 2021 covid![]() Austria’s markets closed as a 10-day lockdown began Monday, with many stall owners hoping they could reopen if it’s not extended. Stunned exhibitors in Dresden had to pack up their goods when authorities in the eastern Saxony region suddenly imposed new restrictions amid soaring infections. Purveyors are on edge after other Christmas markets were abruptly shut down in Germany’s Bavaria region, including Nuremberg, home of one of the biggest and best-known markets. “If I can stay open for three weeks, I can make it through the year.” ![]() While Christmas is 40% of annual revenue for many retailers and restaurateurs, “with me, it’s 100%,” Knauer said. Jens Knauer, who crafts intricate, lighted Christmas-themed silhouettes that people can hang in windows, said his hope was simply that the Frankfurt market “stays open as long as possible.” With the market, closures go the money tourists would spend in restaurants, hotels, and other businesses. Many of the famous holiday events have been canceled in Germany and Austria. Merchants who have opened are hoping for at least a fraction of the pre-pandemic holiday sales that can make or break their businesses. Especially with new restrictions taking effect in Germany, Austria, and other countries as COVID-19 infections hit record highs. Elsewhere, security officers check vaccination certificates before letting customers head for the steaming sausages and kebabs.ĭespite the pandemic inconveniences, stall owners selling ornaments, roasted chestnuts, and other holiday-themed items in Frankfurt and other European cities are relieved to be open at all for their first Christmas market in two years. To savor a mug of mulled wine - an uncomplicated rite of winter in pre-pandemic times - masked customers must pass through a one-way entrance to a fenced-off wine hut, stopping at the hand sanitizer station. But a surge in coronavirus infections has left an uneasy feeling hanging over Frankfurt’s Christmas market. The chestnuts and sugared almonds are roasted, and kids are clambering aboard the merry-go-round just like they did before the pandemic. The holiday tree is towering over the main square in this central German city. ![]() Despite the pandemic inconveniences, stall owners selling ornaments, roasted chestnuts and other holiday-themed items in Frankfurt and other European cities are relieved to be open at all for their first Christmas market in two years, especially with new restrictions taking effect in Germany, Austria and other countries as COVID-19 infections hit record highs. FILE – Lights illuminate the Christmas market in Frankfurt, Germany, Nov. ![]()
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