Slim Jim at Burg Satzvey for the Christmas market (Kat Nickola)

As we dash through the castle gate and cross the moat I run headfirst into a wall of fragrance. I stick my nose in the air and catch a warm grilled aroma – stockbrot (stick bread). Yum! I sneeze from the excitement of a smoky fire. A little further on there is the odor of something sharp and wild – leather and animals! I can tell already that the Burgweihnacht (castle Christmas) at Burg Satzvey is going to be a new favorite.

“Slim Jim, slow down!” Boss-Mom gives my lead a gentle tug. I glance at her, tongue lolling with excitement, and slow my pace to an eager trot.

Entrance to the Burg Satzvey Christmas market (Kat Nickola)

My family strolls around looking at the tents full of crafts that people handmade to sell at the market. Boss-Mom buys me a woolen ball that I can’t wait to rip apart. I help Girl-Child pick out some Christmas gifts; she chooses a nice little clay vase and a cool light made from bark that I will make a point not to chew on.

As we circle the castle, I watch both kids try their hands at archery. Then, Boy-Child holds a real owl! I want so badly to chase it, but I sit still like a good boy.

Birds of prey at Burg Satzvey Christmas market (Kat Nickola)

As a reward, we head to the food area behind the castle which is full of smoke-filled stalls and tasty treats cooking over fires. Boss-Mom gets some mead to warm her up while Boss-Dad and the kids wander into a restaurant tent. No one needs to convince me to go along, and they share bits of charred meat and crispy potato, hot off the stick.

It starts to get dark, and I curl up under the table. Suddenly, I notice trumpets playing and a donkey braying. I sit up and look at Boss-Mom with a head tilt. What is that? She reaches down to give me a gentle scrub behind my cocked ear. “I think it’s time to head over to the Nativity pageant.”

Slim Jim at Burg Satzvey for the Christmas market ()

We walk to a field past the tasty food and a new earthy exotic fragrance wafts over me. I pull hard on my leash to see the creatures standing beside a tent. I give a low conversational growl. Hello camels.

“Slim Jim don’t growl at the three wise men,” says Boss-Mom. I sit and wag my tail. Sorry. I hadn’t noticed the men in the tent. They wear long robes and crowns – way less interesting than the fuzzy camels. Soon another man in a black cloak approaches.

Camels in the Nativity pageant at Burg Satzvey Christmas market (Kat Nickola)

“Die Hörte mein gemeine, bei die Große und die Kleine,” he rhymes.

I don’t understand his High German and I don’t think all the people do either, but it doesn’t seem to matter. We wander along a trail while the cloaked man speaks, and we watch a couple of humans travel from place to place. Soon we are at a farmyard and there is a tiny baby in some hay. More importantly, there are some miraculous scents! I make my way past all the human legs to the fence where I see the donkeys, sheep and horses. I whimper. They are so cool.

It is getting crowded, and soon we walk around the moat toward the castle gate. I take a big sniff of all my favorite Christmas market smells – farm animals, old things and food on a fire. Now I can add camels to the list.

Slim Jim (Kat Nickola)

Burgweihnacht at Burg Satzvey in 2024