A UK Christmas market has been feeling the warmth from an unusual source after angry customers gave it a roasting on TripAdvisor.
The Frankfurt Christmas Market in Birmingham has been upsetting sleighfuls of revellers for having a market that ‘doesn’t really exist.’
“Worst Christmas Market Ever. This is not a Christmas Market but an Al Fresco Food Sale. Not enough stalls selling Christmas Goods or Gifts. Too many Bratwurst and Glüwein stalls peddling supposed fare of Frankfurt. If you’ve ever been to a German Christmas Market, you would be sorely disappointed” said one reviewer on TripAdvisor.
“Waste of time. Came from Wales to visit the markets and buy some Christmas gifts. Nothing here apart from sausage, nut and beer stalls, then more sausage, nut and beer stalls. Overpriced and so very busy. My advice is to go elsewhere to get a Christmassy experience.” ranted another.
“One of the worse ones I’ve visited, really busy and mainly food and drink it’s like an outside pub crawl. I prefer the smell of chestnuts but the predominant smell was cannabis. I saw a handful of craft stalls and thought I’d missed something until I read the recent reviews.” added a third.
Visitors bemoaned the lack of an actual market, gifts and presents and instead compared it to a glorified food and drink venue, but outside in the cold.
“When this started, years ago, it was a great market for Christmassy gifts, crafts, interesting things. Now it’s just overpriced beer and bratwurst. Nothing authentic about it at all. Go elsewhere for a Christmas market.”
Although overall the market scored just two out of a possible five on the reviews platform, not everyone was disappointed.
“Look forward to this every year, gluwein music and fun. Also plenty of others bars around once you’ve had your German wurst and a pint or two. The stalls are the usual mixture of salt rock crystals, marshmallows, wooden toys and waffles. But hey ho, Christmas can’t begin until we’ve been.” one chipped in.
While another added “A good, if very busy xmas market. More food stalls than anything else but well worth a trip.”
The Daily Express reported a Birmingham City Council spokesperson as saying: “The Frankfurt Christmas Market brings millions of visitors into the city each year, providing a huge economic boost for the city as these visitors will also visit Birmingham’s shops, hotels, restaurants and other attractions. It remains an incredibly popular event and has been so for over 20 years.”