Cautious opening for Europe’s Christmas markets as Covid cases rise

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"111265417"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><p>Some of Europe’s Christmas markets have begun warily opening amid surging coronavirus infections&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In Germany&comma; the picturesque Frankfurt market is open over a wider area to thin out the crowds&comma; while in Budapest the markets are fenced off and customers have to show proof of vaccination&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Despite the restrictions&comma; it is a huge relief for merchants to be open after losing their Christmas business last year&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In Frankfurt&comma; the Christmas tree towers over the main square as chestnuts and sugared almonds are roasted&comma; and children clamber aboard the merry-go-round just like they did before the pandemic&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But a surge in coronavirus infections has left an uneasy feeling hanging over the market&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>To savour a mug of mulled wine masked customers must pass through a one-way entrance to a fenced-off wine hut&comma; stopping at the hand sanitiser station&period; Elsewhere&comma; security officers check vaccination certificates before letting customers head towards the steaming sausages and kebabs&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Despite the pandemic inconveniences&comma; stall owners selling ornaments&comma; roasted chestnuts and other Christmas-themed items in Frankfurt and other European cities are relieved to be open at all for their first Christmas market in two years&comma; especially with new restrictions taking effect in Germany&comma; Austria and other countries as Covid-19 infections hit record highs&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Merchants who have opened are hoping for at least a fraction of the pre-pandemic Christmas sales that can make or break their businesses&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Others are not so lucky&period; Many of the famous Christmas events have been cancelled in Germany and Austria&period; With the market closures goes the money that tourists would spend in restaurants&comma; hotels and other businesses&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Jens Knauer&comma; who crafts intricate&comma; lighted Christmas-themed silhouettes that people can hang in windows&comma; said his hope was simply that the Frankfurt market &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;stays open as long as possible”&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>While Christmas is 40&percnt; of annual revenue for many retailers and restaurateurs&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;with me&comma; it’s 100&percnt;”&comma; Mr Knauer said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;If I can stay open for three weeks&comma; I can make it through the year&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Sellers are on edge after other Christmas markets were abruptly shut down in Germany’s Bavaria region&comma; which includes Nuremberg&comma; home of one of the biggest and best-known markets&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Stunned exhibitors in Dresden had to pack up their goods when authorities in the eastern Saxony region suddenly imposed new restrictions amid soaring infections&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Austria’s markets closed as a 10-day lockdown began on Monday&comma; with many stall owners hoping they can reopen if it is not extended&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Markets usually attract elbow-to-elbow crowds to row upon row of ornament and food sellers&comma; foot traffic that spills over into revenue for surrounding hotels and restaurants&period; This year&comma; the crowds at Frankfurt’s market were vastly thinned out&comma; with the stalls spread out over a larger area&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Heiner Roie&comma; who runs a mulled wine hut in the shape of a wine barrel&comma; said he is assuming he will see half the business he had in 2019&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A shutdown would cause &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;immense financial damage — it could lead to complete ruin since we haven’t made any income in two years&comma; and at some point&comma; the financial reserves are used up”&comma; he said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But if people have a little discipline and observe the health measures&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I think we’ll manage it”&comma; he added&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Next door&comma; Bettina Roie’s guests are greeted with a sign asking them to show their vaccination certificates at her stand serving Swiss raclette&comma; a popular melted cheese dish&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The market &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;has a good concept because what we need is space&comma; room&comma; to keep some distance from each other”&comma; she said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;In contrast to a bricks-and-mortar restaurant&comma; they have their building and their walls&comma; but we can adjust ourselves to the circumstances&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The extended Roie family is a fifth-generation exhibitor business that also operates the merry-go-round on Frankfurt’s central Roemerberg square&comma; where the market opened on Monday&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Ms Roie said it was important to reopen &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;so that we can bring the people even during the pandemic a little joy – that’s what we do&comma; we bring back joy”&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The latest spike in Covid-19 cases has unsettled prospects for Europe’s economic recovery&comma; leading some economists to hedge their expectations for growth in the final months of the year&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Holger Schmieding&comma; chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London&comma; has cut his forecast for the last three months of the year in the 19 countries that use the euro from 0&period;7&percnt; to 0&period;5&percnt;&period; But he noted that the wave of infections is having less impact across the broad economy because vaccinations have reduced serious illnesses and many companies have learned to adjust&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Other European countries where the pandemic is not hitting as hard are returning to old ways&period; The traditional Christmas market in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor&comma; in the heart of the Spanish capital&comma; is due to open on Friday at the size it was before the pandemic&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It will have 104 stalls of nativity figures&comma; decorations and traditional sweets in a country where 89&percnt; of those 12 or older are fully vaccinated&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Last year&comma; it had half the number of stalls and restricted the number of people allowed in the square&period; Masks and social distancing will remain mandatory&comma; organisers said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In Hungary’s capital of Budapest&comma; Christmas markets have been fenced off and visitors must show proof of vaccination to enter&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Gyorgy Nagy&comma; a producer and seller of handmade glazed crockery&comma; said the restrictions initially stirred worries of fewer shoppers&period; But business has been good so far&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I don’t think the fence is bad&comma;” he said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;At the beginning&comma; we were scared of it&comma; really scared&comma; but I think it’s fine&period; I don’t think it will be a disadvantage&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In Vienna&comma; markets were packed last weekend as people sought some Christmas cheer before Austria’s lockdown&period; Merchants say closures last year and the new restrictions have had disastrous consequences&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The main sales for the whole year are made at the Christmas markets – this pause is a huge financial loss&comma;” said Laura Brechmann&comma; who sold illuminated stars at the Spittelberg market before the lockdown began&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We hope things will reopen&comma; but I personally don’t really expect it&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div style&equals;"padding-bottom&colon;15px&semi;" class&equals;"wordads-tag" data-slot-type&equals;"belowpost">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div id&equals;"atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed11dec63c3">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<script type&equals;"text&sol;javascript">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;getAdSnippetCallback &equals; function &lpar;&rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;if &lpar; false &equals;&equals;&equals; &lpar; window&period;isWatlV1 &quest;&quest; false &rpar; &rpar; &lbrace;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&sol;&sol; Use Aditude scripts&period;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;tudeMappings &equals; window&period;tudeMappings &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&semi;&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;window&period;tudeMappings&period;push&lpar; 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