Heisse Maroni

One of the trademarks of the cooler weather and the upcoming Christmas season in Basel are the "heisse Maroni" stands throughout the city. Heisse Maroni are hot, roasted chestnuts. I've walked by these stands a million times (OK, maybe not that many) but until today had not tried them. After leaving my volunteering job (how's that for an oxymoron) at Centrepoint today, I decided to pick up some heisse Maroni as I walked along the Barfüsserplatz where they are setting up for the Weihnachtsmarkt. Although they smell really good, and I feel like there's something really aesthetically appealing about holding this paper cone of warm, recently-roasted chestnuts, I'm not sure that I like them. They're kind of weird (both in texture and flavor). I'm glad I tried them because now I know what they taste like, but I think from now on I'll look for stands where they sell Glühwein instead.