Christkindlmarkt
As many of you may have noticed, one of the activities on my to-do list for this wonderfully (annoyingly) rainy Christmas season was to visit the Christkindlmarkt, which is the German name for a Christmas market. In particular, I wanted to visit the one in Chicago. Why? ‘Cuz it’s close and amazing and I love it! :p
Now, as you look below on my ‘activities to do’ list, you’ll see I crossed it off. Aka I went! Woo! Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed with it this year… 
No, it wasn’t because Chicago was so gosh darn foggy you couldn’t see half the buildings(Gebaüde), or the mist in the air that dampened my hair, or the drizzle of rain that began to fall later in the day. Rather, it was the chaos! And when I say chaos, I mean chaos!
Christkindlmarkt in Chicago is an open-air market set up on Daley Plaza for the Christmas season. This year it runs from November 20th to December 24th and is jam-packed with stalls from around the world. Naturally, many of the stalls are from Germany because this market in Chicago is inspired by the one in Nurmberg, Germany, which started in 1545. Long tradition!
As such, this place is constantly full! It’s not super big, but there’s lots to eat, lots to see, and lots to buy. It’s also the biggest Christmas market in Chicago, meaning that it draws a large crowd, a VERY large crowd! My brother, sister-in-law, and shortly after it opened, maybe around noon or so. It was so full that we just barely squeezed our way. We couldn’t get close to any of the stalls and were only barely able to shove our way back out, deciding that the masses were a bit much for our leisurely weekend. (We ended up coming back later in the evening, which was much nicer! ^.^)
But what’s there to do at Christkindlmarkt?
Lots! There are dozens of stalls selling traditional Bavarian food, such as bratwurst, sauerkraut, potato pancakes, Bretzel(giant pretzels), strudel, Austrian chocolate, French crepes, and there was even a stall selling Dönerkebab this year(traditionally a Turkish dish similar to that of a gyro, it has become quite common to find in Germany nowadays. P.s. It’s awesome.)
Though, food isn’t the only thing you’ll find in Christkindlmarkt. Dozens of stalls sell Christmas ornaments, Christmas lanterns, German coo-coo clocks, winter clothing, and so much more! Truly, one can find just about anything in this market, even a steaming glass of Glühwin, which is German mulled wine. It’s a staple in German houses this time of year. So, naturally Americans take part. :p
| Movies To Watch 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Love Actually 6) Home Alone 7) Home Alone 2 8) Nothing Like the Holidays 9) 10) 11) 12) |
Activities To Do 1) 2) 3) Build a Gingerbread House 4) 5) 6) 7) Build a Snowman 8) Snowball Fight 9) Complete Holiday Puzzle 10) Read ‘A Christmas Carol’ 11) Christmas Party 12) |
Have you ever visited a Christmas market? Or perhaps an actual Christkindlmarkt? What was your favorite part?
Melanie Noell Bernard 
Beautiful 🙂 Merrrrry Christmas!
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