On our way out of town on Sunday, we decided to stop at the big Christkindl Market on Daley street in downtown Chicago. Alex and I went to one in Cherry Creek in Denver several years ago and had a lot of fun, so we wanted to see how an even larger one would compare. Chicago's did not disappoint. Alex is half German (Hi Monika! :-D) and I have a bit of German ancestry myself; this feels like the perfect way to celebrate that. We ate DELICIOUS apple strudel, I tried German spiced, hot wine (Achtung! It was POTENT!), and we had the most amazing German potatoes and bratwurst with sauerkraut. German food is fantastic. It was a freezing cold rainy day, and I wasn't sure Dresden would be able to tolerate any time there whatsoever from the way he was frozen stiff and shivering from the get-go, but he and Alex spent some time in a warming tent while I went around and looked at the booths with crafts and Christmas ornaments, and he had some hot cocoa, which seemed to do the trick. It was yet another perfect reminder that Christmas was just around the corner, and a great way to continue to kick off the season. That's really what I love about Thanksgiving, that it's basically just a nice little segue into Christmas! When we went to the market in Denver we bought a handmade German ornament to commemorate the occasion, so we picked out one this year too, and are going to try and make it a tradition to go to a Christkindl market every year and get an ornament.
A view of the tree in the market square
Alex trying to keep Dresden warm
The strudel stand
The booth where we got our brat and potatoes...
Waiting for strudel...
A big nutcracker. I love nutcrackers.
Waiting to be eaten...
The face of a first-time spiced-wine drinker, before...
And after...
There were so many booths I couldn't cover all of them. It was way too cold!
The tree and a steeple...
We had a great time at the market, and it was a perfect ending to our trip! Oh, and Dresden could not get enough of the strudel; he loved it. Because we spent so much time in the city at the market, our trip home was a little uneven. We only made it to St. Louis for the night, so day two was REALLY long, but it was worth it. Chicago Thanksgiving 2011 was a success!!!
Love,
Cassie
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