christkindlmarket

Glüwein!

last night we finally made it to the christkindlmarket - hopefully not our last visit this season. our mission? drink a few boots-worth of glüwein, and get some bird ornaments for the tree!

i think we were successful on both fronts, but i'll let you be the judge of that.

tyler and i both love the christkindlmarket. it's a schlocky tourist trap, yes, but anywhere you can get a bavarian pretzel (or potato pancake, or bratwurst) and a nice boot filled with hot spiced wine can't be all bad. daley plaza always looks so pretty with the little booths and christmas lights, and it's become a tradition for us to go at least a couple of times and drink in the spirit of the season.

yum!

we always make a point to go to the sweet house, although usually we don't buy anything - we just mock a few of the weirder items (mozart balls, anyone?). the main destination for us, other than the beverage line, is the ornament vendors. some of the ornaments are really ridiculous (with price tags to match!) - i just can't imagine any scenario in which i would hang a glass pizza on my tree. they're fun to look at, and they have some really beautiful glass ornaments that look like the kind my grandparents had on their tree. we still don't have our christmas pickle. maybe next year!

however, we're more into the unbreakable ornament variety, since we're not sure if the cats might still try to give the tree a climb. maybe next year we can start buying the traditional heirloom fancy things - i'm pondering getting some garlands to hang ornaments on, away from the curious paws of the kitties.

our preferred source for the traditional german clippie bird, as we call them, is käthe wohlfahrt from rotherburg, germany. we got a pretty nice assortment this year. if anyone was wondering how many bird ornaments you can get for $15, here is your answer:

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