Sunday, December 10, 2023

Enjoying Some Old-World Holiday Fun at "Kriskindlmarkt" in Sparta Wisconsin

I have been envious for years of Europe's Christmas Markets.  I've longed to go to overseas for the holidays just to go shopping at the markets and see all the Christmas lights and displays.  So just imagine my surprise when I discovered I didn't need to travel thousands of miles away from home to have this old world experience, and I could get a taste of it in the small town of Sparta, only one and half hours away from my house.


Sparta Wisconsin is located in west-central Wisconsin and has a population of 10,025 residents.  But during Christmas, that population increases with visitors from all over the state to see how this tiny little town is transformed into a European Christmas Market.


Bavarian-style huts line the streets and town square.  These huts are filled with goods from both local and non-local Artisans and lots, and lots of great food!  The market is open starting the final weekend of November and three weekends in December.  The Artisans change daily so if you live nearby, you may want to come more than once!  


Because this is Wisconsin it does get cold, so they have plenty of fire pits to warm up!  We enjoyed all our food while standing near a toasty fire.  Pictured below are roasted pralines!


I wish we could have been there at night to see the place all lit up.  I can only imagine how beautiful it must be with all the stringed lights I saw.



There are 27 vendor huts in all, located in three clusters in the downtown area:  Meuller Square (pictured above), Creekside Village (pictured below), and Love Lock Village (named after it's Love Lock Bridge ).


Sparta's Kristkindlmarkt is inspired by Germany's Christkindlmarkt.  I would have preferred they would have kept the "Christ" in their celebration and not changed the name.  Christkindlmarkt  is literally translated to "Christ-Child Market". It is a German tradition dating back to medieval times where an outdoor street market is held during the four weeks of Advent. 


There is a full schedule of holiday entertainment at Kriskindlmarkt too.  Some events are a holiday evening parade, musical performances, chainsaw-carving, and an appearance by Santa and Mrs. Claus.


We arrived right at lunch time and spent most of our time eating.  In addition to the roasted nuts, we had a Bavarian pretzel (best pretzel I ever had!),  German sausage, and a blueberry crepe.  I was stuffed by the time we left!


Of course we had to get our photo taken on "Love Lock Bridge".  Yes, the bridge had plenty of locks on it from romantic couples dedicating their undying love.



I had never been to Sparta before and I was pleasantly surprised at what a pretty downtown park and Main Street they had.




This lady worked tirelessly making crepes!  She was so busy!




We sat down at a table on Main Street to eat our crepe, and I enjoyed people watching and looking at all the pretty historic downtown buildings.



The local stores were all open for business, and they were enjoying the traffic.  I couldn't help to think how much this event helps the small businesses!

We visited all the stores, but we were especially impressed with "Ginny's Cupboard".  We went inside to look around and we just loved the old fashioned decor.  The food looked great too, but we were so full from the market food we didn't order anything here.  I would love to come back sometime just to eat here.  






 Sparta's Kriskindlmarkt received the State of Wisconsin tourism Award for Innovation.  It has also been named the best Kridkindlmarkt in Wisconsin by travel bloggers.  

We had a blast at the market, and plan to go back next year.  I'd love to rent a hotel room so I could enjoy seeing the market at night.  It was my very first experience at a Christmas market, so it was exciting and new for me...as I'm sure you could tell by the joy on my face!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

16 comments:

  1. This looks so fun and delightful. I actually got to go to some European Christmas markets last year and it was incredible. That said, I'm super happy that more and more places around here are embracing it! I went to the market in Toronto several years ago, and it was so fun. We went to the Denver one on Saturday, and it had so much German food and several stalls with goods (mostly Christmas decor) imported from Germany, which was amazing. I had no idea there's a market in Sparta, but I'm with you--sounds like a good tradition to start! :) Visiting from Senior Salon Pit Stop. (I'd love to see you share this post at my linkup also: https://lifetalesbooks.blogspot.com/p/calling-fellow-bloggers.html)

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    1. I really wish I had the opportunity to go to more Christmas markets but most of them seem to be in larger cities and it's harder for me to travel in the winter. I'm happy that a small town nearby is doing one.

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    2. Absolutely! Having one in a small town nearby is so perfect! You are so lucky. It seems authentic and delightful. :) Thank you for sharing this post at the Will Blog for Comments #18 linkup, too. I'm so glad you did. Hope to see you there next week as well.

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  2. I sooooo miss the German Christkindlmarkets, they were always a highlight to go to. The best one (always/usually voted #1) is in Nuremberg which was either a short car drive or train ride away from where I used to live. Somehow I didn't manage to visit Germany in the winter time for several years now but it's not the best time of year because it gets dark so soon so we usually went in spring or summer.
    The Christmas market you went to looks really nice too and looks like you had a wonderful time! We had planned on visiting the Chicago Christkindlmarket some years ago but then our train got cancelled due to bad weather and so we have never visited the market.

    PS: I found the info in English on the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarket here: https://www.christkindlesmarkt.de/en/ in case you'd like to check it out.

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    1. I actually thought of you when I was writing post knowing you were from Germany and probably went to these Christkindlmarkets. I've heard that Germany does them best! I will check it out. Thanks so much.

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  3. this town reminds me of star's hollow from gilmore girls!

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    1. Yes, a little bit. I think the Gilmore Girls one is cuter, but I can definitely see the resemblance.

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  4. Enjoyed seeing your pics. Although I love going to places like that, my last was several years ago. I just can't tolerate the cold temps these days. Always enjoy the light displays and sampling all the different food, gotta do some shopping too :) Thanks so much for linking up at the #UnlimitedLinkParty 142. Pinned.

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    1. Thank you. Sorry you can't tolerate the cold, I'd say it was a warm winter day (38 degrees) but you'd probably think that was cold. For us in Wisconsin, 38 is balmy! ha ha!

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    2. It's 48 right now at nearly 8pm. My son called to tell me to go outside and look for the Geminid meteor shower. So, I stepped outside, looked up at the sky, didn't see anything, and back in the house I came. Too dang cold for me. Brr!!! He said the best time to watch is around 2am and I can guarantee you, I won't be going outside at that hour!!

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  5. Amy, Merry Christmas! I wish Santa would bring one of those gorgeous pretzels and put it in my stocking for Christmas morning. Thank you for bringing beauty into our lives with your creative journaling, travel photos, and becoming outfits. I look forward to connecting in 2024. God is good.

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    1. Ha ha! Me too! That pretzel was delicious! Merry Christmas!

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  6. I enjoyed looking through your pictures, Amy. It's great that you were able to enjoy the market without having to travel too far. I love the idea of firepits to keep you warm while enjoying delicious food. Your post made me nostalgic about my childhood memories in Germany. Thank you for sharing your holiday fun with us at The Crazy Little Love Birds link party #18! I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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    1. Thank you, I'm glad you had fond childhood memories. I keep reading about Germany's Christmas markets. I would love to go to one someday. Merry Christmas!

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  7. I too would love to travel to see the Christmas markets. That pretzel sounds amazing.
    Thanks so much for sharing your trip with Sweet Tea & Friends this month my friend.

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    1. It would be a fun thing to do. The pretzel was amazing. You're welcome.

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