Denver Christkindlmarket
An authentic, German-style holiday market located in Denver's Civic Center Park.

 

Get in, loser! We’re going to the Christmas market.

Iconic words that echoed in my head as I rushed out of work and on my way to Denver, having mostly forgotten about our plan to go feast on German food.

The line for the Denver Christkindlmarket wrapped around most of Civic Center Park, ending at the spot where you’d board the Bustang to head back to Colorado Springs. 

It moved fast enough though, because less than 15 minutes later we crossed under the welcome sign and immediately got pushed into the sea of people queueing for food, drinks, and trinkets of every kind.

We made a beeline for the food stalls, everyone getting into a different line and texting the menus to the group chat in a [successful] attempt to make our endeavor more efficient.

The closer I got to the stalls, the more languages I heard – orders being shouted over each other, repeated in the back, and one more time in the pickup window.

For myself, a currywurst that is more sweet than spicy, just how I like it. The fries on the outside have retained their crispiness, while the ones closer to the center have softened under the weight of the curry ketchup. The brat is snappy on the outside, and extremely soft on the inside. Thank God my vegan cousin isn’t with me today lest she have to put up with me describing how much I enjoy biting into a good casing.

Another Brat, spicier, firmer. Perfectly tangy sauerkraut, and the best potato pancakes I’ve had in a very long time.

A prosciutto, cornichon, and raclette crepe. Drier and less cheesy than I would have wanted, but pretty good, nonetheless. At least for a market standard.

Inside the festival hall, German music blasted through the speakers and dancers filled every spot not occupied by the long wooden tables and queues for the bar.

“Zicke zacke, zicke zacke!”

“Hoi! Hoi! Hoi!”

A hot chocolate, Dunkel, and blueberry glühwein cheered in unison with the collective prost!

Stalls ranging from traditional nutcrackers and glass figures to travel posters and homemade soaps and candles spread out along the main corridor and around the tree located by the amphitheater stage.

My favorite? The one with the wheels of cheese that smelled exactly like the Hanssen’s house back in Belgium.

We finished the night by admiring the Mile High Tree and the lightshow that came with it, which you could actually watch from the inside – if you managed to nab a spot on the turf.

The Denver City Building shone bright into the night as we made our way back to parking, an unmistakable technicolor spectacle that delights year after year. 

It’s a swell time, to go riding in a one horse… carriage? I’ll take it.

 

Denver Christkindlmarket is located in Civic Center Park at 101 14th Ave, Denver, CO.