Milwaukee

Towards the end of August, John and I spent a night and a day in Milwaukee to track down some of John's old haunts. John used to live in Wisconsin prior to moving to New York where I met him. We had been trying to visit Milwaukee together since we moved to Chicago and we were glad to finally have gotten the opportunity in the summer. Some of the places we visited included the Public Market, Colectivo Coffee, the location we went to is housed in an old water pump station, the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, City Hall, and a wonderful old-world German restaurant called Mader's Restaurant. We had a really good time and ate some good food on our short but fun-filled trip. We're look forward to returning again sometime soon. 

Christkindlmarket

Imagine spinning wooden pyramids, baskets of hand-blown glass ornaments, and tidy rows of European vendors displaying their abundant Christmas wares and decorations. It's not Frankfurt or Vienna, but the Christkindlmarket in Chicago, which is a traditional German Christmas market. Right before Thanksgiving, John and I headed over to Daley Plaza to check out the various vendor stalls, market food, and traditional German crafts. We were able to eat some leberkäse, a fried dumpling with blueberry jelly inside, and had some hot chocolate in commemorative mugs in the shape of a small boots. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Christkindlmarket and it features crafts and ornaments directly from Germany that would otherwise be very difficult to find within the United States. We had a lot of fun walking around and looking at all the wonderful crafts at the market. We can't wait until next year.