As promised, we spent today at the Mifflinburg Christkindl Market. We were very excited to experience this market, as we are huge fans of handcrafted items. As I had mentioned in my previous post, when I was in my early (read: broke) twenties, I was lucky enough to take a trip to Europe to visit a friend. We spent a few days driving around Germany sight seeing. The two places that left the biggest impression on me were The Black Forest and Rothenburg. I found a Christmas pyramid that I fell in love with, but could not figure out the logistics of purchasing it and shipping it home with the sad (lack of) funds I was working with at the time. I have been haunted by this, each Christmas since. You may be haunted by three ghosts, but I am haunted by one Christmas pyramid. All kidding aside, this market took me back, with the cuckoo clocks, ornaments and pyramids. There were beautiful examples of both, but sadly, I did not find the Christmas pyramid of my dreams, yet, so I did not purchase one today, as I had hoped. Maybe next year. You won’t save money buying them here, but you can take it home right away, won’t have to ship it across the pond, and, an added advantage, there is no language barrier.
While I did not find my Christmas pyramid here, the town has two gorgeous pyramids which I took plenty of pics of, to tide me over, until I find “The One.”
It pretty much rained the whole time we were here, but you know that didn’t ruin our fun. We spent a fair bit of time perusing the craft vendors, where we saw some fine examples of handmade pottery by Lukacs Pottery. Plus, many woodworkers, glassblowers, huts with jewelry, soaps, candles, maple, honey and much more. My favorite maker find, though, were these fantastic antique sleigh bells, which were lovingly restored by hand by the owners, of the brilliant little business, titled “Mike’s Antique Sleigh Bells. What a fantastic item to bring to a Christkindl market.
We walked up to the Elias Performing Arts Center, where they were serving hot toddies, and had live entertainment, and found a very talented local artist, by the name of Valerie Moyer, who specializes in landscapes and Homestead Portraits. She has also just illustrated her first children’s book, which, naturally, I purchased, and she graciously signed for us.
Here’s a few more examples of Valerie’s work:
Valerie is still in the process of creating social media accounts for her work. If you are interested in any of her pieces she can be contacted at vmoyerartist@verizon.net. Most of her paintings include an endearing little hidden bunny, which is her trademark. She also can be commissioned for personal, homesteads, residences, churches, historical buildings, family farms, etc.
We enjoyed wandering the market with the boys, snapping pics at every little photo op, which were plentiful, and watching the entertainment. There was a live nativity, and German dancing, puppet shows and live music in various spots throughout town.
This was all loads of fun, but if you know the Bridges, you know we came for the food!
We tried the brats and kraut, which were okay. We tried the pierogies, giant homemade candy canes, and the cinnamon sticks from The Strudel Factory, which were good, but the Strudel Factory’s hot strudel is what it’s all about. We tried cherry and apple both, [no, we’re not sorry,] and they were both fantastic. I can’t really decide which one is better. I would say it would depend on mood. They had an apricot/almond strudel that I will try next year, along with the cheese strudel, which I almost insisting on trying this year, but got outvoted. There was a ham and apple dumpling that I didn’t get to try [I’m not pouting], and I never even found the Nokerl, that I, sort of, went there for. But there’s always next year. Or Austria. Long story short if, next year you do get the chance to drive out to the Mifflinburg Christkindl market, you won’t regret it. If you’re just not that into Christmas, make the drive for the town’s history, German/Austrian culture, buggy museum, covered bridge or quirky little personality.
What others types of Christmas markets do you attend? We would love to hear about them in the comments. Share pictures on insta@canigetaramen, or find us on FB and Pinterest@canigetaramen.food.blog.
