Life in Spain: The Magic of Christmas Markets & Twinkling Lights

One of my favorite things about this Christmas season has been the many Christmas markets that we have been able to visit.  Peeping the twinkling of the lights with a warm cup of mulled wine in hand as we stroll the different booths of Christmas goodies, trinkets, and foods.  The cherry on top is when we happen to be strolling through when music or even better live Christmas music is playing.

Several years ago Dietrich and I started a tradition of going to the Chriskindlemarket in Chicago.  We'd order cups of mulled wine and then check out the vendors before grabbing a treat to complete our annual date night.  Sometimes we'd even end our night ice skating at Millennium Park.  The pics below are a few pre-Covid gems a few years ago.

This year we were privileged enough to soak up the Christmas lights and stroll through markets of Copenhagen, Denmark.  We were able to visit a couple of markets with my parents during to kick off the holiday season. This market was super special because it was named after the world renowned Hans Christian ANDERSEN!!! (who, fun fact, is from København) 

One of my favorite moments during our time in Copenhagen was getting to hear a brass band toot out some Christmas classics as we sipped a on our Danish glogg and chomped on our pulled duck sandwiches.

Another one of my favorite Christmas market stops was Tivoli Gardens, the third oldest amusement park in the world, the WORLD Y'ALL! The Tivoli Gardens is comprised of rides, carnival games, candy shops, food stalls,  bar and even full-blown sit down restaurants.  There's so much included in this space, but the real kick is that Tivoli Gardens is locate smack dab in the middle of the city across the street from the central train station. For the Christmas, they set up magical scenes full of glogg stands, light shows and tons of Christmas cheer; literally.  Below is a picture of us near the entrance of the Tivoli Christmas greatness in all its glory. 

Our current hometown, Alcalá de Henares has its own Christmas magic as well.  There are the classic food stalls, huts roasting chestnuts for sale, a manmade sledding hill in the square, a Ferris wheel and much more. The pic below is the night that all the Christmas magic starter; this is the first of many snapshots from this season.  We will let you know how to Ferris wheel ride goes :) That's next on our list of Christmas lights and market tours.