體驗美國最具德國特色的聖誕市場
Experiencing Christkindlmarket, Chicago: America's Most Authentic German Christmas Market
體驗美國最具德國特色的聖誕市場：芝加哥聖誕市場Each year from mid-November until Christmas Eve, Christkindlmarket allows visitors to experience authentic German traditions without having to travel any farther than the city of Chicago.
每年的11月中旬到聖誕前夜，聖誕市場可以讓參觀者不用走出芝加哥就能體驗正宗的德國傳統。Modeled after the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Chicago's Christmas market sister city, the Christkindlmarket in Chicago is the largest open-air holiday market in the US. And it's also the most authentic.
芝加哥聖誕市場是模仿紐倫堡的聖誕市場建成的，紐倫堡是芝加哥的姐妹城市，現在芝加哥聖誕市場已經成爲美國最大的露天假日市場，而且是最正宗的。
The market now has over 50 vendors, and more than half of them are actually flown in from Germany. I loved being able to shop around at each vendor while listening to the workers communicate with each other in only German– I almost forgot I was in Chicago!
芝加哥聖誕市場有超過50個銷售商，而且超過一半的銷售商都來自德國。我喜歡流連於各銷售商中間，聽着他們用德語交流——我幾乎忘了自己身處芝加哥。The Christkindlmarket in Chicago really is the closest thing to a traditional German Christmas market in all of the 's no wonder the market sees huge draws of visitors, as over one million people pass through the market yearly. Often you'll spot tour buses parked around the corner bringing in visitors from as far as Florida and even Canada.
芝加哥的聖誕市場的確是美國所有市場中最接近傳統德國聖誕市場的。這無疑吸引了大量的參觀者，每年都有超過一百萬的人來參觀。通常你會看到載有遠自佛羅里達和加拿大遊客的旅遊觀光車停在角落。Red-and-white striped wooden stalls fill Daley Plaza enticing visitors to buy handcrafted German products like Black Forest cuckoo clocks, beer steins, and ornaments galore. We enjoyed walking from stall to stall finding cute trinkets, as well as traditional market staples like gingerbread, beeswax candles.
紅白條紋相間的木製攤位遍佈戴利廣場，吸引着遊客購買純手工製成的德國產品，比如黑森林布穀鳥鐘、啤酒杯以及大量的裝飾品。我們很喜歡走路逛過一個又一個攤位，同時發現可愛的小物品和類似薑餅、蜂蠟的傳統市場物品。I personally recommend walking around while sipping on some German glühwein to keep warm. Unlike other Christmas markets in the US, such as the famous market in NYC's Union Square, alcohol is served here making it a fun atmosphere for hanging out with friends.
我個人很建議散步的同時喝上德國的熱葡萄酒來取暖。不像美國的其它聖誕市場，比如紐約聯合廣場著名的市場，這裏提供紅酒爲了給一起散步的好友營造一種充滿樂趣的氛圍。Although we originally had only planned to grab a few snacks before heading to dinner at one of Chicago's many delicious eateries, the smell of German sausages in the air quickly persuaded us otherwise.
儘管在去小餐館吃完飯之前我們只想來一點小吃的，但空氣中瀰漫的德國香腸的香味瞬間讓我們改變了主意。I have to say, I didn't have high expectations for the food, but everything was honestly really good. I guess that's why we ended up having our whole dinner there after buying some snacks.
儘管我並沒有對食物抱有多大的期望，但不得不說這裏的一切都真的很棒。我想這也就是爲什麼我們在吃過小吃以後又去吃了晚餐。
