Christkindelmarkt

Great fun, doesn’t matter what the weather is like pay it a visit. Plenty of stuff to buy and look at.

Couldn’t resist my annual pilgrimage to Leeds for the German Christmas markets. So many hazy mulled wine and rum fueled happy memories.
This time it was a coincidence rather than a plan that we were in Leeds on the opening night, but a happy coincidence at that.
I’ve never left this place with anything other than a merry smile on my face.

Now I like a good excuse to dive out of my hum-​drum lifestyle and experience different and diverse cultures.
But I feel like I have come away from the German Christmas market a little cheated.
I like everything that there is to eat and drink. Chocolate, beer, wine sausage etc… But £5 a sausage with a little bit of sauce.
Rowena even asked for extra curry sauce as the teeny tiny serving of sauce was clearly not enough.
It wasn’t even curry sauce but a warm spicy tomato ketchup.
The chips were very dry too.
The chocolate looked and smelled amazing but I am not a chocolate person as I don’t have a sweet tooth.
Roweena however dived straight in and ravished a skewer of white chocolate covered marsh mellows.
My gripe is that the wares weren’t very diverse.
So unless I was willing to join a very long line of people waiting to get into the beer tent. Which was playing very un Christmas and definitely not German music.
The experience was quite a short one.

And although Rowena can try and deny it until the cows come home. She did indeed make me eat sausage!

I popped here at the weekend with some mates because I was feeling extremely Christmassy, hungover and in the mood for naughty food and nostalgia!
It was a crisp Sunday afternoon, and as expected the place was mega-​packed with punters, young and old, so much so that to actually get to a stall you had to unleash a string of ‘scuse me, ‘scuse me, sorry, ‘scuse me’s and walk with some serious intent to cross the swathes of people.
I don’t mind big crowds, and given that is was a temperate Sunday I expected it to be busy, but some friends I was with found it to be a bit stressful manoeuvring through the throngs.
Once you got to the stalls however, there was an array of authentic, gorgeous gifts — some made in front of you! — and treats, priced at what you’d expect if you went to a German market I feel; the quality was good and prices reasonable.
It wouldn’t have been complete without a Bratwurst though, and my friends indulged in curry versions and frankfurters to rave reviews. As a veggie the choice was somewhat limited to chips, fried cheesy things or dessert, so naturally I had fried cheese and mushrooms (yum! My arteries might not thank me though!) and a gingerbread flavoured marshmallow/​wafer teacake treat. Delicious!
We enjoyed the food surrounded by very cute huts that didn’t look tacky and were attended by friendly, helpful staff, who despite probably being sick of Christmas by now served us with heart-​warming German cheeriness and smiles!
After a free sample of fruity mead (with the option to buy a Viking horn to drink it out of…) we wandered around some more, passing on the beer hut because the queue was huuuge, before heading home!
Pros:
–big! Even extends more with rides and more stalls a few mins away by the Light centre.
–lots and lots of food options. Less for veggies but still feels very German!
— epic amounts of desserty goodness
–looks very charming with lots of lit-​up stalls to browse
Cons
–so many people! I will go again when it’s less busy to get into the beer tent and have a nosey
–can be seen as pricey (eg £3 for a coffee) but the authentic food especially is worth it!
–I suppose it’s not much different to any other travelling German market.
I would say definitely visit if you’re in leeds! Be prepared for crowds or go at a quieter time, but either way you’ll LOVE food and the atmosphere makes for a perfect cosy break from Christmas shopping misery!

Unfortunately this market been massively over hyped.
I’ve been to other Christmas Markets such as the one in Manchester and this one just seems so crammed in. I can’t help but automatically feel claustrophobic upon entering.
When I first visited this place a few years ago, there was a little magic here which rapidly helped me to catch up with all the excitement for Christmas.
The past two years though it just seems all about the food which to be honest is really overpriced. The beer is extremely expensive which isn’t justifiable because it’s not very good and you only get the choice of one.
Trying to find a seat on an evening is impossible. It’s such a shame too because the queue for the hall is so enormous that it’s only worth waiting if you’re planning to stay there for a few hours and if you are you may want to think about re-​mortgaging as it’s going to be a costly evening.
After circling the place three times I did manage to find a little gift for myself which the kind Lady offered me a discount on so it wasn’t all bad.
I think it needs something new and different injecting into it to get me a little more enthusiastic. Otherwise I probably won’t bother going back next year.
If you’re going to spend all that money on a night out there I’d recommend venturing over to Manchester for a far better experience.

Have been going to the market every year since i moved to leeds. I think my enjoyment of the market is all tied up with my total love of christmas and my love of leeds.
The stalls are pretty much the same every year although i think maybe there are more places to sit and eat.
The atmosphere in the frankfurter scheune was great, lots of familys out together enjoying the band.
The mulled wine with ameretto is a fabulous way to warm up!

As an American who has emigrated to the UK I’ve been disappointed at how hard it can be to get authentic European foods here, especially a good bratwurst!
So, as you can imagine, the Market holds a great deal of promise for me.
Last year I enjoyed my first mug of mulled wine and a stick full of fried cheese followed by (finally!) a delicious bratwurst. The food on offer was absolutely spot on.
The crowd, however, wasn’t. Half of the drunken crowd stumbling around were clearly underaged. The other half didn’t seem to benefit much from age. A few folks seemed to be full of Christmas spirit but most seemed to be a bit too full of simply spirits. Public drunkenness leading to yobbish behaviour is one aspect of English culture that I have yet to understand and, sadly, the market suffers greatly from it.
But, that was last year. I went to the market once more with an open mind and an empty belly. The food was really nice. I partook of another German sausage, a fried cheese stick, and a Nutella crêpe.
Which just left the issue of the atmosphere. Unfortunately, it was even worse than last year. I hate to give the market a low score because of the crowd but I’ve got to judge something like the market on the whole experience.
So, there you have it, the food is well worth the trip out into the chill winter air but, unfortunately, both of my trips out were spoiled by drunken revellers.

Perhaps it’s the waning allure of those same old crystal stalls, pretzels, and such like that’s affected my love for the German Market, or perhaps it’s the lingering shock of a very un-​tasty doughnut that has done it. There’s a few things that have bothered me in the last few years about the Christkindelmarkt, but this particular offending confection was rather upsetting. The custard was sour, and the icing was fizzy. I did not expect that palate of flavour when biting into such an item, which promised in appearance to be delicious. In any case, that’s not the sole reason that I’m now just ‘a-​ok’ with the market.
As much as I can confirm it to be genuine, as on my Berlin travels their markets were identikit to the stalls that grace Leeds each year, I’m not too much of a fan of the music in the big beer hall. I realise that to be truly authentic we’d require a strange mix of 90s dance (yes, that was my experience) but I’d much rather that than essentially Amarillo style tunes. Perhaps I’m grumpy.
The things I love: The mulled wine, the loveliness of meeting people for a drink outside, the Christmas spirit, the shiny exciting foodstuffs, the cheese sausage hotdog. That guy was excellent –full of flavour, full of proper melted cheese, and really frankfurter-​y in taste. Truly yummy. The waffles were cooked straight off, and not from a packet, and smothered in a slick spill of Nutella. Not for those who can’t handle a sickly amount of spread.
The things I don’t love so much: The slightly grumpy staff. Most of the stall holders encountered on my visit were not particularly friendly. I do appreciate they work all hours on this thing, but y’know. The security staff were excellent though, and had all the banter come closing. The doughnuts, as described above. The fact that we could have a Leeds market, with local traders, where the money comes back into the city. I’m sure we could make our own Christmas style market with local produce and suchlike. Perhaps an idea for the LCC suggestion box…
In any case, I’ll certainly be back. It’s a great place to meet friends, have a mug of mulled goodness together, and catch up. Since I didn’t get to stuff my face with pancakes, chocolate covered marshmallows, and the other varied goodies, a revisit is a must. Plus, call me a big kid, but I kinda fancy a go on the carousel…

I have never been before and i went last week it was great fun lots of singing, food and christmas tat to peruse upon the i especially enjoyed the incense burners that make little men smoke out of their wooden mouths. the sights were truly hard to believe. I cannot get the cheese stuffed wurst out of my mind.

What a brilliant way to start the Christmas holidays. On the surface it’s like any other German Christmas market with the usual selection of wooden toys which no one seems to buy and other Teutonic gifts.
However there’s two things make this place worth going. The first is the food and drink, it’s brilliant. Normally these markets are poor with only some generic lager and a limp wiener available for sale. Well not here, there was a wide choice of German dishes such as pork sandwiches, about three types of sausages and for me the duck. For £7 I got half a duck with dumplings and spiced cabbage. It was brilliant.
There was also a wide range of drinks. From memory there was about four types of mulled wine, pear liqueur however for me I settled for the dark wheat beer which made me very happy.
The second thing that makes it worth going is the beer hall. OK it’s a marquee made to look like a Bavarian beer hall but I liked it. Now it might have been a combination of jet lag and beer but the band were great, Yes some of the jokes got lost in translation but they had everyone dancing and singing which is the idea isn’t it? Just make sure you go early before the band starts otherwise you might not get a seat.
Finally get the Berliner doughnuts. I got a load to eat later at home. Unfortunately they mysteriously disappeared while on the train home.

I am seriously calling the men in white coats and running head first into very thick wall. how have I not reviewed this before? I am obviously very special and not in a good way. Right, STOP, Hammer Time! Yes indeedy, get those baggy ill fitting crotch tastic pants on and sprint (yes sprint I tell thee) up to the Christmas Market! Why so Snoopy Melly Mel I hear you cry? Well dear and fond readers I’ll bloomin well tell you… it is some serious Noël inducing fun. It is like legal Meths only more fun and without the criminal record or severe aging process. Ie, win, win.
You want Chrimbo nick nacks and deccies, you’ve got it. You want slightly rubbish but fun anyway rides, you got it. You want the best food and booze known to man, well you’ve pretty much got it. It’s so taste tastic it should be illegal.
Nutella covered nuts, jeffin immense! Crepes, too cool for school! Macca brie infused bagels, oh lord we have arrived. And for you sausage lovers (and I know you love your sausages peeps) we have some serious brtwurst action.
Thrown in the best bier keller ever and mulled wine to rob grannies for and we are in Deutsch paradise, ja sehr gut. Get the Apple one down ya dn top with a chugging 2 pinter of the best lager in Europe. The Germans know how to do it and I don’t just mean in a bad 80s porn way. Do it!

The German Market visits Leeds every year in November and is situated in Millennium Square.
The market has a mixture of German themed stalls that sell various foods, home and personal goods; The market is well worth a vi st if only for the Christmas feel that oozes from all the stalls and people in Millennium Square throughout the time of the visiting Market.
The only down side to the Market is that the stalls very rarely change, meaning that you can quite often predict what will be there before you visit.
Still this is not enough to keep me away and I will no doubt visit quite a few time this November-​December.

I lived in Germany for a while and this German Market is pretty authentic. Not as large, but the same variety of things are for sell. The beer is good and the food is good. I always enjoy the chocolate covered marshmallows :-)

Each year the German Market visits Leeds as happens in many cities. Although not all stores ooze German origins, such as the felt store, others do. The massive beer tent, oodles of mulled wine, fresh German breads filling square with a beautiful scent, fried potatoes, German wurst and gingerbread houses definitely bring a little of Germany to the city centre.
You can buy mugs, trinkets of all descriptions, home decorations, silver jewellery, coffee, spices, honey and, there is even a fair ground to entertain smaller people whilst elders get merry and soak up the atmosphere. When things get closer to Christmas this is a lovely place to fill yourself with Christmas Spirit and enjoy a delicious beverage.
As this is a break from the norm expect to pay a little more than usual as the prices aren’t the cheapest.

Not feeling prematurely festive yet, despite the shops and radio jumping on the Christmas bandwaggon as soon as Halloween was out the way?
I know I sound bitter about this, but I think I can use the Christkindelmarkt as my exception. The Christkindelmarkt comes to Millenium Square annually, bringing stalls and stalls of everything from food, to gloves, hats and bags, to ornaments and jewellery, to sweets and, of course sausages. They have a carousel, to entertain the younger folk (and occasionally the bigger kids), but I do think that it is the beer/​big hall that drags the masses down to the German Market. Selling food, beer, mulled wine, beer and food.
It is always busy in there, often with queue at weekends, but you’ll soon see why. With rows and rows of tables, to accomidate the majority of people (be it students, kids or the older generation) that come through the doors, it is a perfect place to get jolly, despite it feeling a little like a school dinner hall! There are counters that flank the entrance, serving up food (both sweet and savoury), and drink in the way of beer and mulled wine. You have to leave a deposit for the mulled wine mugs, so make sure you do have enough cash on you when you go, and that you return your mug at the end!
Whether you’re a bit of a scrooge, or as festive as Santa himself, the German Market will leave you feeling a little warmth for the xmas month, whether it’s genuine, or just the booze talking!

The Leeds Christkindelmarkt is the festive German Market that comes to Millennium Square every November. It runs throughout November to December and offers a HUGE range of german festive foods like Stollen.
I favour the Bratwurst and Cheese sausages… you HAVE to try these!
This place gets me mega excited and ready for christmas. All of the stalls are in little wooden huts and full of christmassy lights. You can buy christmas decorations, jewellery, food and even take a ride on the Carousel or Dodgems!
You also HAVE to go into the massive wooden hut that is sort of a beer/​food tent. This year I decided to try the Blueberry Mulled wine… loved it… It’s £3.50 for a cup full of the lovely stuff along with a £2.50 deposit (you get this back when you return your cup, otherwise you can keep it!)
The only way to really appreciate this place is to visit it. I can’t wait to go back with my parents next week. Make sure you take your camera!