Hey you local readers, have any of you been to the Gingerbread Wonderland at the Norway House?  This is the second year that the Norway House in Minneapolis has invited bakers to contribute a gingerbread creation based on an actual structure in the Twin Cities to their pepperkakebyen (gingerbread city).

My sister read about this in a local community ‘stuff to do’ type magazine and she suggested we check it out.  So last Saturday Debbie, Kris and I headed into the city in search of the Norway House.

Once there we paid our $5 admission fee and prepared to be amazed by gingerbread.

The structures ranged from relatively simple (and keep in mind that I say ‘relatively simple’ while realizing full well that I would not be able to achieve even this level) …

to this insanely elaborate model of our state capitol building …

I can’t even imagine the amount of time that must have gone into some of these.

Technically the bakers were supposed to copy a real building or structure in the Twin Cities, and there were some pretty amazing results.

One that really impressed me was the Mill City Museum.

If you aren’t familiar with the Mill City Museum, it was created out of the ruins of what was once the largest flour mill in the world (google it to see photos and read more about it).  The building was destroyed by fire in 1991.  The remaining walls were later fortified and the structure was developed as a museum.  I don’t know about you, but I love a good ruin.  And I think it’s pretty fantastic how this baker recreated that look complete with scorched gingerbread.

Are any of you non-locals familiar with the iconic Minneapolis landmark, the cherry on a spoon?  It’s a giant sculpture of a cherry balanced on a spoon at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.  And here it is recreated in gingerbread …

The Stone Arch Bridge …

Mickey’s Diner …

Minneapolis City Hall …

Although technically not in Minneapolis or St. Paul, I guess this year’s display would not have been complete without a gingerbread Paisley Park complete with purple snow instead of purple rain.

And of course, the new Vikings stadium had to be included as well, complete with the football field inside.

If you are going to attempt some gingerbread houses this year, but want to keep it a little more low key, there are still some fun details you can copy.

For example, this fence detail is adorable.

Or how about adding some candy cane toboggans for your gingerbread people to ride down the hill on.

The detailed frosting on some of the houses was gorgeous.

Have you considered frosting the entire gingerbread house in classic white?

 Or blue …

Yellow is pretty too.

I used google translator to learn that ‘strikkelykke’ means ‘knitting happiness’.  So maybe that pile of stuff on the ground in front of the people is yarn?  And I can see mittens, and a scarf draped over the bench.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the pepperkakebyen!  Did you have a favorite building?

If you are local, I highly recommend checking it out in person.  I only shared some of the buildings, there are quite a few more that I didn’t include here (there are 71 structures in the display).  The exhibit is open through January 6.  You can find more info on Norway House’s website {here}.