It's about to get quiet again after all Christmas markets these past two months. Not a lot happens in Stuttgart in January and February, so it's a good time to start your New Year resolutions and (try to) stick to them. In the meantime, there's always one event in February to look forward to...
The Monday after Christmas, my mother and I decided to brave the post-holiday sales crowds in order to do a little shopping of our own and explore some areas of Stuttgart that she hadn't seen yet. Though I know that the new Milaneo complex by the library is quite popular, I much prefer the other new shopping mall at at the far end of Königstraße called Das Gerber. The mall is smaller and thus much more manageable, in my opinion, and there are several new stores there that I like. Apart from that, Das Gerber also houses our local Pano...
Strasbourg has long been one of my favorite short-range travel destinations outside of Stuttgart. It's just a little over an hour by train, and so the journey is very reasonable for a day trip or even a weekend. But what I love about Strasbourg the most is that it's just over the French-German border, making it a fantastic blend of culture and cuisine from both countries. Though I've been to Strasbourg several times, I'd never been to the Christmas market held there every year and said to be one of the best in Europe. And so when my mother decided to make the overseas flight to see us for Christmas, I knew that it would be a perfect opportunity to visit Les Marchés de Noël de Strasbourg...
When a company called Gaumenfreude started organizing Street Food Thursdays in the Karlsplatz this past summer, I was thrilled! I love the variety and portion sizes at food trucks, and although Gaumenfreude's first market started out a bit hit-or-miss, I stuck with it and returned again and again to try the new food trucks that they were able to bring to Stuttgart. Over time, I had some great burgers and pulled pork, and yes, even some halfway decent Mexican food. And so because they came through in the end, I decided to go check out their Großer Foodtruck Weihnachtsmarkt in Zuffenhausen today to see if they could still deliver...
This past weekend we took a trip south to Tübingen. Our goal was twofold: to eat some delicious Swabian Maultaschen and to check out the Chocolate Festival for the first time. While it can usually take over an hour to get there by train from downtown Stuttgart, we were lucky to have a friend with a car who was willing to drive our small party.
We set out early(ish) on Saturday and zipped along the Autobahn. Just 45 minutes later, we made it to our destination. The town was absolutely packed for the chocolate festival, and though we hadn't planned on having to drive around for 20 minutes to find a parking spot, I'm glad we arrived early. We parked the car at at a garage near the center of town, and walked the quick 15 minutes through the old town to Hotel am Schloss next to the castle. We were scheduled to have lunch there, at Restaurant Mauganeschtle, at noon...
I was recently in Amsterdam for a long weekend on a business trip, and although I was in a conference hall all day (albeit one with a view!), I was free to explore the city at night. Stuttgart has some great restaurants, but there's really something special about Dutch cuisine. They seem to have perfected small bites and international fusion, making Amsterdam a real foodie playground.
Luckily, I was able to visit some favorites that I blogged about in my last post, including Café de Prins, Arendsnest, and Fier. None failed to please me during this second time around, but I also got the chance to visit two new locations that took my love of Amsterdam to a new level...
In my last post I talked about all the things we saw and did while in Seattle. And so, without further ado, here's where we ate...
We just got back from a whirlwind week in Seattle full of family, friends, and food. Though as my sister-in-law joked before we got there, we mostly based our plans around food. That probably explains why I'm still feeling full and why I'm really, really missing seafood right now. All that aside, we had a fabulous time visiting our family and getting to know a new city (and for me, a new coast!).
Before I launch into our activities and meals, I want to mention a few general thoughts...
Christmastime is almost here again! It's a magical season in Germany when the Christmas stalls fill the streets and Glühwein appears in everyone's mugs (not really, but that would be nice). Living in a city as large as Stuttgart, there are many opportunities to attend not only Stuttgart's four-week market, but also many of the other smaller markets around the area.
So get ready for the Christmas season and look forward to these events coming up in November and December...
One of the many things I love about Stuttgart is that there seems to be no shortage of fall celebrations around. And although the pumpkin festival is still my favorite, I had a great time celebrating a different kind of vegetable last weekend at the Filderkrautfest in Leinfelden-Echterdingen.
Even though the weather was rather gray last Sunday, there was a very festive atmosphere in Leinfelden. We were first greeted by a colorful row of vintage cars and tractors, followed by several carnival-style booths featuring classic games like darts and ring-toss, and even a rotating ride or two. I'm not sure if these carnival games are "native" to Germany, but I suspect there's a bit of American import going on given that most of the signs on the booths said things like "Welcome to Las Vegas!" and "The American Adventure!"...
