The Christmas lights have been up around the columns of the Königsbau Passagen for over a week now. My weather app is forecasting a chance of (gasp!) snow this week. Our grocery store has a full display of Lindt Christmas chocolate and rows upon rows of Speculoos cookies and Lebkuchen. And just yesterday, I watched as they began erecting the ice skating rink and Christmas village in front of the New Castle.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Christmas is fast approaching...
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 my favorite festivals of the year has got to be the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival. I'm just wild about pumpkins -- our wedding cake was even pumpkin flavored -- and this festival is completely dedicated to them.
I remember our first fall in Stuttgart when we attended the festival for the first time. I was amazed how such a quirky event had become a staple here. The stately Ludwigsburg palace gardens were completely transformed into a wonderland of gourds, with fantastic shapes and carvings, all with the theme of Switzerland. We got to see the Swiss Alps of pumpkins, a Swiss army knife, and even a Swiss Alpine man blowing a horn made out of pumpkins.
The following year we returned again, to the theme of the Olympics. We saw pumpkin skiers, pumpkin torch bearers, and pumpkin bobsledders.
This year, in keeping with our tradition, we returned to see the Royal theme...
This past weekend Ludwigsburg hosted their annual Antiques-Mile. During this event, the market square was filled with dozens, if not a hundred of stalls, all manned by local antique merchants selling a selection of their wares. You could find everything there, from record players to typewriters, kitchen ware to linens.
While this event is not exactly food-related, I felt it worth a mention because you can find lots of great food-related antiques. I loved seeing old cookie cutters, measuring cups, bread boxes, silverware, and glasses. This was definitely the place to go if you're looking for something special for your home...
I first heard about the Ludwigsburg Venetian Festival three years ago when we moved to Stuttgart. A friend of mine went with her young son and husband, and said it was a great event that I should try. So, the following year (2013), a group of us decided to go together. We picked the same weekend, took the train to Ludwigsburg, and strolled to the Marktplatz on that drizzly Saturday.
However, we knew something wasn't quite right as we approached the main square. Where were the tents and the costumed revelers? Had we missed something? A quick check of our smartphones revealed that the Venetian Festival is a bi-yearly event, and somehow five sets of eyes had missed that fact, because not one of us had ever heard of a bi-weekly festival until that day.
No matter. Our disappointment was soon replaced by good pizza, cheap wine, and new friends as we retreated into the underground dining room of an Italian restaurant along the square. Next year we would be sure not to miss the festival.
And so this past Sunday we once again planned our weekend, took the train to Ludwigsburg, and strolled to the Marktplatz...
