winter wonderland

Over the weekend I was able to experience some great German holiday traditions. First off, the Weihnachtsmarkts (Christmas Markets) are huge here. Every town/city has one no matter how big or small the town actually is. I have been to the Ludwigsburg one a number of times, and this weekend I got to experience the Stuttgart one. They are both very special, though the Stuttgart one is MUCH bigger. At the markets you can find all sorts of holiday gifts, some nice, some kitschy and hand made, along with traditional foods…sausages in bread, fish cooked over an open fire, candied almonds and nuts, chocolate covered fruit, gingerbread hearts that have sayings on them, damfnudels which are these steamed cakes covered in vanilla sauce… the list goes on and on, but by far the biggest tradition at Christmas is the gluhwein. It is this hot, strong spiced wine that is only served this time of year. The only thing is that it’s not that cold. There is no snow yet, and while we may have had a few frosty nights, the days are still tending to be well above 0 Celsius. People are saying the gluhwein doesn’t taste the same and it just doesn’t feel like Christmas. The weather isn’t so much affecting the Christmas spirit for me seeing as that I am not used to a white Christmas… but I do keep thinking about how the later winter starts the later it will last (I don’t think it really got warm here last year until June!).

Anyhow, over the weekend I went to the Stuttgart Weihnachtsmarkt with the family and we went ice-skating at the rink set up outside. Now I haven’t ice skated in YEARS, but I didn’t fall down once, yay me :) though to be fair I wasn’t attempting light speeds or intense tricks… (pict below) After that I met my group of British friends for gluhwein tasting and Indian food afterwards (see pict above). Every stall makes it very different, and the ones that tasted the best were those that were not too sweet or strong and had a fruitier flavor. Anyhow, it was a fun filled day that was enjoyed with sun and a shocking 15 degrees!!