First Christmas Market in Germany 2009

Due to a participation in a competition arranged by Antenne 1, Tamm (Kreis Ludwigsburg), a town about 25 km from Stuttgart, held the first christmas market this week. They promised to make a snowman of the height of the city hall. There were stands everywhere selling christmas items, hot spiced wine, cake, sausages and meat.
Just have a look and enjoy the photos.

There is the snowman. You could say that it is as high as the town hall if you count the hat. I think they could have made some more effort. I mean, if you do it then do it right! I expected something more spectacular.

Speaking of christmas markets, the season starts always at the end of November, usually with the weekend of the first advent and ends 1 or 2 days before christmas.
Maybe you know the most famous, the Nürnberg Christkindlmarkt. Stuttgart holds the largest christmas market in Germany. There are many other ones in the South German region. Ludwigsburg always arranges a Baroque christmas market with very nice stands of applied arts. Esslingen has a normal and a medieval christmas market which is also worth a visit. Another quite small but very interesting christmas market is the one of Bad Wimpfen. However, nowadays it has become a tradition that every little town organizes at least one weekend during the last 4 weeks before christmas.

Flohmarkt

What is a "Flohmarkt" - The translation I found was junk market (which, honestly, sounds a bit negative) or flea market. In the last 10 or 20 years these markets have been increasing everywhere. They usually are held in large parking lots on Saturdays and Sundays. Several of these flea markets will be held even 3 times a week.
There are special themes where people sell CDs, records, antique furniture or childrens' clothing. Others just offer anything you can possibly imagine. Even if you decide just to have a look and not to buy anything it rarely happens that you won't come home with some object or other. You can do great bargains you never expected, especially things like china, glasses, tools, games, books etc. I once got a great dog sofa for a ridiculous price. I didn't search for it - just found it.
Stuttgart offers a large Flohmarkt on the Karlsplatz every Saturday from 8.00 am to 4 pm. http://www.flohmarkt-karlsplatz.de/

For most flea markets in the region of Baden-Württemberg just try this link: http://www.marktcom.de/veranstaltungen-im-bundesland/Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg or have a look at the local papers.

Afrika-Haus in Heutingsheim

I passed a many times the sign "Afrika-Haus" when I drove from Ludwigsburg to Freiberg and was always curious to know what there would be. Some information on the internet told me that it was about modern African art and that it is open only on Sundays. Being on the right spot and in the right time we jumped at the chance of having a closer look at this museum. The Afrika-Haus is situated in a residential area in Heutingsheim which belongs to Freiberg. We passed around 3 pm and found out that it was open from 3 to 5 pm this Sunday. A nice lady greeted us and showed us around. The owner, Mr. Benseler, unfortunately is very ill and not able to be there himself anymore. In 1957 he made his first trip to Africa with a friend. They stayed more than one year. After this he made several more trips to Africa - always for several months. There he collected different pieces of modern African art - statues and pictures. The collection grew larger and larger. In the end he decided that he had to build a house in order to exhibit the pieces of art properly.
We have seen many interesting pictures and skillful statues. It is definitely worth a visit. As we were told there is an African festival every year in August with special African music and food. So we look forward to this as well.
If you want to visit it as well just follow the signs after the first traffic cirle from Ludwigsburg to Freiberg.

Baumarkt - Germans do it yourself

10 Things you shouldn't do when you are in a "Baumarkt"



You might call them building centers or do-it-yourself stores. Living in Germany you might have noticed the numerous ads for them. They are called OBI, Hornbach, Globus, Toom or Bauhaus.
What are the exactly? You could say: hardware store meets garden department meets building material meets sanitary plumbing, pet food and accessories, lights - whatever. Everything which you can possibly install, mount, repair, build or fix yourself and all the necessary machines can be found there.
This is fantastic because you will find most of the stuff you need in one place and you don't have to browse different shops.
My advice to women: Leave your partner at home if you know what you have to buy. Otherwise you will loose precious time of your life waiting for him until he has finished admiring all the different machines like drills, saws, grinders, steam cleaners....

Some information I took from Good News Stuttgart

8 Facts for Cannstatter Wasen - Stuttgart Beer Festival

1. More than 330 funfair operators make Cannstatter Wasen the largest fairground festival of the world
   
2. The energy consumption equals the consumption of a city of 35.000 inhabitants.
   
3. The erection of a large festival tent takes from two to three months and costs about half a million Euro.
   
4. About 17.000 persons work directly or indirectly for the Cannstatt Beer Festival.
   
5. Every year from four to five millions visitors on the Wasen.
   
6. The Festival is already 191 years old.
   
7. The historical symbol of the "Wasen" - the fruit column is adorned with more than 3 tons of vegetable and plants.
   
8. More than 20.000 persons who are members of the Volksfest Association travel to Stuttgart from New York , Philadelphia and Chicago to visit Stuttgart and the "Wasen".
   

Turtles in Stuttgart

You don't have to go to Wilhelma, our local zoo to see turtles. You will find them directly in the center of the city, in the "Feuersee". These animals have been in the small artificial city lake for 2 decades already. Originally from the USA and Mexico they found their way in the 80s to the waters of Stuttgart, set free by owners who wanted to get rid of them or thought they were better off there.
The German law for the protection of environment prohibits the settling of plants or animals in the wild if they are a danger to local fauna and flora. These turtles aren't because they don't disturb the other animals. There is plenty of vegetarian food for the grown ups. They will bury themselves in the earth if the temperature goes below 10 Centigrade Celsius. In April they start with sunbathing in order to make the temperature rise in their body. They lay their eggs and let them warm by the sun, nonetheless it is difficult that there will actually be an eclosion. Since a turtle can become up to 40 years old in good conditions there are still about 150 animals in the Stuttgart waters. Just come and visit them next time you are here.

Barbecue in Germany

When the first warm afternoons and evenings start around Easter you will find every second garden with the odor of grilled meat and sausages. So - what is the usual stuff you will find on the grills: marinated meat from porc, chicken, turkey and beef - sausages - shashlik skewers are the common features. Side dishes are usually mixed salad, potato salad or baked potatoes and lots of different sauces. If you are invited for a BBQ and you are able to put something together just ask if they want you to bring something along like e.g. a salad or some dessert.
This is my special recipe for a potato salad:
Ingredients: Potatoes (naturally) - be sure to choose the type which won't become farineceous.
Look out for "festkochend" - not "mehligkochend" or "vorwiegend festkochend" - these qualities won't do.
Onions, beef broth, vinegar, oil (rape or sunflower oil), salt and pepper.
After cooking the potatoes in their paring, rinse them with cold water and chop them in really thin slices. In the meanwhile you heat the broth and cook the onions which have been chopped in small cubes before.
Then pour the broth with the cooked onion cubes over the potatoes. Let it marinate at least one hour, then add the vinegar and the oil and some salt and pepper if you like.
You can also add thin cucumber slices, ham or hard boiled eggs. I like to add some rocket as well, that is not the Swabian version but I have lots in my garden and the taste is great as well.