A Georgia Girl in Germany

OK, so this post is also pretty dated, but since the Stuttgart Christmas Market is one of the largest in Germany (and is my local Christmas Market), I had to share. Again, I'm really looking forward to experiencing the markets this year. The photo below is of a tremendously-large train set-up with the Neues Schloß in the background (the "New Palace"--construction began in 1746 and was completed in 1807). I didn't have the kids with me this day (getting some Christmas shopping done), but I'm sure they would have enjoyed riding on this train set (yes, the set-up included a larger train available for rides)!

This larger-than-life four-tiered Christmas Pyramid looked like it was super-sized right out of a Käthe Wohlfahrt store. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Käthe Wohlfahrt stores, they're year-round Christmas stores featuring traditional German Christmas products. I first discovered Käthe Wohlfahrt when I happened upon the original store in Rothenburg ob der Tauber back in March 1996 when I was at Rhein-Main Air Base for a month.

Stuttgart's Christmas Market has more than 200 booths, and they're all decorated for the holiday season...and not just with the wares they're selling inside. As you can see from this one, even the rooftops are decorated!

I really enjoyed the sights and sounds of the holiday season when walking through the market. There were several musicians scattered throughout the market, most of them dressed in costume for the season...and most of them pretty good musicians too!

Labels: Christmas, Germany, Travel