Experiencing Christmas Past at the Esslingen Mittelaltermarkt

Experiencing Christmas Past at the Esslingen Mittelaltermarkt

Apart from the Stuttgart Weihnachtsmarkt, my second favorite Christmas market in the region is in Esslingen. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, after a while I find that most Christmas markets that I've been to are pretty similar: they all have Glühwein and most of the same arts and crafts. Secondly, Esslingen takes a fun spin on the theme by featuring a Mittelaltermarkt or Middle Ages market. 

And so in order to share with you the Middle Aged magic of the market, we headed out to Esslingen this past weekend to take in all the sights and sounds of the season...

Christmastime is Here at the Stuttgart Weihnachtsmarkt

Christmastime is Here at the Stuttgart Weihnachtsmarkt

I'm really excited to write this post, because the Stuttgart Christmas Market is my favorite Christmas market in the area. Yes, I know I'm a little biased because I live here, but of the handful that we've been to over the past three years, Stuttgart still stands out in my mind as the best, and for good reason. According to the market's website, Stuttgart has had a Christmas market for over 300 years, beginning officially in 1692 (and probably earlier that than, just not on record). Today the market has grown to over 280 stands with over 3.5 million visitors each season...

Traditional German Fare at Calwer-Eck Brauhaus

Traditional German Fare at Calwer-Eck Brauhaus

Do you have that one restaurant where you always take visitors to experience your local food? For us, that's Calwer-Eck Brauhaus. This tiny pub serves up some of the best traditional Swabian dishes that I've tasted and just so happens to be Stuttgart's first and smallest local brewery. 

Located along Calwer Straße, this tiny pub doesn't look like much from the street. In fact, you'd probably walk right past it if you didn't know where to look. But once you walk in the front door and up the marble stairs, you're welcomed into a traditional pub-style atmosphere with wooden tables and chairs and even wood-paneled walls. However, the most interesting feature of Calwer-Eck are the art nouveau touches in the lamps and window panels, making it all the more attractive as a local beer and dinner destination...

Onkel Otto: The Best Schnitzel in Stuttgart?

Onkel Otto: The Best Schnitzel in Stuttgart?

A couple of weeks ago we were invited to go out by some friends to try the Schnitzel at Onkel Otto in Marienplatz. We'd never been before, but heard great things about it, so we decided to check it out. 

Our evening started after work in Degerloch where we decided to walk down to Marienplatz. The walk down was lovely and took us through the vineyards where Degerloch hosts a Weinwanderung (wine walk) every fall. Though I've yet to try the wine, the views of Stuttgart are beautiful as you can see by my photo. This time of year the trees and vines were all turning colors, which though not as vibrant as in Virginia, were still lovely...

Seasonal Dining at Grand Café Planie

Seasonal Dining at Grand Café Planie

The big celebration of our five year anniversary was our trip to Barcelona a couple of weeks ago. However, we weren't able to go on the actual day because we were limited by my school's calendar breaks. And so to celebrate on the actual day, we decided to head over to Grand Café Planie for dinner after work. 

I like Grand Café Planie because they have lovely seasonal menus. I love all things related to the fall and to pumpkins, which is why we chose the fall season for our wedding. In fact, we even had a custom-made pumpkin-spice cake with a buttercream frosting. Grand Café Planie also has a delicious pumpkin menu that we tried last fall, so it seemed like the most appropriate place to go...

Recap: Return to Barcelona Part 2 - Food

Recap: Return to Barcelona Part 2 - Food

We saw, did, and ate so much in Barcelona that I've had to split my recap into two parts. In Part 1 I talked about everything that we saw and did in the city, including our tasty cooking class with Espai Boisà and our tapas tour with taste Barcelona. In this part, I'll give you my recommendations for places to eat. 

It wasn't hard to make this list. We had so many good meals in Barcelona, that I'm actually a little sad to be back in Germany. The ability to taste so many small plates of tapas really fit with my indecisiveness and love of many different flavors. In fact, we spent the day before our return simply walking around the city and moving from one great tapas bar to another. It was a nice end to our vacation..

Recap: Return to Barcelona Part 1 - Sights and Activities

Recap: Return to Barcelona Part 1 - Sights and Activities

Matt and I celebrate our five-year anniversary this November (yay!), and so to mark the occasion, we decided to spend my fall break this past week in Barcelona, the city where we began our honeymoon. Everything was amazing -- the food, the weather, the sights -- and so I wanted to share some of our favorite sights and bites should you decide to go on a Barcelona trip of your own in the future.

Getting There and Around

Stuttgart offers direct flights to Barcelona, so getting there was very easy. We simply took the S-bahn to the airport from Stuttgart's main station and after a two-hour flight arrived in sunny Barcelona (which was a stark contrast to our already cold, grey Germany). To get from the Barcelona airport into the city, we took the Aerobús, which left the airport every 10 minutes and conveniently dropped us off in the center of Plaça de Catalunya for just 5,90€ one-way...

Upcoming Festivals and Events in November/December 2014

Upcoming Festivals and Events in November/December 2014

Following my last post about events in September/October, here is the next installment of my attempt to share some upcoming culinary happenings in and around Stuttgart.

Winter is a busy time for Germany as all of the Christmas markets roll out in full pomp. I know that the stereotype is to visit Germany (and specifically Munich) for the Oktoberfest, but really the Christmas markets with their candied nuts, wooden toys and nutcrackers, and glühwein (mulled wine) are really what you should visit for. 

So get ready for the Christmas season and look forward to these events coming up in November and December...

Bringing the Restaurant Home with Laxmy

Bringing the Restaurant Home with Laxmy

On nights when we come home and neither one of us feels like cooking, there are a few restaurants from which we can order delivery and still be sure to get a good meal. One of those places is Angelo's Pizza Taxi, but pizza can get old after a while. And so to add some variety to our idleness, we often turn to another favorite: Indian food from Laxmy. 

On principle, I do not like to order food that I can make myself. However, as well as I've been able to perfect the one chicken curry dish that I make, nothing can top the hours-long preparation of authentic Indian cuisine. And so, I prefer to order my Indian food from Laxmy, which, after several disappointing visits to Indian restaurants in the area, we've found to be the best Indian in Stuttgart...

The Liebster Award 2014

The Liebster Award 2014

It seems I've been nominated for a Liebster Award (thank you, Ami in Schwabenland)! To be honest, I really had no idea what this was until my nomination. A little digging around online suggested that the award is of dubious origins, thought it all seems rather harmless. 

Basically someone nominates you for being a small blog that they like (liebster means beloved in German), and you have to answer their questions and then nominate another five bloggers using your own 5-10 questions. I liked one description that I read about it being a cross between chain mail and a love letter. 

I really don't much like these sorts of things on Facebook, but I am very flattered to have been nominated my someone who likes my blog and is a reader besides my close friends. I also like having this opportunity to nominate and share with you some of the other expat blogs that I've been reading and enjoying lately...