Last weekend, on the way to O.K.'s, I got off the train at Karlsruhe (my usual stop on the way there and back) and met O.K. along with a couple of friends. Someone in our group of friends had suggested we visit the Christmas market there, and there we were.
It was just after 1:00 pm when we met up, so we started our excursion in full daylight.
Karlsruhe is one of those oddly laid-out cities where the main station is far off the actual city centre. It takes a 10-minute trip by tram to get to where the market square, pedestrian area and main shopping streets are.
A short walk from there brought us to the palace, which provided a splendid backdrop for the temporary ice skating rink.
That was not yet the proper Christmas market, although there were a few wooden stalls dotted around it with hot drinks and food. We had our first mugs of mulled wine there before moving on to the actual Christmas market in the city centre:
As it got darker, the lights became more pronounced. We had something to eat and another mug of hot drink (punch this time). And then it was 5:00 pm and we noticed that everyone was stopping and looking at a particular building.
A spotlight was directed to the edge of the roof, and there he was - Santa on his sleigh!
He rode across the sky and stopped above our heads, giving a short speech and waving to us. Then the sleigh moved on with sparks emitting from its skids - I was too slow with my camera then and not at the right angle, but it was pretty impressive! The red glow you can see at the front of the sleigh in some pictures is of course Rudolph's red nose.
Well, now I've seen Santa, I once more believe in him!
I was honestly in awe and felt very much like a little girl all over again; it was so well done and beautifully presented.
We had one last hot drink afterwards and then walked back to where we had started. The palace and skating rink looked even more beautiful and romantic now in the dark than before.
As a child and well into my teens, I loved skating, but I have not been on either rollers or ice skates in many years and have no idea how I'd fare nowadays. Maybe it is worth a try next year!
We took the train to O.K.'s shortly after 7:00 pm. All those hours since meeting at 1:00, we had been out and about, and now we were all ready to sit down on the train and almost fell asleep on the ride to Offenburg.
It was a nice excursion, and I enjoyed the Christmas market, but guess what - the one in Ludwigsburg is still my favourite.
I love your description of your visit. Your sense of enjoyment comes over so well. It sounds as though it was a perfect day.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not perfect, but really good!
Delete(Less good was that I had to carry my weekend bag around all day, as the lockers at the station were out of order...)
Aah, lovely, you really entered into the spirit of things (or was that the mulled wine?!!) How absolutely magical the sight of the sleigh in the sky would be for small children.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't the mulled wine - it really was the spirit of things!
DeleteI loved it that most of the adults were ooh-ing and aah-ing like children all over again.
I opened your post at breakfast and read it through and was entranced by the Father Christmas sleigh ride. I've been out for most of the day and just had another good look at the photos.
ReplyDeleteNo. 5 shows a roundabout with a set of sails above it and it reminded me of a table-top one we bought either in Berlin or Bavaria (the latter I think) and had for many years. The sails were heated by candles on the base and turned the roundabout.
I could never roller-skate but I did sort of ice-skate when I was a teenager.
The roundabout is exactly what you remember, Graham. There is one like the one in Karlsruhe also on the Stuttgart Christmas Market, where I walked past Monday morning a week ago. The table tops have usually four candles, and their heat turns the "wheel" at the top, making the figures of the shepherds, Holy Family and three wise men "walk". On the large roundabouts, the figures are (almost) of life size. One can pay a Euro or two to climb up the stairs and have a view across the market. We didn't do that, but I guess if there was one here in Ludwigsburg, I'd climb it once.
DeleteOh how wonderful! Just think how much you loved as an adult, it makes me happy to think how excited children must hav e been to see Santa on his sleigh! I also used to love to roller skate. I only skated in ice rink once but I was told if I could roller skate, it would be the same. Guess what,it was true, I loved it! I was whizzing along, wondering if I dare to try any spins and someone came along and told me we had to get off rink to make way for hockey practice. Life in sports crazy America! This was years ago, doubt I would risk it now! 😕
ReplyDeleteIt must have been very exciting for the children, many of them on their fathers' shoulders, to witness Santa's ride!
DeleteRoller skating and ice skating are similar, but not exactly the same - at least not when your rollers, like mine, had four castors at each corner of the shoe, not four in line. The motion to get you started and keep your speed needs a slightly different angle (here I go all scientific again!), but once you're on the ice, you quickly adapt to that difference.
Then I guess I am quickly adaptable then! My roller skates were the kind with four wheels, of course! I suppose that was why it was so memorable, I was able to do it with such ease. Very surprising that was to me!
DeleteThis was amazing! I don't really understand how it was achieved, but I am sure you were not the only person really excited to see Santa and his reindeer fly! I cannot really skate. My ankles were never strong enough, or else I didn't understand the proper technique. I am happy that you had such a nice excursion.
ReplyDeleteKristi, it was amazing!
DeleteIf you look at photo # 8, in the upper left corner on top of the building you can see the (empty) sleigh and a strong wire or cable leading away from the corner of the roof. That was attached to a sturdy pole topped by a glittering star. In fact, the sleigh was a cable car; we could see it slightly swinging in the wind as Santa was giving his speech and waving to us.
I so love this. Your markets are magical. I remember loving to skate as a girl. I could never do the fancy stuff, but I loved going round and round.
ReplyDeleteIt was beautiful, Nan, and of course even more so in the dark.
DeleteI've not been on skates in many years now but really enjoyed it, going round and round as much as (a tiny bit) of the fancy stuff.
I really loved this post - and your photos are great when enlarged. The European Christmas Markets are so much better than anything I ever see here. - they are really festive. When in Southampton boarding Cunard's Queen Victoria just prior to Christmas a few years back, there was a great market underway near our hotel. We had an evening to kill so enjoyed several hours with the locals and watched a similar flying Santa in a sleigh just like this. I too thought it awesome. Somebody dreamed up this wonderful feature and it truly is amazing. Like you Meike - I BELIEVE!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary!
DeleteMy photos were all taken with my mobile in more or less of a hurry, walking between crowds of people, and of course the night ones were tricky. But I think they still convey some of the atmosphere at the market.
If they should ever do the Santa ride here at my home town's Christmas market, I would love it even more - but I doubt they will, the structures of buildings etc. simply doesn't offer itself for that.
What a lovely description of your day. I'm sure that those memories will stay with you forever.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lovely way to start the 2nd Advent weekend, and I am sure I will remember it for a long time.
DeleteThat is a long time since I visited Karlsruhe where I was working at KFK. Looks a very nice place which I did not see much of
ReplyDeleteKarlsruhe's city centre today is not much different from most other city centres in this country; the same high street shops are everywhere now. The part around the palace is rather unique though, with its crescent facade and large free space in front.
DeleteOf course Santa is real! Loved the post. We ate the best goulash ever in Karlsruhe, on a very cold January night, many many years ago.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cathy - glad you liked my post, and have good memories of Karlsruhe. I must admit I have never had gulasch there :-)
DeleteSeeing is believing. To be honest, I stopped believing in Father Christmas when I was eight years old so it is nice now to admit that I was wrong. The proof is incontrovertible. It is a shame that you did not get to sit on Santa's knee and tell him what you really want for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of that, but you are right - that would have been my chance...!
DeleteAt eight, I was mentally still very much in fairy land. I believed in all of them, fairies, angels, unicorns, mermaids and the like.
Oh, my goodness, Santa is flying over! What gorgeous pictures. I love anything to do with fairy tales and Disney characters. I still read TOPOLINO, the Italian Mickey Mouse. My mother used to buy it for me when we lived in America, so that I wouldn't forget Italian. It's still available at the giornalaio so sometimes I buy it.
ReplyDeleteLooks like we have both managed to keep hold of what we loved about our childhoods; magical!
Delete