Warning: Picture Overload!
On my last post, I talked about the fabulous Ludwigsburg Palace. Well, every year (late September until early November), the palace holds an event called Bluhendes Barock, or Baroque in Bloom. Baroque refers to the architectural style of the palace as well as the gardens and I believe when they say Bloom, they're referring to the fall harvest.
Part of this event is the annual pumpkin festival, which takes place in the gardens and behind the palace. There is a place within the gardens called the Marchengarten, which is essentially a fairy tale garden that is quite the adventure for the little kiddos--Vaiosina included. There was a boat ride, "magic" water fountains, Rapunzel's tower, and all kinds of exhibits that portrayed our most beloved childhood tales (i.e. Pinocchio, the Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel).
I believe every year, the same dinosaur theme is used throughout the grounds. There were all kinds of dinosaurs covered in pumpkins. Speaking of pumpkins...I have never seen so many different kinds of pumpkins in all shapes and sizes. I mean, there must have been hundreds from all over the world. I especially enjoyed seeing all of the colors.
Of course, what's a pumpkin festival without your pumpkin-themed foods. As soon as we got there, we smelled pumpkin seeds being honey-roasted. The first thing Sina said was "Mmmmmmmmm!" We had pumpkin bratwurst (Amazing! You could actually see the seeds in the sausage!) with brotchen (bread roll). We also had pumpkin-potato pancakes with applesauce and gluhwein (which is spiced, sweet red wine served hot). Yum-o! And of course, the token beer tents were out there too.
I mean, there was tons to see and do. There were animals (tons of apiaries, goats, and geese), a facepainting booth, a pumpkin carving booth, pumpkin carving artists showing off their skills, and shopping tents (where I bought pumpkin wine). There was even a fire pit, which was nice because it was a bit nippy that day, as well as a live band. Life was especially wonderful that day.
Anyway, there are tons of pictures, so I'll just let them do the rest of the talking.
Holy huge pumpkins!
The entrance to the Marchengarten!
Boy, was she excited about the boat ride. As we waited in line, she repeatedly said, "row, row, row" as each boat passed by. So cute!
This really hit the spot! Gluhwein and Pumpkin Potato Cakes with Applesauce.
She LOVED that fire!
Rapunzel's Tower. You can't see it, but off to the tower's left side is a long braid hanging out of the window. The place was beautiful!
We decided that Sina has become too much of a liability. And T-Rex looked hungry!
A neat water fountain.
Another palace across the street.
The back side of the Ludwigsburg Palace.
We are definitely going to make this an annual event for our little family. I hope you all enjoyed a small taste of Germany. With the holidays quickly approaching, we'll be showing you lots more!
