Around Ludwigsburg

For having had such a long night, we woke up pretty early this morning - early enough to get our hands on some breakfast pastries. Natalie drove us into town where there was a local bakery with a huge selection of breads and pastries. (I just realized that I don't know where she lives!!!!! Did I even bother to ask?!?!?! I'm such an idiot!!! Sorry Nat!) Since there was no eat-in at the bakery itself, we headed back to her house for some fruits and the all important coffee to go along with the danishes.

Stuffed, warmed, cleaned, and properly dressed, Natalie took me out on a tour of the local area. Yaaaaaaay!!!

First, we drove to the quaint, comfy, beautiful town of Bietigheim-Bissingen. Yes, a mouthful!!! Located next to a small river, the town has some wonderful, wooden bridges and the typical, colorful German houses, with steep roofing:It just makes you want to live here!!! Well, at least Waru.
The central area is crossed by cobblestoned roads with various stores and restaurants on each side. During this late morning, the locals were busy preparing for the Christmas Market.

Walking thru the town, I found two interesting statues.
The main cobblestoned thoroughfare in town led to this unique tower of horses:I'm not sure what it represents, or its purpose in being here, but interesting nonetheless.
Now, this one caught my eye because of the language - yup, it's written in Japanese!

It's a stone monument to commemorate a Dr. Erwin Balz. I didn't read the entire inscription on the stone due to its complicated wording and the overwhelming amount of kanji on it that just didn't motivate me to keep reading. So, I did some research later on…through which I have learned that he was responsible for bringing Western medicine into Japan during the late 1800s, and was even the personal physician for the imperial household! He lived in Japan for over 20 years and ended up marrying a Japanese woman (surprising for the fact that this is still so common!!!) During that time, he seems to have discovered the therapeutic effects of Kusatsu's hot springs that has eventually led to its popularity and commercialization. Bietigheim-Bissingen and Kusatsu are now "sister towns", and there is a similar stone statue standing in Kusatsu to honor the man as well.

I will make sure to look for it the next time I go up there…hopefully soon, since the hot springs are indeed fantastic!

From there, we went back onto the road, heading towards Ludwigsburg. Being more of a city than a town, it lacked the unchangingness and charm of Bietigheim-Bissingen. Don't get me wrong - Ludwigsburg is nice enough to walk around, but just not too picturesque. Anyways, Natalie didn't take me here for the city itself, but for the nearby palace and the famous Christmas market.

Ludwigsburg Palace is, like any palace anywhere in the world, grand. With large, elegant gardens. Unlike the Russian palaces I saw this summer, Ludwigsburg didn't have the opulence, at least on the outside. Therefore, when I first saw the building, it didn't really have the "WOW" factor, and seemed more like a functioning government complex than anything else. I suppose that's exactly what it was during the 18th century…
But the interior was much better! As a guided tour was the only way in, that's what we did to see some beautiful chandeliers, super-big bedrooms (it must be cold though!), and lots of not-always-pretty, but surely expensive, artwork.

More than the palace, however, I think I was more fascinated with a particular presence in the central courtyard…

Must be the skinniest, saddest Santa Clause I've ever seen! No spirit whatsoever, but amusing.

To get into the Christmas spirit, we went back into the city for the Christmas market. Small stalls lined the street and plaza, selling a bunch of wooden crafts, candles, non-perishable food items, accessories, etc. I didn't end up buying anything (as usual), but just looking at all the crafts and taking in the atmosphere was great fun! To top it all off, we had the typical Christmas market food at the plaza:Bratwurst and sauerkraut. I am in Germany after all. And a cup of warm Glutwein. Since Natalie had to drive and I still had a long travel day ahead of me, we both downgraded to the non-alcoholic version. Hahaha. I love mugs the drinks came in!!! Wish I could've left with one in hand.
Sadly, we had to slowly leave the market by this point, and back to the car.

I can imagine the market to be more lively and prettier at night, but I had a train to catch at 4pm...
Natalie dropped me off at the Ludwigsburg Station, where we said our goodbyes and promises for Natalie to visit me in Tokyo : )

I took the local train from Ludwigsburg to Stuttgart. Then, boarded another train at Stuttgart, thinking that it would go directly to the Frankfurt Airport. Nope. Needed to transfer again at some in-between city…Mannheim, maybe?! Either way, I didn't miss the transfer since there were constant announcements and reminders on the train. In English. This last train apparently started its long journey in some other European country, on its way to another one, and was therefore very packed! Sort of felt like being on a rush-hour Tokyo subway or on a holiday-season bullet train.
Uncomfortable, but it did take me safety and surely to the airport.