Germany - Petite Haus

Angelina October 7, 2022 entertaining

Oktoberfest 2022

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This past month we celebrated Oktoberfest. We usually celebrate Oktoberfest every year. We put on our dirndls and lederhosen, listen to good oompah band music and eat!

What’s not to like about that? I purchased this banner on Amazon several years ago and it is still holding up!

We hand make all of the pretzels!

Various mustards, cheese and Paprika chips (from Germany!) are served – in addition to brats, sauerkraut and potatoes, and pumpkin soup.

Here’s a look at a past party, Alpine Fashion, and all of my other Oktoberfest posts.

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Angelina August 13, 2018 Germany

Cow Festivals in the Alps

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Have you heard about the cow festivals in the Alps? I hadn’t either… until I went to one. I had so much fun and then I went to another!

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

Every year at the end of Summer, the sound of bells can be heard ringing through little Alpine villages of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. What does this mean? The cow herds are descending from their Summer pastures to their Winter pastures.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The entire village joins in on the celebration and is decorated – the people wear their traditional folk dress and the cows are dressed up too! They wear special headdresses!

cow wearing a floral crown

The farmers lead their herd down the hill. It’s really funny watching the cows… they follow one after the other in a line, most of the time. Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

Except when they see green grass, then the line gets broken and they try to make their way to the grassy fields. The farmers then use their sticks and wack them back into line! Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

In addition to costumes, there is traditional Schuhplatteln dancing, Alphorn blowing and music.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The locals wear their traditional costumes. Love the little girl being pulled in the goat cart. Sorry I blurred their faces as I don’t know European law about faces in pictures.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

Speaking of goats, there are often little goat herds in the festival too! They don’t get to wear crowns like the cows, but they all have little bells on them. This little girl below was funny – she looked behind at her goat the entire time and kept her tight on her leash… perhaps she’s been known to eat through a rope or two?

alpine cow festivals

This ceremonial cattle drive is called the Almabtrieb, however in the Allgäu it is called the Viehscheid.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The cows wear traditional “Fuikl”, which are special crowns worn only for the Almabtrieb. Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The farmers create the crowns them selves, often from the fir and spruce branches and wildflowers.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The cow with the biggest and prettiest crown of each herd is the Kranzrind, “The Crown Cow” and has a special job as it is the lead cow and leads the rest of the cows home. Below, in between the two people you can see the “Crown Cow” – it has the biggest bell and the biggest crown.

alpine cow festivals

The loud bells around the necks of the cows are designed to protect them from “hostile demons” as they descend into the valley.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

There are two types of cowbells – “Glocken” which are cast and “Schellen” which are from plate metal.

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The locals really do party ’til the cows come home. Hmm… wonder if this is where the saying originates?

Alpine Cow Festival - Almabtrieb

The festival pictures above are from two separate festivals in different years – one was in Switzerland and one was in Austria.

Alpine cow festivals in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland aka Almabtrieb and Veihscheid

Source for Article information is from Bavaria.by.

Here are some websites that list the dates they occur:

Viehscheid and Almabtrieb in Bavaria

Viehscheid in Allgäu

Almabtriebe and Viehscheidtermine in Bavaria, Allgäu, Tirol, Austria, and Switzerland

Swiss Alpine Festivals

I do hope you enjoyed reading about the cow festivals in the Alps! We liked going to these over going to the Oktoberfest. I know many people travel to Germany for the Oktoberfest… perhaps you’ll find time to make it to one of these festivals!

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Angelina June 18, 2018 England

Fairytale Towns in Europe

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Today I’ve put together a little guide of fairytale towns in Europe. I have visited all of these picturesque villages and towns and their charm has lasted in my memory.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Located in northern Bavaria, this little village is like a walk back into the Middle Ages – minus the plague! It is located on the Romantic Road in Germany. Many of the buildings age from the 1300s to the 1600s. It is surrounded by a medieval wall and is German’y best preserved medieval town! I’ll let the pictures to do the talking.

Oberammergau, Germany

This town located in the Bavarian Alps is famous for its adorable buildings with painted facades. The facades depict fairytales, religious scenes, and trompe-l’oeil. It is also known for hosting the passion play which occurs once a decade. The play was first performed in 1634 and it is the result of a vow made by the inhabitants of the village that if God spared them from the effects of the bubonic plague then sweeping the region they would perform a passion play every ten years.

The village is also famous for its woodcarving. The Bavarian State Woodcarving School is located here.

Ok, so this is not a painted building, but I had to include the chicken lace drapes!

The Cotswolds, England

This is a region in England. Cot means sheep and wolds is farm – so there are surrounding sheep farms in this area. I couldn’t choose just one town to feature, so my pictures are a collection from various towns and villages. Not only are the buildings cute, but so are the town names: Upper and Lower Slaughter, Chipping Camden, Stow-On-The-Wold, Burford, Bourton on the Water.

It is known for its rolling hills, idyllic villages with surrounding farms. Many of the houses are built of stone. This church is from the 12th century.

Like most things in Europe it seems, these little houses are from the 1500 and 1600s and still standing!

Also many cute storybook-worthy thatch roof houses here.

Colmar, France

This little village is located in the Alsace region of NE France, which sits on the border of Germany. There are both French and German influences here.

It has belonged both to France and to Germany – depending on who won which war. The timbered buildings are so beautiful.

I personally love the Alsace region of France – you can get both a fabulous croissant and a pretzel all from the same bakery!

Many of the buildings are from the 1500 and 1600s. It is sometimes called little Venice since it is located on a canal.

Honfleur, France

This little town is located on the Normandy coast of France. It sits on the Seine’s estuary. The townhouses are from the 16th-18th centuries.

It is hard to believe these old buildings are still standing and not all demolished from the war.

This adorable fishing town was actually quite rich as it made its money from the port.

It is has been a favorite of many artists including Claude Monet.

Hallstatt, Austria

This scenic town sits on Lake Hallstatt in Austria. I was there so many years ago unfortunately the pictures I shot are not up to par. Hallstatt is located in part of the Salzkammergut region in Austria – where you literally feel that the hills are alive with the Sound of Music.

The town is full of 16th century traditional houses and is Austria’s oldest village. Nearby there are the Hallstatt salt mines – you can tour them in your bunny suit and slide down salt slides! It was so fun. It is outside of Salzburg – and frankly, prettier than Salzburg! Take a boat tour and let the hills sing to you.

Honorable Mentions

Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

I can’t write a fairytale town post without mentioning the ultimate fairytale castle, Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. The inside isn’t that pretty to be honest as far as European palaces and castles go, but the outside is the one that inspired Walt Disney and I think is what most of us think of when we think of a castle!

Castle

St. Gallen, Switzerland

Ok, so there is a cute little town square here that I had to include mainly because I think this building is just the cutest thing ever. St. Gallen has the oldest library in Switzerland, built in 937. I have no pictures of it as photography wasn’t allowed. The library itself is a world heritage site. St. Gallen also has a textile museum and a beautiful rococo church.

Strasbourg, France

I was keeping this list limited to fairytale towns and Strasbourg is certainly no town – it is a major city and is actually the capital of the EU! But I had to include this picture since it is right out of a fairytale book!

I do hope you enjoyed my list of fairytale towns in Europe. Have you ever been to any of them? Also, I’ll be including some more travel posts this Summer since everyone seems to be traveling right now!

If you like my travel posts, check out my travels to Germany, France, England and Switzerland.

Also, check out my guide on what to pack in your carry-on! It is my most popular post to date.

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Angelina October 9, 2016 Fall

2016 Pumpkin Festival in Germany

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This year I had another opportunity to visit the World’s Largest Pumpkin Festival! It is held every year at Schloss Ludgwigsburg in Ludgwigsburg, Germany (just outside of Stuttgart).

We went stumbled upon it by accident in 2013 and when we decided to go to Europe this past September we made sure it was part of our itinerary again!

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.

Every year the festival consists of over 400,000 pumpkins!!! The festival is lots of fun! It is held on the castle grounds of this palace below:

Even if you aren’t pumpkin stir crazy, the grounds are beautiful and you can also tour the inside of the palace as well. We had been inside in 2013 so we passed this time.

Every year the pumpkin festival theme changes. This year it was Circus themed (Zirkus, in German). When we were there in 2013 it was a Sports theme. So if you go every year it is always different!

The pumpkin art is made mainly from wood, straw, and gourds/pumpkins. Just enjoy the pictures now!

They had this wall with all the different pumpkin and gourd varieties! I loved looking at it!

The festival also has pumpkin-themed food of all types: pumpkin… soup, bread, muffins, rice, ravioli, pasta, quiche, and of course, strudel! Now this soup inspired to me to create my own copycat version here! The dark stuff floating on top is pumpkin seed oil and it is DELICIOUS.

There are also special events that occur during the festival. Last time we were there they had pumpkin boat racing in the main fountain of the palace! This year we just missed Ray Villafane, the famous pumpkin carver.

You can view my trip to the pumpkin festival in 2013 here.

So what do you all think of the pumpkin festival?? Have you ever seen anything like it??

OH PS – I saw a stork for the first time in real life in Germany at the festival and was so excited I had to share!

For more information, you can visit the official website here.

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Angelina October 14, 2015 Germany

Straw Festival – Strohfest

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Today I am sharing with you a straw festival! A what? Yes, a festival of straw! The festival is held in Germany every year at my favorite “little” palace… Schloss Ludwigsburg. This festival was actually held this Spring, but for some reason I feel like it seems more fitting for Fall for some reason… maybe it’s because we decorate with hay bales around here for Fall? The pictures were taken by my parents on their vacation… I am “borrowing” them 😉

As you can see, all of the sculptures are made from straw!

I totally love the carrots and onions, aren’t they cute??

Of course, the snail is cute. Don’t mind the cherry blossoms, pink is okay for Fall too, right??

I hope you enjoyed the straw festival (Strohfest in German). Schloss Ludwigsburg is seriously the best little palace over there… every Spring it hosts the straw festival and every Fall it hosts the pumpkin festival. If you’re ever in Germany… go there! So much fun!

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Angelina September 30, 2015 Desserts

Easy Traditional Apple Strudel Recipe – German Apfelstrudel

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Last week during our Oktoberfest party I made apple strudel for the first time! I looked far and wide for an authentic German/Austrian apfelstrudel recipe. I felt like this recipe was really authentic! It was also really pretty easy to make – because I cheated and used frozen puff pastry dough as my strudel dough. Making strudel dough from scratch is labor intensive.

Easy Traditional Apple Strudel – Printable recipe here

makes 2 loaves, serving 10-14 people

2 tablespoons apple juice or golden rum
3 tablespoons raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) granulated sugar
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted.
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup (60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch thick slices (recommend granny smith and honey crisp varieties)
powdered sugar, for dusting
1 egg with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash

Directions:

Mix the apple juice or rum in a bowl with the raisins and set aside.
In another bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon, set aside.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 3 tbsp of butter in the skillet. Then add the breadcrumbs. Stir constantly until golden and toasted. Takes approximately 3 minutes. Let cool completely.
While bread crumbs are cooling, chop up the apples.
With a rolling pin, roll out each piece of thawed puff pastry dough on a floured surface to approximately 10×12 inches. You will be making 2 logs of strudel total.
Preheat the oven to 375F.
With the remaining melted butter, brush the melted butter over the entire pastry dough. Then, sprinkle the cooled toasted bread crumbs over the entire buttered puff pastry sheet in a thin layer. Repeat for second dough sheet.
Spread half of the walnuts in a line about 3 inches back from the edge of the dough. Repeat with other pastry dough sheet.
Now add the cinnamon sugar mixture, and raisin mixture to the cut apples. Stir together. Now you will immediately spread half of the apple mixture over the walnuts in a line. Repeat for the second strudel dough. NOTE: make sure your apple mixture doesn’t have any liquid in it when you pour it over the strudel. If you leave the apples with the sugar for a while, they will ooze out liquid. The liquid will make it harder to roll the strudel.
Now, slowly roll the dough lifting the front side to first cover the apples. Roll until it is a log shape. The seam side should be on the bottom of the log. Tuck the two ends of the log under the strudel by pinching the dough together.
Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat, seam side down.
Brush with the egg wash.
Make several cuts across the top to allow the steam to escape.
Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.
One cool, dust with powdered sugar and serve. Serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or homemade cinnamon ice cream (recipe click here)! It is best served warm on the first day of baking!

Below are the two strudels getting ready to go into the oven!

43 minutes later…. voila! It is now a nicely golden brown in color! Smells amazing, too!

Once the strudel has cooled to when it is slightly warm, sprinkle powdered sugar on top!

I like to eat mine with ice cream!

I thought this recipe tasted exactly like the strudel I ate in Germany. Which means.. it isn’t overly sweet. If you love sweet desserts, I would recommend adding a bit more sugar to it. Traditional strudel isn’t super sweet like American apple pie. Or, you could always just sprinkle more powdered sugar on top. I think serving it with whipped cream or ice cream is essential. Also, it tastes better served warm. If your strudel cooled down to room temp, I would recommend just heating it up either in the oven or microwave.

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Angelina September 23, 2015 entertaining

Oktoberfest Party Decorations – a Table Setting Idea

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This past weekend I had some family over and we had an Oktoberfest party – lots of great Oktoberfest party decorations here!! For the party, I set up this pretty Oktoberfest table!

Hanging from the chandelier are printouts of Lebkuchen hearts you see everywhere in Bavaria – especially during Oktoberfest time! I simply took the ones from last year and glued them to some cardboard. I then punched a hole in the center and hung them with string! You can print out your own here through my Oktoberfest 2014 table: Oktoberfest 2014 table

I found the printed plates and napkins at Cost plus. The napkin rings are vintage Erzgebirge from Germany that were found on eBay. Aren’t they cute? They are holding plates from the harvest.

For the placemats, I made my own. I couldn’t find any Bavarian looking placemats anywhere! And when I found German placemats, they were black, red, and yellow which are the colors of the German flag. Oktoberfest colors are blue and white – representing Bavaria.

Making them was pretty simple. I used a previous placemat to get the right size. Then added some flannel to the back make it thick. The fabric was a bright blue picnic table fabric!

To finish them, the white ribbon was later sewn around the edges.

A closer look at the individual table settings…

One last look! I just love the hearts hanging from the chandelier!

An Oktoberfest table… pin away!

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Angelina September 21, 2015 Beauty and Fashion

What to Wear to the Oktoberfest

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You were invited to go to a Oktoberfest party and now you’re wondering what to wear to the Oktoberfest… well, I’ve got you covered with my guide. The Oktoberfest runs for two whole weeks, so you still have time to get your party gear on! My guide is broken down into women’s (Damen) and men’s (Herrn) fashions. Let’s start with the Damen.

Dirndl

The most obvious choice would be to wear a dirndl (the name of the type of dress below). The dirndl comes in three basic lengths: long, midi, and mini! I chose the long dress because it was cold when I was in Germany during Oktoberfest. What I do recommend avoiding though, is the super short ones that people wear as Halloween costumes. You know which ones I’m talking about. They’re too short, slutty, and tacky. Dirndls range in price from 80 dollars to 500 dollars. There is a wide variety of quality. If you choose to buy yours in Germany, there are *tons* of shops over there that sell them just for tourists. Mine cost around 200 dollars. There are also a ton of websites online that sell them. I think it is way more fun to go into a store and have a fashion show!

Blouse
The next step is choosing a blouse. As you can see, they range from sexier cleavage baring to modest warmer ones. Up to you to decide what to wear! Remember, your stomach will be covered so don’t worry about the crop top!

Tying the Knot
Now, when you tie the knot on your apron for your dirndl, the side the bow lays on determines what it says about you:

The bow to the left: you are single
The bow to the right: you are married or taken
To the middle: for children
To the back: widowed

Shoes

My biggest question when I got my dirndl was, what shoes do I wear with this?! Turns out, you can wear a variety of different shoes! You can wear cute pair of flats, pumps, mary janes, clogs, boots! Anything goes! I wore boots with mine. I think if you are going to be walking around all day, a pair of flats, clogs, or boots would be your best bet!

Accessories:
Now, to complete your look, let’s have a look at some accessories…

Hats
Some women like to wear hats with their outfits… Germany can get a bit chilly in the Fall! These two hats are the most traditional Bavarian hats to wear… they are made of boiled wool. Yes, I have one too!

Necklaces

If you choose to wear a necklace, the most common necklaces to wear with your dirndl are edelweiss necklaces and heart shaped necklaces. The heart shaped necklaces are usually patterned after the gingerbread hearts and have terms of endearment on them.

Purses
Now you need something to put your ID, phone, and lipgloss in. The most popular type of purse to wear with your dirndl is a heart-shaped purse. Again, these echo the gingerbread hearts that are seen everywhere.

Now, if you aren’t into dresses, there is also female version of lederhosen. I think they are kind of cute! I am not sure if these are cheaper than a dirndl, as leather shorts and pants can get expensive!

Below, is a picture of my cousin and I wearing our dirndl and lederhosen in Austria. As you can see, my dirndl is long. I love the pink and green! I chose the longer one because it is not warm in the Alps!

I am including these editorial photos from some high end dirndl designers to show you how pretty dirndls can be! Also, take note, the most popular way to wear your hair with a dirndl is in a braid! Click on each picture to see a larger version

Now, let’s say you are going to an Oktoberfest party here in the USA and don’t want to wear a dirndl or lederhosen, but want to have “the look”. I have found some similar outfits that you can assemble to wear to your Oktoberfest party.

You can wear a pair of bermuda shorts or khaki capris with a gingham shirt, or a peasant off the shoulder blouse with a midi skirt. Pair it with clogs or boots. If it is cold, put on a boiled wool sweater or wool cardigan. To accessorize, wear a heart shaped necklace and if you have a heart shaped purse, great!

Selections below, click to buy (affiliate link)

Menswear (Herrn)
Ok, the men wear lederhosen. It’s as simple as that. There are varying lengths: super short, then above the knee, below the knee, and pants. They come in a variety of colors – brown and black are the most common. They are often sold in sets: the set includes a gingham plaid shirt, lederhosen, suspenders, socks, and shoes. The sets are often around 150-250 Euros. I recommend buying the set… if you purchase each item individually it will end up costing more!

Green lederhosen shorts with red socks on the left, and then hikers wear short lederhosen shorts with the traditional hat.

Here is Mr. Stylish below with his boiled wool coat, lederhosen, red socks, and a scarf that the Europeans love to wear. I feel like he’s going to start singing Edelweiss to someone!

Accessories

Here is the traditional hat to wear. Often feathers and pins are tucked into the side.

Now, I know a lot of guys don’t want to wear lederhosen (like my husband). I put together a board showing you how to get “the look” without prancing around in leather pants. A gingham shirt, corduroy pants, a wool cardigan (preferably boiled wool), boots, suspenders, and the alpine hat will get you the look!

Click on the picture below to buy, contains affiliate links.

One last look at us two… a bunch of random people took our picture as we stood in front of these cows. I guess we certainly looked the part! In Germany, I *highly* suggest wearing the traditional outfit! At first I felt a little silly, but then I put it on, went to the festival, and got SO MANY compliments! The greatest part was, everyone kept talking to us in German. Granted, I can speak German pretty well, but it’s certainly not my native language.

I hope this guide helped you. Have you been to the Oktoberfest in Germany? If not, do you go to local Oktoberfests in the USA?

Picture sources other than my own (and also sources where you can buy your Oktoberfest outfits):
Bavaria Lederhosen (also sells dirndls)
Lena Hoschek
Ernst Licht
Deutsches Haus
Goessl
If I missed a credit for a picture, please let me know! I downloaded a whole bunch and forgot where I got some!

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Angelina May 1, 2014 Germany

European Flower Window Boxes!

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European Flower Window Boxes

If you’ve ever been to Germany, Switzerland, or Austria you will have noticed something… many of the houses and buildings have window boxes full of beautiful flowers. Other European countries have mastered the window box, but not quite like those living in the Alpine region!

They are also called balcony flowers, as seen below on the balconies:

European Flower Window Boxes - Peonies and Orange Blossoms

in Tirol, Austria

Aren’t they beautiful? I took all of these pictures on my trip to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in 2013.

the world’s largest cuckoo clock!

The flowers in the boxes are typically geraniums and ivy.

There are several types of “balcony geraniums”. The ones below are part of the “minicascade” type of geraniums. They trail about 2 feet and bloom like crazy.

Balcony Geraniums in European Window Boxes - Peonies and Orange Blossoms

in Austria

The ones featured below appear to be part of the “midcascade” type. They are a little bit fluffier than the ones above!

in Strasbourg, France

The ones below are part of the Balcon series. They are large, up to 4 feet! As you can see, they create huge masses of color!

isn’t this house super cute? It is in Bavaria.

I love how every little window gets a planter box! It takes a house from drab to fab!

Bavaria

Red is the favorite color, but sometimes people plant other colors. Pink is below!

in Triberg, Germany

The great part about these balcony geraniums is that they survive the heat of Summer when others can’t.

in Austria

I wish more houses in America would have planter boxes in front of every window!

in Germany

I love the double layer of flowers on this building below

The hotel we stayed at in Austria even had balcony flowers for every room! I still can’t believe I visited this place!

Balcony Geraniums in European Window Boxes at the Internalpen Hotel in Austria- Peonies and Orange Blossoms

Interalpen Hotel, Austria

I found this pretty house on houzz, which is a modern interpretation of French Provencal style. I love that it incorporates everything that I love… French style, German window boxes, European working shutters, AND it is single story!

You can’t find these special geraniums at every nursery. You have to do a special search for them. Look for “balcon geraniums”, “cascade geraniums”, or “alpine geraniums”

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Angelina December 4, 2013 Christmas

Favorite Christmas Store

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My Favorite Christmas Store… Käthe Wohlfahrt!

Today I am sharing with you my favorite Christmas store… Käthe Wohlfahrt. (say it like ‘Katie Vowl-fart’)

However, there is one problem. She is located in Germany! Noooooo!!!

Store front in Oberammergau, Germany

Store front

A christmas room!

Pyramids!

Big pyramids!

a really neat lighted Schwibbogen

an even prettier Schwibbogen! Too bad it won’t plug into U.S. power outlets! (Or I guess good thing for my wallet!)

a neat lighted tree!

I had never seen these before, so here’s another

Nutcrackers!

Even more!

Even prettier ones!

I took more pictures but in my excitement in the store I had a hard time holding the camera still!

This is only 1 of 2 stores we went to Oberammergau.

Angel musicians by “Wendt and Kuhn”… Love these!

can you believe this place?

This is her flagship store located in Rothenburg ob der Tauber:

Yes, it looks like this 365 days a year! I had the pleasure of visiting 10 years ago.

At the Rothenburg ob der Tauber location, there is even a Christmas museum!

If that’s not enough incentive to get you to visit her shop, look at one of the picturesque villages she is located in:

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

All of her locations are here. Guess what?! There IS a store in the USA. But it’s in Minnesota. And I don’t know when I will ever be in Minnesota again.

If you are headed to Germany to go to the Christmas markets, here are all of the locations

So good news, the store ships worldwide! You can look through her online shop here!

In addition to selling brands like Steinbach and Ulbricht, she also has her own manufacturing shop. Here’s a look at some of her items:

What do you like from her shop?

I hope you enjoyed! I enjoyed looking at my pictures again!

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Angelina September 30, 2013 Fall

Pumpkin Festival

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Pumpkin Festival 2013 at Ludwigsburg Palace in Germany

Every year the Ludwigsburg Palace plays host to the “Kürbisausstellung” (aka pumpkin festival). They have over 450,000 pumpkins on their property! No they are not just scattered about, they are actually featured as sculptures! One year they had a Dinosaur theme, a Swiss theme, a botanical theme, and this year, a sports theme!
*warning, picture heavy post*

Can you find the word “Sports” hidden in the pumpkins?

Skiers!

She is lighting the torch, I believe

Yes, this takes place surrounding the Ludwigsburg palace property! Look at the beautiful building!

Ever seen such funny look gourds?

What about these ones?

A different look at the skiers

They also had smaller figures too. Some of these seem like you could try to replicate them at home for your own decorating.

A working Owl and Frog fountain!

Whoooo goes there?

This parrot was very cute!

A bicycle

A horse of course

The swan and alpine goat thing next to her

entire boxing match!

Jamaica has a bobsled team

This is part of the festival. The thing on the left in front of the pic was a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place trophy winner stand that would play music when you stood on it.

They had rows and rows of pumpkins from all of the world. What was interesting to learn was that a majority of the pumpkin types are from the USA.

A basketbal player

Even a very large swimmer as you can see

I think this guy was my favorite

You can see white tents in the background with food

Not only did they showcase the pumpkins, but they had different booths with food featuring pumpkin. We had the pumpkin soup which was delicious. We also had pumpkin struedel which was also very good.

In addition to food, the day we were there they had… pumpkin boat racing! I’m not kidding! The racing occurred inside the large fountain in front of the palace!

The pumpkin boats. As you can see pumpkin boaters get very wet!

go go go! Racing IN the fountain!

close of up a very large gray pumpkin ‘boat’. Never seen a large gray pumpkin before!

More colorful gourds for purchase!

Never seen these gourds, called “bishop hats”.

What was interesting is that they only had TWO jack-o-lanterns in the entire festival! You would think with thousands of pumpkins they would have more jack-o-lanterns. Guess that is more of an American thing!

If you’re curious about the palace… Here’s a view of the front of Ludwigsburg palace. Can you believe this was originally built as a hunting retreat? Boy, did those royals know how to spend money!!

It was just starting to rain when I took this picture… had to hightail it back to the car!

Ludwigsburg palace

If you ever make it out to Germany in the Fall, I recommend going here! It was a lot of fun!

For those of you that can speak German, the official pumpkin festival website is here

The pumpkin festival runs from August 30 to November 3 this year.

For more information about Ludwigsburg Palace, the English website is here.

Hope you enjoyed these pictures! I have enjoyed sharing them with you!

Be sure to keep checking back, I have lots of cute Fall posts coming up this month!

Thanks for stopping by!

This post was featured at a Stroll Through Life!

I’ve linked up with The Scoop! Visit Confessions of a Plate Addict blog, Tablescape Thursday at ‘Between Naps on the Porch’, Wow us Wednesdays! at Savvy Southern Style, Open House Party at no minimalist here, Feathered Nest Friday and Autumn Abounds Party at French Country Cottage, Seasonal Sundays & Oh the places I have been at The Tablescaper, and life of the party at the grant life!and the Autumn Abounds party

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Pumpkin Festival 2013 at Ludwigsburg Palace in Germany

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