Pumpkin Festival

The first week of October the kids had Fall Break. There are various school breaks here which we do not have in the U.S. Not only do we have three weeks off during the Christmas/end-of-year holidays, we also have a one-week February "ski break." Spring Break is two weeks, which I think was only one week in the states. Summer vacation here is shorter, but we have more rest periods throughout the year, of which I'm a fan. Anyway, for the last day of Fall Break I took the kids to Ludwigsburg, about 2.5 hours south of here, for a Kürbisausstellung (Pumpkin Exhibition). I expected it to be a little bigger or livelier than it was, but I think it was still worth it to see. There were many varieties of pumpkins for sale and on display. The theme was "Old Rome," so there were also some large pumpkin sculptures of gladiators and Roman stuff. The festival took place in the huge garden park surrounding the Ludwigsburg Palace, one of the largest Baroque buildings in Europe to survive in its original condition. I was not expecting to see this! I have seen plenty of Medieval castles in Germany, but not a whole lot from the Baroque Era. So anyway, we had a nice time strolling through along the pathways of manicured shrubbery and so forth. We even took a little peek inside one of the wings which contained a ceramic museum. But mostly, the pumpkin festival was our highlight!

At first we weren't even sure where the Pumpkin Exhibition itself was happening (even though we did see evidence, like various pumpkins strewn about). So we just kind of meandered around the castle/palace.

There were various sand sculptures on display in the Blühendes Barock ("Blooming Baroque") park. I think they were created all the way back in Summer and I was amazed at how they had held up!

A sand castle of the actual castle. 

Inside the palace

Photo bomb

 Pumpkin candies. The kids enjoyed.

Pumpkin bratwurst! We weren't sure what to expect but it turns out the "pumpkin" in it was just pumpkin seeds. Still tasty!

 

As we were walking along, I saw a "Rapunzel Tower" (previous image), which I thought we should check out. Turns out there were some Disney-style placards and little scenes within depicting the story of Rapunzel! Then, as we walked out, we stumbled upon a little amusement park of sorts. Turns out the park/garden which held the pumpkin festival was also home to a Märchengarten (Fairytale Garden). It was very reminiscent of "Fairyland" in Oakland, California. 

 

 Eating the witch's house from Hansel and Gretel.

 One of the tales from the 1001 Arabian Nights.

 Going through the Pinocchio whale's mouth.

When you sat in the chair, it would raise up and water would come spraying out of the pond. This was apparently from a story called the Seerosenkönig (Water Lily King).

I'm glad we discovered this little place because otherwise I don't know if the Pumpkin Festival itself would have been worth the drive. Fun little day trip!