Christmas is coming

As the title of this post might suggest, one thing that was made very apparent to me this weekend is Christmas is coming to Germany. Without Thanksgiving to even attempt to ward off Christmas decorations, preparations started right after Halloween but recently have been taken to a whole new level as the Christmas market is due to open pretty soon.

Saturday started out a bit overcast, but better than the rain the day before. It was also colder than usual, but not so much that I had to break out one of my heavier jackets.

Waiting for the train

After getting off the train I began walking from the train station, I came across the various bits of the Christmas market being set up. It's pretty amazing how many booths were being set up.

As usual, I first stopped by the flea market in Karlsplatz. This time though it was a bit emptier than usual, I think the rain and cold kept most of the vendors from coming. I'm not actually sure when this market ends, the website's not too clear, but I guess I'll find out when vendors stop showing up. So even with the lack of vendors I did pick up this small first-aid manual from 1913. 

Karlsplatz Flohmarkt

After the market I went to a specific shop to buy a gift for someone, so I won't give any details about where it is. But on the way to it I came across this little pedestrian street. 

Now there wasn't any other plaque on the street, so I think it was just renamed in his honor.

After that little detour I headed back over to Schlossplatz to see how the main part of the Christmas market was coming along. I found that part of it was open, mainly the skating rink and a few food stands. I also found out that coming to the other side the ocean is apparently not far enough to escape the typical Christmas songs you hear in America. 

The majority's still being set up, including this big train set they have near the extremely large Christmas tree in the main square. 

After checking all of that out and grabbing lunch, I headed to my main destination for the day. I've actually passed by this a lot but never went in for some reason. I went to the Landesmuseum, located right next to Karlsplatz. 

                                                                                 

I didn't take any pictures inside, but of all of the museums I've been to at this point, I'd say this was one of the best. Their permanent collection is a catalog of all the people who have lived in Württemberg, from the Neanderthals to the last King of Württemberg. Definitely worth seeing for anyone coming to Stuttgart.

The museum's courtyard

After finishing up with the museum it had started raining again, so I started heading home. However I did see that the rain wasn't enough to stop work on the Christmas market and they were still busy setting up booths in the downpour. 

Sunday I saw something new in Germany, snow!

View from my apartment

There wasn't much snow and it was mostly gone by noon, but it was still cold enough for me to decide to put on my bomber jacket before I headed out for the day.

Little bit of snow at the train station

My destination for the day was the Naturkundemuseum, or natural history museum.

It was what you'd expect of a natural history museum, fossils and wax sculptures. Though I think a few of them probably wouldn't ever make it into an American museum.