Barock-Weihnachtsmarkt Ludwigsburg
In fourteen days the angels light up in Ludwigsburg. That is what I call the moment every year, and every year I wait for it as if it were the first time. On 24 November the Baroque Christmas Market opens on the market square, and once again those tall figures with wings made of thousands of tiny lights float above the stalls.
I love this market for a reason that has little to do with mulled wine. It is orderly. The stalls stand in rows beneath the arcades, almost strict, as befits a baroque town. Coming from the crowds in Stuttgart, you notice the difference within ten steps. You can stand still. You can hear what the other person is saying.
Perhaps that is why a surprising number of gentlemen ask me about an evening right here at this time of year. No grand programme. More like an hour between the stalls, a warm cup in hand, and afterwards a table where you can finally take off your coat.
My tip: on a weekday, shortly after dark. Around six it is dark enough for the angels, and the weekend crowds have not arrived yet. At nine the stalls close, and that is exactly when an evening likes to change direction. If you would rather not drive, the Nestor Hotel is a quiet place within walking distance. If you prefer seclusion, it is only a few minutes out to Schlosshotel Monrepos, where winter is so still you could almost hear the ice on the lake.
Anyone who knows Ludwigsburg only as a suburb of Stuttgart does the town an injustice. I have already shown you two winter evenings in the region in Wer in Stuttgart nur Glühwein trinkt, verpasst den Winter and Ein Markt, der 600 Jahre zurückdreht. Ich mag ihn erst nach Einbruch der Dunkelheit.. This one is the quietest of them all.
Discreetly yours,
Lena