Submitted by Carolyn Jones on the 2013 fall semester exchange program with the Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality…
It is hard to believe, but I think this will be my last blog post while in Switzerland. Our final weekend was spent at the Christmas Market in Stuttgart. As sad as I am to leave, experiencing the Christmas festivities made me excited to be home for the holidays. The weekend began with a 6:00 am start Saturday morning. However, it was made bearable by sparkling snowflakes that coated our eyelashes and blanketed the sleepy streets of Chur. It felt like Christmas had already begun.
After a long train ride, we finally arrived in Stuttgart. We left our bags at the hostel and made our way to the Christmas Market which was thankfully as easy to find as we had hoped. As we approached the entrance, there was no escaping the merry and cheerful atmosphere of the holiday season. We made our way through hundreds of stands selling everything from ornaments, to pottery, to mittens, and food. It produced an overwhelming sense of joy, and my friends and I walked through taking in the sweet scents of glühwein, candied almonds, and grilled sausages. On top of this, there is a competition between the vendors for the best and most elaborately decorated roof stand. Every vendor had a different theme, and I must say that every Christmas story from every children’s book ever made must have been represented. There were also Ferris wheels made to look like Christmas ornaments and train villages that children could ride and play on. It was the perfect place to spend a final weekend getaway with my friends. All of us finally put a dent into the souvenir shopping that we have been struggling with all semester. I would list some of my purchases, but I would not want to spoil anyone’s Christmas gift. I will say though, that my favorite stands were the ones that included anything warm and fuzzy, sparkly, and of course, the food stands.
We were exhausted from a long day, so we headed back to the hostel early to get some sleep. It ended up being our best decision because we were up early the next morning and found one of the best cappuccinos I have ever had. We enjoyed them in a cute café overlooking the market. We did not stay too long because we were anxious to find the fondue stand that we had seen the day before. Five euro later we each had individual bowls of melted cheese fondue and an entire baguette to dunk into it. It might possibly have been my best food purchase of the semester. We continued shopping the rest of the day while being sure to try any food or drink item that caught our attention. By the time we were headed for home, I had two over- sized bags of gifts. I am also proud to say that we all tried to speak as much German as possible, and most of it was completely successful. It was a wonderful trip, and I really cannot believe that we have begun our final week of the semester here. It has been more than anything that I could have imagined.