Happy happy! Germany is Football World Cup Champion 2014!!

This was the fourth time Germany made it and won the football world cup and everyone around here is very happy!

Pics here:
https://www.google.de/search?q=germany+world+cup+champion&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:de:official&channel=fflb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=SWnTU7l044LiBOrCgOgI&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1554&bih=900
Thanks to our Brazilian friends for the hospitality in their beautiful country!

Come and have a good time!

Come and enjoy a wonderful evening full of life and music...
Contemporary Gospel with soul/funk elements! Wow!!

Free childcare will be provided!
Free entry! All donations go to a chill--out-zone for teenagers in summer 2014!

Merry Christmas/Fröhliche Weihnachten!!

Hillsong - Christmas Songs - Darlene Zschech

Do good and dance!

The International Women's Club Stuttgart has another fabulous Charity Event on Nov 9, 2013!
Proceeds go to the battered women's shelter of Frauen helfen Frauen e.V.
There will be a fantastic raffle with amazing prizes from Goldberg restaurant, Mama Spa, Korbmayer, Holiday Inn Stuttgart, Maritim Stuttgart and many more! There will be dance from Mr. Mac's Party team, delicious Hors d'Oeuvres, yummy desserts and certainly a lot of nice people.
Tickets are still available until Nov 2, 2013 ... just email to rsvp@iwcstuttgart.org or go to the direct link to sign up!

Kürbisausstellung - Pumpkin exhibition

Aren't pumpkins beautiful? Such a beautiful sign of autumn...
And pumpkin soup? Pumpkin pie? Just so delicious!
This year, we went to the pumpkin exhibition at Blühendes Barock for the very first time.
Topic for 2013 was SPORTS - just look at the fabulous boxers and skier below!
We were lucky as our visit was at end of September, a very beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon!
We had picnic on the meadow, ate yummy roasted pumpkin seeds, adults enjoyed chatting and boys running around. Exhibition is still open until 3rd November, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Review: Staatsgalerie for kids

A friend recommended kids tours in Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart's big art gallery.

 

 

We went there on Mother's Day this year. There was a pop art exhibition called "Op+Pop"which I wanted to see anyway. Our tour guide, a young woman, did a wonderful job: She explained screenprint (Siebdruck) with some items she brought She did it in such a simple way that I finally got it too! :-) She showed us a picture of New York where the artist used more than 200 different printings until he was finished! See this picture called "D-train" of Richard Estes here and learn more: Stuttgarter Zeitung
Pop art started in the 1960s. Famous artists are Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns.

What I didn't know at all, there was a close connection to Stuttgart area and the pop art artists: They had their pictures printed for example at the printing plant Domberger in Filderstadt.
I have to say that I learned more at this childrens tour than I recall of some adults tours!
Afterwards children were invited to be creative in the atelier. 

Mezzogiorno!

Valentine's Day is a while ago already, but I still want to write about the lovely Italian restaurant we discovered on this occasion.

Mezzogiorno is situated in the University park in Stuttgart, on the opposite side of the street of the "Katharinenhospital". It was our first try of this restaurant and we were convinced by a laid-back, modern interior decoration with large windows to the park. I loved the big "SALVE" on the wall (see pic above - Italian word for "hello"). The atmosphere is warm and the staff is very nice and contributed to a festive night out.
The food convinced us even more, first of all with the delicious taste (I had bruschetta, dorade and panna cotta) and also with the beautiful arrangement on our plates.
This is a restaurant where you can have a romantic night out, but also have a relaxed time together with your kids. We will definitely come back!

Fasnetsküchle

It's carnival time and surely, Stuttgart isn't Cologne or Rio ... but children certainly love to dress up here as well.
Additionally, we have a very tasty carnival specialty: "Fasnetsküchle".

This taste reminds me of many carnival (here: "Fasnet") celebrations in my childhood. My mom used to bake them every year and we also watched the carnival processions in Mainz, Düsseldorf and Cologne (Germany's carnival stongholds) on TV.
This year, I made them for the very first time. Surely I saw my mom making them often and also helped her sometimes. But this time I was the responsible one :-)
They are made of a sweet yeast dough, then the dough is rolled and cut into rhombs.
After that the challenging part comes: they are put into heated oil where they bake happily until golden brown.
Here's a recipe in German.
I took my recipe from this Swabian cuisine book which I got from my mother some years ago:

It can still be ordered on amazon.
And now have a look:
Start with patience and let the yeast dough grow...

Then cut the rhombs....

Put them into hot oil...

and then put them out, let the oil drip off and dust them with icing sugar:

ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY!!

BTW, we also watched the carnival processions yesterday and as we lived in Cologne some years, this was certainly the highlight:

Orchid buds!

Our orchid suffered during our move last summer. Accidentally it had been covered totally with paper and was put into a box. So several days it was in almost total darkness.
The green leaves showed white  spots and it really didn't look great.

Last week the same orchid gave me a very big, very pleasant surprise:
suddenly I saw new violet buds coming forth - not the white colour like before - but this beautiful violet:

What a beautiful picture of strength and beauty in the midst of adversities!
What a beautiful picture of new life and beauty coming forth!
Looking forward to see it blooming!

A heavenly night!

Since December, the Sister Act Musical is in Stuttgart! It is performed in the SI Centrum, Apollo Theatre.
I went there yesterday with two friends - and we all loved it!
The costumes were so creative - especially the glittering nuns choir costumes! Such fun!
And then the scenery was made to such perfection - the church, bar police station, but especially the different church backgrounds were stunning.
The actors are very good - great voices and a very entertaining and fun play. The songs are entirely in German with good texts and melodies. The only dissapointment was the complete lack of the original movie songs like "If my sister's in trouble" or "I will follow him".
The audience was in a great mood and gave standing ovations at the end of the play.
Sister Act is definitely worth the money (and also the cheapest seats have really good view!).
More information and tickets here: Stage Entertainment
Watch the trailer (in German) to learn more about this fabulous play:

Have a delicious new year (and try Campioni)!

It's the time between Christmas and New Year, and it is often a time of relaxation, peacefulness and lots of good food. Delicious meals at home and also time to try new restaurants.
Several times I read about Campioni which is located in the tiny village of Kemnat, close to Stuttgart airport.
It is located in Kemnat's commercial area, inside a tennis club. Campioni is not an upscale restaurant, more a family friendly one with a cosy atmosphere. PRINZ' Stuttgart children's guide promised great pizza and pasta and a laid-back atmosphere.
So we went there and had to face a little disappointment as the wood stove was out of order and no pizza available. BUT then we tried salad, Penne arrabiata and also Panna Cotta (see pic below) - and were absolutely delighted! The bread, the oil, the food in general had such good quality and was cooked and arranged with skills and love, the service was nice and child friendly ... this is definitely a place to go! And in summer even more so, as there is a beer garden outside. Before or afterwards you can always take a walk in the fields right beside the restaurant.
Happy, joyful and delicious new year everybody!

In a church window...

I saw this in a church window today...

There's nothing left to say, I think. This is the truest sense of Christmas: Jesus' birthday party!

Have a very merry Christmas!
Fröhliche Weihnachten!

Joyeux Noël!

October brought quinces and snow

Yes, it's end of November now, but I still want to write about two major events for us in October:
It was quinces harvest and we had lots of them hanging on our tree! I cooked apple-quinces-sauce and put it in the freezer. Additionally, I was thankful for friends and family who took another good part so that almost each quince went to someone who used it gladly.

 

End of October came with a big surprise: SNOW! We had very early snow this year and our son happily built a snowman with a girl from the neighborhood. Surely the white covered trees and houses brought the very first Christmas feelings.

 

Volksfest!

It's always quite crowded in S-Bahn and U-Bahn in Stuttgart's early October. Everyone wants to go to the Wasen, the place where the traditional Volksfest takes place.

Some go for the exciting rides, some for the beer tents ... we personally just went for an evening of fun:

Merry-go-rounds for our little one, sugar roasted almonds for all of us.

*Erntedank*

Recently it was celebration day in our local protestant church parish: Erntedank - Thanksgiving! It is a day to give thanks for the plenty of food we have and for all the good things we received.
The church altar was decorated with loads of fruit and vegetable and various food items:

The day was celebrated with service, lunch, coffee and, certainly, delicious cakes! It was great to chat with people - old friends, new acquaintances. There was an outdoor play area for the kids which was happily used. Also, the bell tower of the church was open for a visit and I had the pleasure to experience the narrow stairs and to see the large bell that reminds our town of time and church services.

Back after many years!

This is the area where I spent my childhood and youth. And here I am again, after many years, this time with my husband and son. Here we start our next adventure after seven years in Geneva/Switzerland. I look forward to discovering new and familiar places, to meet up with old and new friends and family. This blog will tell about new observations, discoveries and fun times – in the countryside and in Stuttgart’s urban life.