Karlsruhe Travel Forum

Hello,

My Husband is being sent to Karlsruhe for training. I will be joining him.. We fly into Franfurt and are renting a car to drive to Karlsruhe. We have never visited before and will only have a week.

I will have the days and the car to myself and I'd like to see some of the surrounding area. We'd liek to get a nice little cukoo clock, and maybe some linens and as I am a perfumer and aromatherapist, I'd like to make contact with an essential oil supplier.

Also we are BIG Christmas People, Hubby is santa Claus so we are interested in the local Culture and customs especially with regard to Christmas Markets, Craft shows etc.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Sincerely,
Kalima

Hi Kalima,

First of all, I hope you visit Christiane's (tini58de) great page of Karlsruhe where she lives. She also knows a lot about the entire region.

Secondly, since you say clocks and Christmas is interesting, you could visit the village of Titisee just outside Freiburg in the Black Forest. It's a centre for cuckoo clock making and a generally nice place even if the villages around it are less touristy. Don't miss the view from Schauinsland mountain outside Freiburg either when there. You can see across the Rhine valley to the French Vosges mountains and in good weather down to the Jungfrau massif in the Swiss Alps.

As for Christmas, the most famous, but also veeery touristy place to head is Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber with Käthe Wolfahrt's Christmas shop and museum. I was there two weeks ago so I haven't had time to build a page yet but plenty of VT members have. It was an increadibly touristy shop but with ten rooms full of Christmas decorations. You can easily spend thousands of euros there. The staff speak English and are all geared up to the many Japanese and American tourists, and the company own several Rothenburg shops and seem to run town...but otherwise a pretty town too with an old city wall and lovely houses.

Käthe also has smaller shops in Heidelberg which might be easier for you, and other places.

http://www.wohlfahrt.com/

Hi Kalima,
almost every town in Germany has a Christmas market. In small towns they often only last a weekend and local clubs, school children etc. offer handmade stuff. Ask at the Karlsruhe tourist office if your interested in one of these small ones. The large Christmas markets in big cities like Karlsruhe and Stuttgart start around Nov. 25th/26th this year and last until Dec. 23rd. I really like the one in Stuttgart (1hr train ride) its said to be the largest in Germany and all the booths are beautifully decorated because the have a contest that rewards the nicest booth every year. Kaethe Wohlfarth from Rothenburg also has a large booth at the Stuttgart Christmas market.

Esslingen close to Stuttgart has a medieval Christmas market with Craftsmen showing their work.
Baden-Baden is also always worth a visit and after going to the market you can warm up in the thermal baths or spend the rest of your money at the beautiful casino.

As for local customs try the mulled wine, but be aware the hot wine gets into your head pretty fast.

Here are some links:
http://www.stuttgart-tourist.de/english/stuttgart/festivals/xmasmarket.html

http://mittelalterliches-esslingen.de/
http://www.baden-baden.de/

Silke

Hi Kalima,

I'm not an expert like the other two replies, I've only lived here for a few months, but I would reccomend a trip to Heidelberg. It is a really beautiful quaint town, and an easy drive from Karlsruhe. It'll definately help you get into the christmas spirit! (I too am a huge christmas fan). It might be better to go by train, depending on what day you plan to visit, since we found it quite tricky to park.

Hope you have a great week,
Becca

I meant to say that Strasbourg is also a great place to visit, and quite easy to reach by car. It also means you can get French christmas things, as well as German ones!

Thank you SO Much for the great Information.

We really appreciate it!!!!

Sincerely,

Kalima ( Kathleen & Jim)

Thank you SOO Much for the GREAT Information. We appreciate it GREATLY!!!

Sincerely,

kalima ( Kathleen & Jim )

Thank you SOOO Much for the GREAT information. We GREATLY appreciate it !

Sincerely,

Kalima ( Kathleen & Jim )

Hi Kalima,

I live in Karlsruhe and there is certainly enough to see and do around here to keep you occupied for the week!

The previous suggestions of Titisee, Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber, Heidelburg, Baden-Baden and Strasbourg are excellent suggestions, and I`ll add a few of my own:

Whilst in Baden-Baden you should visit the Alte Schloss (Old Castle), this is the ruins of a beautiful castle on one of the hills surrounding Baden-Baden, and offers wonderful views on a clear day from the tower.

Wiedenfelsen is a waterfall between Buehlertal and Sand not far from Baden-Baden, and really is a beautiful place, well worth a visit.

Castle Hohenzollern is about 1.5hrs drive from Karlsruhe, south of Stuttgart, but again is worth a visit, its a beautiful fairy tale like castle in the Schwabish Alb.

You will want to bring warm clothes with you, its starting to get pretty cold down here now, and is already snowing in parts of the Black Forest.

Hope you enjoy your trip.

Charlie

Thanks Much Charlie and all of you with your GREAT Information..... we appreciate it a Lot!