Volksfest

Although Munich is well known for Oktoberfest, it is not the only city in Germay to hold such a celebration. Stuttgart holds it's own Volksfest, the Cannstatter Wasen. Our fest begins one week later than the much more famous Oktoberfest, but in size and spirit, it is quite comparable.
I have never actually been to any such fall fest. I figured after 7 years of missed opportunites, that this would be the year I made it to at least the Cannstatter Wasen. We decided to take advantage of the incredible fall weather this weekend, and head out to the fest on Sunday.
Since we aren't heavy partiers, going to the Fest at night just didn't seem that fun to us. Instead, we went in the afternoon, and really, it was an awesome day.
Joern, Marcel, and I arrived around 1:30, which was just in time to catch the last 15 minutes of the Volksfest Parade. The parade was about 2 hours in total, which would have made me very antsy. I am sure I missed some cool things, but I am glad I got to see at least some of it.
The parade was filled with great groups though, like marching bands and my favorite, the Beard and Moustache Club of Stuttgart.
What did make me laugh the most though was the "White Buffalo Club." After spending lots of time on their website, I still can't totally figure out the purpose of the club. They had a very large group of marchers in the parade, which featured an old Chevrolet, a group of women dressed as cowgirls, some ladies and gentlemen in "Wild-West" clothing, a Native American couple, and Jörn's favorite, the undertaker.

Of course, I am pretty sure that the main purpose of the club is that of most German clubs, an excuse to get together and drink beer :)

After the parade, we headed over to the actual Fest. Upon entering, we immediately saw the Früchtsäule, or Fruit Column. Atop the colum were various symbols of the harvest, including local Spitzkraut and pumpkins, as well as the horse, a symbol of Stuttgart.

We then made our way into one of the beer tents. Beer tents, or Festzelten, are pretty much the main draw of the Fest. Each tent has a capacity of 1000-5000 people, and this is where the famous Maß beers are served. A Maß is a liter of beer. Many tents are sponsored by local beer companies, but others are run independently.


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Since we found out recently that Stuttgarter Hofbräu is owned by a large conglomerate, Jörn refuses to drink their beer. So, we went to the Schwaben-Bräu tent, which is fine, as we attended the Schwaben-Bräu Brewery Fest a few weeks ago.

The tent itself was HUGE! The tent holds 5200 people, making it the largest capacity tent at the Fest. They were serving food, and of course, plenty of Schwaben-Bräu.



There was a huge stage, and plenty of singing, and Swabian pride.





Marcel blocking his ears in protest to a song from Baden, one half of our state.

After enjoying the tents, it was time for the rides. The rides and sights at fests are amazing, considering that past 4 or 5 pm, everyone is walking around with a couple of liters of beer already downed. I can't imagine this is easy on your stomach, and I wouldn't really want to be on the rides at night.

I enjoy just the feast for your senses. There is so much to see and smell and taste. You can get any food, from traditional chicken to gingerbread hearts to candy to fish sandwiches to corn on the cob.

I also rode on the ferris wheel in an attempt to get some great pictures of the surroundings. I was right. Most of the view involved Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz. Near the fair grounds are a huge Mercedes plant, as well as the Mercedes-Benz Museum. The soccer stadium for VfB Stuttgart also is quite near the fair. And, I even got to see part of the test track for Daimler! But, beyond all things car-related, you could see the beautiful vineyard-covered hills surrounding Stuttgart, as well as the Neckar River.



The day was incredibly fun. It made me realize that there are so many treasures here to take advantage of. I will definately go back to the Fest before it is over for the year!