Did you guess fireworks? Yes, yes! This is an annual festival where three countries are chosen to compete with a musical fireworks display. 2011: Greece, China and the U.S.A. ! America's display was created and executed by Disney's pyrotechnics guy! Not that I would've ever guessed ....but it does make perfect sense! We only went one evening ...for the U.S.A. show which I later found out, placed last! But trust me, it was an amazing show! ...Set to classic rock and even began with a Cirque-type fire show.
These fests are similar to our fairs...only different. Often they last several weeks! They have a broader range of vendors and place a much larger emphasis on alcohol--But, not in a weird "Let's get trashed at a family event!" way. The Germans really seem to understand moderation in a way we just do not. (Most of them) I was most impressed with the punch bowl tent (Mojitos and other fruity concoctions) and the cappuccino stand. Genius I tell ya!
Since this was our first festival, we opted to keep our beer steins and forfeit our mug deposits. Those mugs now have a permanent home in our small kitchen.
The Stuttgart Wine Village- One of the largest annual wine festivals in Germany with more than a million visitors! Part of the downtown area is transformed into beautifully decorated wine "huts" where they serve full meals and of course, wine! Small bands walk the streets stopping at random areas and play live music. I specifically remember hearing Louie Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World". Have a visual yet? It is truly a charming, picturesque festival!
Cannstatter Vollksfest- Considered the second largest beer festival with Munich's Oktoberfest being first of course! An estimated five million people flood Volksfest during its three weeks. Insane! This is a county fair on mega-steroids. There are carnival rides, games, vendors and of course the....drum roll.....Beer Tents. I capitalize because it's deserved... I had a vision of "Oktoberfest" and boy was I wrong! These "tents" are massive structures with tented tops so yeah, I guess they're tents but they are unfathomably huge, housing about 5000 people in each! Volksfest features eight tents. Each are sponsored by a different beer and offer a different atmosphere. In ours, the Grandl's Hofbrau tent, a concert stage was situated front and center with an awesome band that played everything from their traditional songs to our classics like "Sweet Caroline" and "Sweet Home Alabama". We heard the Black Eyed Peas, Metallica, Rhianna-anything you could imagine! Evening tables are reserved well in advance as by the time we had realized this, it was too late. But of course, people's plans change and those tickets will randomly be for sale but finding them is the trick. We had already decided to just experience the tents during the day which is not the same but it didn't require reservations. But, on a Friday afternoon I happened to be in the right place at the right time and scored these two awesome tickets from someone who knew someone who was unfortunately sick with the flu. Our table was up front next to the band! We couldn't have scored better tickets! Thank you Beth and Kathy!! We wouldn't have truly experienced Volksfest in 2011 without you two ladies! I was less thankful the next morning. :D It was a spectacular night! We danced on the tables, sloshed our beers, sang and met many amazingly friendly Germans that evening!
Well of course I went shopping for a traditional dirndl!
And yes, Mike is the proud owner of matching lederhosen.
Keep going. You'll find it.
Downtown Stuttgart on Konigstrasse is a beautiful, upscale shopping adventure all its own. Everything from Rolex to Louis Vuitton to Escada! Of course I have minimal interest in those things but hey, it's still cool and a beautiful walk down the streets. There are more reasonable shopping options as well as lots of eateries, bakeries and ice cream shops. I purchased my dirndl downtown!
The Schlossplatz
As with many downtown areas, there are a number of interesting displays. These are sand people. There wasn't a description posted so that's all I have...
They also have a large flea market which I assume is seasonal since it's outside and an enormous specialty food market. The food market is ....magical. I often over use the word "magical" but I just can't stop... So many things are magical to me! Better than mundane. :)
Soooo this market.... Fresh fresh fresh! Sausages, cheeses, vegetables, breads, more sausages and cheeses, baklava (Hooray for homemade baklava!), a zillion other pastries and quiche and handmade stuffed tortellini and salads and pesto and and and and and....Ahhh, I could go on for days... But, I won't.
This depicts about 1/3 of the market. On the top floor are lovely stores and a very nice restaurant. As you can see, I am in a kitchen shop.. Very Williams-Sonoma-esque
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