One of the things I really love about life in Germany is the culture scene, with some kind of event taking place nearby almost every day of the year. Another great thing is German beer… so put those two together and you’re onto a winner!
Most people will have heard of Oktoberfest, the 3-week long beer festival that takes place in Munich every year towards the end of September. Attracting both tourists and locals alike, Oktoberfest is a permanent fixture in the cultural calendar and is famous far beyond Germany’s borders. So with all the attention on Oktoberfest, you may not have heard of the second biggest beer festival in Germany: the Cannstatter Volksfest, which takes place in Stuttgart at around the same time.
Just like the Oktoberfest, the Cannstatter Volksfest has all the ingredients for a great beer festival: good food, traditional-style dress, fairground rides, a ferris wheel and of course numerous giant beer tents. And of course, living in Stuttgart, I had to go check it out!
The Volksfest opens in the daytime but is really best visited in the early evening, with the coloured lights making for a magical experience. And whilst you might imagine a beer festival to be loud and chaotic, it is also family-friendly, especially earlier on in the night and on the Wednesday family days. There was a comfortable atmosphere and I did feel very safe wandering around – something which often can’t be said of festivals and nights out in the UK.
We first visited the Volksfest on one of the Wednesday family days, when rides are cheaper. I was excited to go on the Ferris wheel and somehow also ended up being persuaded onto a rollercoaster by Sam… I had fun, but I’m not sure I would want to repeat the experience! The Ferris wheel however was wonderful and afforded a great view over the festival site, as well as providing some peace from the bustling atmosphere below.
Aside from the rides, I was also very keen to visit the food stalls. And having tried a few German festival snacks at the Stuttgart wine festival a few weeks earlier, I had already found my favourites. Top of the list has to be Schokofrüchte – basically a skewer of chopped fruit pieces coated in chocolate. Simple, tasty and pretty fun to eat! I also really like gebrannte Mandeln – roasted almonds traditionally coated in cinnamon and sugar, but also available in various other flavours.
Another hugely popular food-related tradition at German beer festivals and Christmas markets are the Lebkuchenherzen, best translated as gingerbread hearts, although the gingerbread is not quite the same texture as British gingerbread (in my opinion, Lebkuchen are superior!). These can be found hung up in bunches at almost any sweet food stall and come in a variety of different sizes. They have a long ribbon on so you can wear them around your neck, and typically have cute messages or terms of endearment written in icing on the front. The one I’m wearing in the picture above translates something like “my darling” or “sweetheart”.
At this point I have to admit that I never actually got into one of the beer tents unfortunately… I didn’t pre-book, and by the time we felt like going for a drink there were no spaces left inside any of the tents. We did wander around the outside though, listening in to the music and watching through the window as people danced on the tables. And I was actually having a really wonderful evening just going on rides, trying different foods and soaking up the atmosphere.
So, that was my experience as a first-timer at a German beer festival. Whilst I might not actually have sampled the beer, I had so much fun in the other parts of the festival and it just goes to show that even in a beer festival, you can still have a great time without drinking! These festivals really have something for everyone and I would definitely recommend going if you have the opportunity.
