Frühlingsfest is Suttgart's annual Spring beer festival and fair.
Fest is a truly amazing somewhat indescribable celebration so anyone who loves music or beer must really experience it at least once!
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| Scoots in snug leiderhosen and I in the customary dirndle |
We met Scott's coworkers in the VIP section of the Grandl beer tent. A ticket to this tent includes 3 giant 1 Liter steins of beer (called Mass) and your own chicken. Luckily, our VIP area included spotless clean bathrooms with NO lines.
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| Taken at 16:30 (4:30 pm) non VIP part of tent - In about 3 hours all of these people will be dancing on the tables! |
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| Michelle (from work) and her German boyfriend Frank |
Frank taught us the meaning of the German songs (different versions of a chorus in German translating to: 1, 2 and chug on 3 while clanking beers)
Frank challenged Scott to match him beer for beer (perhaps why I found my husband passed out in leiderhosen on our couch at 3am)
A live band performed traditional German songs and classics from America. Germans love a few random hits that seem to be on repeat:
-Summer of 69'
-YMCA
-Sweet Home Alabama
-Theme song from Dirty Dancing.
We passionately belted out "I've had the time of my life and I never felt like this before..." with Germans of all ages singing at the top of their lungs!
A variety of hearty food was served (whole crispy chickens most popular)
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| Fantastic service by super strong waiters carrying chickens and mass |
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| Sampler platter of meats, cheeses, and more meats, fresh radish, olives and pickles too Our waitress gave me a horrified look when I requested mustard (senf) with my giant pretzel. My friend Shalon purchased her fancy dirndl (adorned with gems and special fabrics) from a specialty store in Munich for a whopping 300 euros. |
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| Happily wearing my low budget dirndl with no fear of spilling my beer and ruining it Erica & Sam Jackson from Virginia say they love dressing up because they get lots of attention from Germans who rarely see African Americans in traditional fest attire! |
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| Scott's right eye is just fine; I tried to manually photoshop edit the red eye and this was the result |
I met lots of friendly people like this sweet Australian lady (below on left) who was interested in my matchmaking services (now I must find her a tall successful German as requested)
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| Scotts right eye is still fine I promise; he just had a few more beers than usual We ran into our new friends (also from Charleston) Sasha & John  |
The next day, the alarm went off at 6 am so we could drive to Bavaria and meet the Shanks. We visited 2 world famous castles:
Hohenschwangau Castle (below) was the summer residence for King Maximillian II of Bavaria.
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| no photos allowed inside castle |
Neuschwanstein Castle was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty.
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| Magic Kingdom? |
We toured the surrounding areas in a state of delirium.
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| Sleepy Scoots |
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| Beautiful Lake Forggensee |
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| Grandpa Dave (tech savvy indeed) set up his camera timer for this Brady Bunch style photo |
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| we hiked to the castles but carriage ride is a relaxing option |
After castle tours, we had another authentic German dinner.
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| Skip's typical order - platter of meats (potatoes, sausage, steak, veal, topped off with an octopus shaped hotdog) |
The next day, we brought Sis & Skip to Stuttgart. On Sundays, nothing is open so locals spend their time walking and picnicking in the parks.
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| Fuerese Lake & Church near our apartment |
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| Schlossplatz Palace in City Center |
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| Schlossgarten Park - drinking in public parks is encouraged |
We walked for miles and ended up back at the beer fest but this time did not enter the wild tent. We grabbed a few drinks and snacks at the stands near the carnival rides.
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| Delicious roasted salmon almost as tasty as the BIG Green Egg |
After a quick stop at the fest, we took Sis & Skip to our favorite beer garden overlooking the the city.
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| Tired faces |
We loved having visitors and are exhausted from a memorable weekend.
If you are interested in joining us next year for the Fest, please email me to book a room at the Shank Chalet.
In conclusion, Scott & I have vowed, "No more meat or booze until Prague!"
If you are interested in joining us next year for the Fest, please email me to book a room at the Shank Chalet.
In conclusion, Scott & I have vowed, "No more meat or booze until Prague!"
Loved this whole post! Made me want to get family in town and visit the local german restaurant then slam enough beers to make my right eye (and left) get all blurry. I like the new fashions too! BTW - was the salmon 'planked'? That's how I like it - I've always got a few slabs of alder wood just in case I catch a salmon out here (season just started)
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