Laura & Carson's 1st German Beer Fest and Castle Country

Spring is "fest season" and a glorious time to live in Stuttgart!   Laura, a friend from Charleston, and her fiance Carson recently came to visit us after running a marathon in Vienna.  

We drove to the medieval town of Tubingen and to see historic buildings and have a local feast.

Laura (aka "Tomko") & Carson 

This was Carson's first trip to Europe and he had been passionately studying German prior to arrival.  He proclaimed, "Iche habe braune harre!" to every German he encountered.

Carson has brown hair. Here he sits with his lentils & wurst (aka Frank & Beans)

Stuttgart is considered a part of the Swabia region.  Swabia's traditional cuisine is maultaschen, a homemade ravioli (stuffed with meat or veggies).

We dined at Mauganeschtle (above) because of its reputation for over 20 kinds of homemade maultaschen

Veggie maultaschen sampler platter- pine nuts & herbs, roasted eggplant, white asparagus and goat cheese, fried onions

We played "snack, snack, pass" (sharing our massive meals). The group favorite was the daily special: spargel & shrimp maultaushen. 

It's spargel (asparagus) season in Stuttgart and Germans eat it with almost every meal (in fact, I am eating some now as I type)

Next stop was the Hohenzollerm Castle, which dates back to the 13th century and was renovated by Prince Frederick William IV of Prussia in the 1800s.

Hohenzollern Castle "rises majestically on the mountain peak of the Swabian Alb"

We hiked up the path and paid a small fee to enter the castle grounds.

Laura, Carson, Megano & Scott enjoying a brisk day at the castle

Laura's knees were not in great shape post-marathon

Tomko and her knight in neon sneakers

We celebrated Easter brunch at our favorite neighborhood Argentinian cafe.

Traditional breakfast- eggs, prosciutto, cheese, potato omelet, olives, fruit and quark (like a cottage cheese & yogurt hybrid)

After brunch, we brought "Larson" to Fruhlingsfest (Stuttgart's Spring Beer Fest).

Scott and Carson appear to be dressed the same but Carson is wearing a t-shirt that resembles German leather lederhosen 

We shared a table with a friendly group of French fellows.

I forgot their names but I invited them to come back and stay with us anytime

At Fruhlingsfest, wild debauchery (and cleavage) is encouraged!

Friendly police lady holding a breathalyzer (I bet her name is Helga)

Scott inquiring about the breathalyzer (turns out this "polizei" charges 3 euro to measure your blood alcohol level)

Baby Germans (I could not believe they were old enough but the legal age is 16 so perhaps I'm the old one... OYE VEY)

Amazing pic shot from Tomko's GO-PRO camera while it was submerged in a giant mass of beer!

Bear hug while dancing to the Dirty Dancing theme song

Matching hats and future hangovers

True LOVE (sad to be missing their upcoming wedding) & notice Laura's gorgeous t-shirt (aka dirndl knock off)

Our delicious meal eventually arrived at the table and was quickly devoured.

Chicken galore, salad, and cheese spatzle (my favorite - like homemade mac n cheese topped with crispy fried onions)

Carson shouting "Ich haber braune harre!" while Scoots clenches

Carson's German vocabulary became more limited as the afternoon progressed and eventually he just yelled "ausgezeichnet" (English translation= "excellent") as he lifted tiny German boys onto his shoulder.

Frightened German lad pointing to the ground but Carson holding on tight

After this pic, we left the fest tent and went to ride bumper cars

We are so thankful that Laura and Carson included a visit to us in their pre-weddingmoon! 

Scott has been working out of town a lot but at least this comes with a few perks.

Perk #1- Energy efficient chick magnet

I didn't want Scoots to get to lonely so I took the train and met him at the Ramstein Air Base where he was working. We enjoyed an All-American night (shopping, movie and Mexican food) at the huge base shopping mall. 

 The next day, we drove to the Romantice Rhine River Valley.

The legendary Romantic Rhine Route is a 586 km stretch following the Rhine river.  

The windy road passes almost 40 castles and fortresses along the hilltops.

Ferry boats run from town to town making this an easy place for tourists to travel

The Rheinfels Castle (below) was built in 1245 and was once the largest and most powerful fortress along on the Rhine. 

Napoleon had Castle Rheinfels blown up so now only 1/3rd of the original structure remains

Castles and vineyards surround the river as far as the eye can see.

Next time, we shall ride the ferry and sample some local wine

We even found a beach but it was no Sullivan's Island.

Scoots at the forest beach where we enjoyed a peaceful stroll along the river

Everyone in Stuttgart seems to be uber excited about the World Cup.
They even have soccer balls on their yogurt jars.

Germans love yogurt and soccer but Sangria flavor might not be ausgezeichnet