Fall is a very special time of year. It is the time of harvest and gorgeous seas of red, orange and yellow foliage. While there are many ways to celebrate the changing of the season, my personal favorite involves the consumption of copious quantities of German beer.
With over 6.4 million guests consuming 7.1 million litres of beer in 2010, the Oktoberfest celebration in Munich is the largest beer celebration in the world and is deservedly the first destination anybody should consider when booking a beer celebration vacation in Germany. It’s an understatement to say that Oktoberfest is one of the world’s greatest party environments and the one most devoted to the love of German beer.
Once you’ve knocked Oktoberfest off your bucket-list or while you’re in Germany anyway, you might start considering other great beer festivals and there’s no better place to go than Stuttgart’s Volksfest. Located just a few hours away from Munich and occurring simultaneously (starts and ends one week later) with Oktoberfest, this party hosts over 4 million people annually and is truly one of the most festive, fun places that you could ever hope to be.
While Oktoberfest started as a wedding celebration, Volksfest has its roots as a birthday party. In 1815, the eruption of a volcano in Indonesia drastically altered the weather of Europe for the next two years causing massive starvation and crop failure. To provide for his people, King Wilhelm I of Wurttemberg appealed to his cousin the Tsar of Russia to help feed his starving people with grain shipments. When things started turning around, the King and his Russian wife, Katharina decided to hold a harvest festival and made the decision to hold the first one on the King’s birthday (September 28th) in 1818. The event drew 30,000 revelers and prizes were given out for outstanding agricultural achievements.
Today, the event has blossomed into one of the greatest festivals in the world. Its setup mirrors Oktoberfest with local breweries setting up massive beer tents that serve millions of litres (by the litre) of satisfying German beer accompanied by great manly food and festive German folk music. Unlike Oktoberfest, whose beers are exported to every corner of the world, the Volksfest allows visitors to quench their thirsts with great brews that are hard to find outside of Stuttgart. These breweries include Schwaben Bräu, Stuttgarter Hofbräu, Dinkelacker and Fürstenberg. All four Festzelts (party tents) are extremely fun atmospheres where litres of bier flow to great tunes.
For all of its similarities with Oktoberfest, Volksfest also has many things that make it different. For one, it offers a much better food selection than its Bavarian counterpart. While one can still find the caveman inspired offerings that are popular in Munich, one can also find all of the great dishes that make Stuttgart the culinary capital of Germany. These include Spaetzle, Maultaschen (think German ravioli) and numerous local sausages and soups. Volksfest also is located in one of Germany’s pre-eminent wine regions and offers the option of partying in a wine tent instead of a beer one (which is like wearing white after Labor Day, but to each his own . . . ). Volksfest also is less of an international event than Oktoberfest so it is actually a better way to experience a truly German festivity with actual Germans than its more famous sister in Munich. You’re virtually guaranteed to swap stories with real Schwabians at this glorious event!
Finally, while Munich has a lot to offer, Volksfest is a great alternative because it is based in Stuttgart – a city with a unique and fun culture worth exploring. The festival itself is located in the Bad Cannstatt district which is where the automobile was first invented by Gottlieb Daimler. Visitors to Stuttgart can tour the Mercedes-Benz museum, visit numerous vineyards surrounding the city and take in the sights of a really great German city.
Life is too short to miss Volksfest! I hope that your Fall is full of great German beer!
Prosit! from the Booze Whisperer
