festival

Stuttgart's First Craft Beer Festival By Kraftpaule

Stuttgart's First Craft Beer Festival By Kraftpaule

Yesterday was rather important for Germany as the 23rd of April 2016 marked the 500th anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot, the German beer purity law. Quite simply, the law, which originated in Bavaria, limits the production of beer to just water, barley, and hops. The law was enacted in order to protect Germans from unscrupulous brewers who would put some rather nasty additives into their beer, like wood shavings and soot. Even today, the Reinheitsgebot is largely still followed as it's become a symbol of quality and national pride for Germans. (You can read more about it in this helpful article posted by the BBC.)

And so, it was perhaps with more than a bit of irony that Kraftpaule, a new local pub, decided to celebrate the 500th anniversary with Stuttgart's first ever Craft Beer Festival. If the sold-out, 3,000-person attendance is anything to go by, then the event was a huge hit and no one seemed to mind that their double chocolate stout and whiskey porter did not fall under the beloved Reinheitsgebot (and neither did we)...

A World of Tastes at the Markt des Guten Geschmacks 2016

A World of Tastes at the Markt des Guten Geschmacks 2016

Every year at the Messe (meaning fairgrounds), the Markt des Guten Geschmacks (the market of good tastes) comes to town. I've somehow missed it the last couple of years, and so even though we've had a really busy week having just come back from our vacation in Italy (a post on that is coming soon!), I decided that I just couldn't miss this event again. 

The Markt des Guten Geschmacks is part of the Slow Food movement that began with Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986. The group advocates for regional, sustainable, and artisanal foods, and local chapters organize events like this one all over the world. Germany's own chapter was founded in 1992, and they've since worked to promote the slow food philosophy at events around Germany...

Celebrating Christmas at Les Marchés de Noël de Strasbourg

Celebrating Christmas at Les Marchés de Noël de Strasbourg

Strasbourg has long been one of my favorite short-range travel destinations outside of Stuttgart. It's just a little over an hour by train, and so the journey is very reasonable for a day trip or even a weekend. But what I love about Strasbourg the most is that it's just over the French-German border, making it a fantastic blend of culture and cuisine from both countries. Though I've been to Strasbourg several times, I'd never been to the Christmas market held there every year and said to be one of the best in Europe. And so when my mother decided to make the overseas flight to see us for Christmas, I knew that it would be a perfect opportunity to visit Les Marchés de Noël de Strasbourg...

Homemade Maultaschen and a Festival Devoted to Chocolate in Tübingen

Homemade Maultaschen and a Festival Devoted to Chocolate in Tübingen

This past weekend we took a trip south to Tübingen. Our goal was twofold: to eat some delicious Swabian Maultaschen and to check out the Chocolate Festival for the first time. While it can usually take over an hour to get there by train from downtown Stuttgart, we were lucky to have a friend with a car who was willing to drive our small party.

We set out early(ish) on Saturday and zipped along the Autobahn. Just 45 minutes later, we made it to our destination. The town was absolutely packed for the chocolate festival, and though we hadn't planned on having to drive around for 20 minutes to find a parking spot, I'm glad we arrived early. We parked the car at at a garage near the center of town, and walked the quick 15 minutes through the old town to Hotel am Schloss next to the castle. We were scheduled to have lunch there, at Restaurant Mauganeschtle, at noon...

Of Cabbages and Kings at the Filderkrautfest

Of Cabbages and Kings at the Filderkrautfest

One of the many things I love about Stuttgart is that there seems to be no shortage of fall celebrations around. And although the pumpkin festival is still my favorite, I had a great time celebrating a different kind of vegetable last weekend at the Filderkrautfest in Leinfelden-Echterdingen.

Even though the weather was rather gray last Sunday, there was a very festive atmosphere in Leinfelden. We were first greeted by a colorful row of vintage cars and tractors, followed by several carnival-style booths featuring classic games like darts and ring-toss, and even a rotating ride or two. I'm not sure if these carnival games are "native" to Germany, but I suspect there's a bit of American import going on given that most of the signs on the booths said things like "Welcome to Las Vegas!" and "The American Adventure!"...

Celebrating the Humble Onion at Esslingen's 29th Annual Zwiebelfest

Celebrating the Humble Onion at Esslingen's 29th Annual Zwiebelfest

The Esslinger Zwiebelfest (translated: Esslingen Onion Festival) has been going on now for the past week, but with the Stuttgart Sommerfest and Thursday Street Food Market also in town, we've pushed this one back until this weekend. With our Saturday free, we decided to make the trip out for lunch.

We had an easy 15-minute ride from the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof to Esslingen's main station on one of the regional trains. From there we walked to Esslingen's Marktplatz, about another 10 minutes from the station and through the weekly Saturday produce market along Bahnhofstraße. We were greeted by a large blue sign announcing the onion festival in the Marktplatz, which is also the site of Esslingen's yearly Christmas Market.  It's a really lovely square surrounded by half-timbered houses, and you can even see the old Medieval wall and the vineyards surrounding Esslingen in the distance. Along the south side of the square is the imposing St. Dionysius Church and the location of Kessler, Germany's oldest Sekt (sparkling wine) producer...

A World of Food at the SommerFestival der Kulturen

A World of Food at the SommerFestival der Kulturen

Part of my intent in starting this blog a little over a year ago was to explore Stuttgart's culinary scene more thoroughly. I often lamented Stuttgart's lack of dining diversity as compared to some of the other cities we've visited, but the more I've blogged, the more I've searched for and found the diversity that I was craving. Though it may not be as obvious as in larger cities like Berlin and London, Stuttgart definitely has a lot of hidden gems. 

One major bonus has got to be the festivals, and imagine my surprise when I discovered a new (to me) one downtown! Just around the corner from the Hamburger Fischmarkt, the SommerFestival der Kulturen has pitched their tents and stage in front of the Rathaus in the Marktplatz. Yes, I'd heard of it, but for some reason never made the effort to go. Now, seeing as I write a food blog, I thought I'd be remiss if I didn't at least make the effort this year, and I was really very pleasantly surprised...

Color and Spice at the Afrika-Festival

Color and Spice at the Afrika-Festival

Last night after the heat of the day had subsided, we decided to get some dinner while checking out the Afrika-Festival at Erwin-Schoettle-Platz in Stuttgart West. I'd seen the festival advertised for some time now, and wanted to see what it was all about. 

We decided to take the u-bahn to Marienplatz and walk up to stretch our legs some. As we approached, the slow trickle of pedestrians around us increased to a steady stream, and we could hear the up-beat rhythm of an African tune blaring from a distant loudspeaker...

Hot (Hot Hot!) This Year at the Marienplatzfest

Hot (Hot Hot!) This Year at the Marienplatzfest

If you live anywhere on the European continent, then you'll have felt the same heatwave that's been affecting Stuttgart this past week. Temperatures climbed up to 100-degrees Fahrenheit (37-degrees Celsius) this Fourth of July weekend, which though I recognize is nothing compared to the U.S. South this time of year, it's still unseasonably hot for Germany and somewhat challenging in a country without home air conditioning. Still, the weather didn't stop me from going to the Schlosspark for a picnic yesterday afternoon and then out to the Marienplatzfest for my first time. 

The annual festival takes places in the Marienplatz square just above the u-bahn station and next to the Zacke (the old "rack railway") station. To tell you the truth, we stopped by Marienplatz on Friday night to see what the festival was about, but the square was so crowded that we decided to come back on Saturday night without our dog, who was finding it challenging to find space to walk without being stepped on. And so on Saturday we made our way there again around 9 pm -- without the dog -- when the heat had subsided a bit...