Cannstatter Volksfest

The Cannstatter Volksfest is an annual three-week festival in Stuttgart. It is sometimes also referred to by foreign visitors as the Stuttgart Beer Festival although it is actually more of an Autumn fair. Although the Volkfest is not strictly speaking a beer festival, it is considered by many to be the second largest beer festival in the world after the Munich Oktoberfest.

I wasn't expecting the volksfest to be so much like a state fair.  I was thinking more beer tents, less carnival rides.

We saw lots of lederhosen and dirndls.

The buildings in the distance are beer tents.  Unfortunately you need a reservation to sit in one.

 

Beer Tent (really a building)

 

 

You do not however need a reservation to have a beer.

Time for fair food German style. I had a crepe with nutella and bananas.

 

 

Delicious

 

The kids loved this ride.  I was surprised how many roller coasters there were.  I am always weary of rides that can be taken apart, moved, and put together again.

 

That's why I was particularly leery of going up in this massive Farris wheel.  The view was nice though.

This food stand had fish on a stick...head and all...yum!

I would rather have cotton candy...(minus the fun artificial colors)

Just kidding, the cotton candy was for the kids.

People are in the beer tents and drinking as early as 9:00 am.

 By afternoon it was starting to get loud, crazy, and crowded.  I would be lying if I said we didn't have to step over any vomit...cause we did...several times.

 

 

It was quickly becoming a NOT-kid-friendly event...but there was still time for a pony ride.

 

 

And maybe we can find time for one more ride.

Overall the volksfest was something I could have skipped.  Of course the kids loved it.  They love loud crazy places with rides.  On the way back to the train station the crowds were getting unbearably thick.  I saw too many drunk kids...I was glad to be leaving.  I even saw someone get slapped on the train platform.  I think family day might have been a better time to go, or maybe send the adults only to the tents.

 

But if we had stayed home we would have never seen these guys....