Stuttgart, Germany
Second biggest isn't always second best. A month ago I was in a bar in Gothenburg, talking to a German guy about Oktoberfest - the world's biggest beer festival in Munich. 'Too touristy, too busy, too expensive - go to Stuttgart instead - the second biggest, but much better' he said. Locals know best (usually), so the next day it was booked, and here I am at Cannstatter Volksfest.
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| Meeting the locals at Cannstatter Volksfest |
As well as the festival - one of the big draws to Germany for me was to see some of the pinnacles of design and engineering, and Stuttgart is the home town to both Porsche and Mercedes - certainly not second best in their case.
Mercesdes
At lunchtime on Tuesday I rolled into town, and with time a bit tight - I could only get a bed for three nights because of the festival - I thought I'd better hot step it to the Mercedes Museum. Bit of a mistake it turned out as two hours there wasn't nearly enough and I ended up rushing too much. It was a very good museum though, in a stunning building, and especially interesting as Carl Benz is generally known as the inventor of the car, kind of making this the birthplace of modern transport.
That night in the hostel, I managed to find myself some company ready for the 'Cannstatter Festival' (as it's known) in an Argentinan guy called Rogelio, then along with some Irish and Aussies, ended up talking in lounge til the early hours. Fascinating.
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Mid-afternoon the next day, after a bit of a look around town, Rogelio and I went to the festival site on the edge of town. And man, it was huge. A large fairground and German food stalls, surround nine huge marquees in the middle. You pick a tent, find a place on one of the long tables, and from then on you're served promptly by waitresses in their traditional German dress. Funnily enough though, rather than a huge selection of beers to try, each tent only serves one type, and they come only in one litre glasses! There's no wimping out, whatever your age or sex - it was funny to see eighteen year old girls grasping these huge glasses with both hands.
Over the day, as well as going to a beer tent or two, I ate a half metre long hot dog, tried some pretzels, got told off by the Police for taking a photo of them, then told to delete it, and wandered around the fairground. It turns out oddly they don't really have fairgrounds in Argentina, so Rogelio persuaded me to join him on one of those rides that spin you and turn you upside down at the same time on a huge arm... brilliant, and I even managed to keep my pretzels down.
Back in another marquee, there was always a band playing, mostly cheesey German music, with the odd burst of Sweet Caroline, Rocking All Over The World or Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be). There was lots of lederhosen and dresses, boiled bratwurst sausages in bowls, people smoking indoors, cooked chickens on spits, and loads of cheers moments when a little ditty was played. As the evening went on we first hung out with some Dutch girls, then joined some young Germans who were great fun, spending most of it stood up on the benches like everyone else. A fantastic day, something I'd wanted to experience for a long time.
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Thursday started a bit slowly; I have no idea why?! Around noon though, I was on the outskirts of the city at the Porsche Factory and Museum complex. Like Merc, the building itself is a real architectural wonder, and I couldn't work out how it didn't collapse with all it's angular overhangs. I enjoyed the exhibitions, especially one where they'd chopped a 911 in half with a laser cutter, so you could see a complete section through; just like a knife through an onion. I tried to get a factory tour, but the two month waiting list put paid to that, so just wondered along the front of it for a nose instead.
Friday was frustrating, spending a lot of time trying to work out where to go next, as info, beds and trains seemed to be in short supply. But this was broken by a tour around the Mercedes engine factory nearby which I'd booked a few days before. I'll spare you the technical details, but it was pretty fascinating to see the full process of V6 and V8 engine assembly, and was extremely automated - even more than I expected. Mr Farley - you'd be in heaven there.
A brilliant few days in Stuttgart, but a bit of countryside is needed to break up the grey, so to the Black Forest it is.
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