Discovering food, friends and beer at Stuttgart's Frühlingsfest

Stuttgart Frühlingsfest Beer Tent

Our Sunday started at 7:30 am where 50 of us met at Konstanz main train station and headed to Stuttgart, where the Konstanz University of Applied Science, had reserved a table at Germany's second largest beer festival, known as Frühlingsfest. Slightly smaller than Oktoberfest, this festival houses carnival rides, games, and most famously, beer, and lots of it.

Spring Fest Beer Stein

After arriving in Stuttgart and walking to the carnival grounds, we entered one of the beer tents and sat down at our table. The tent, full of Germans, with a capacity of over 1800 people was filled with people wearing the traditional Lederhosen and Dirndl's. It felt like we were enjoying Germany as a traditional German citizen, the way it was meant to be celebrated.

After arriving, and ordering our first beer, we began to enjoy the live music, consisting of traditional spring fest music and drinking songs. We sang, danced, and enjoyed celebrating with the Germans. It was clear that Germans knew how to celebrate, and Frühlingsfest was definitely no exception to this.

Traditional German Roasted Chicken

We enjoyed celebrating and learning about the traditions, and the German songs sung during the festival which gave us a pretty good taste of Oktoberfest. The main difference between the two festivals is that Munich's Oktoberfest is slightly larger and busier, and requires reservations for a table more than 6 months ahead of time and a minimum deposit of 50 Euros per person. Rather than the 30 euros we had to pay and the 2 month wait time required for a weekend table reservation in one of the beer tents.

We then ordered food, there was a vast array of menu items, but most ordered the traditional roasted chicken and a bread roll, the most popular dish at the festival. It was a delicious meal and all together an amazing, and a true German experience.

HTWG Exhange Student Group

Our four and a half hours in the beer tent was one I will never forget, and definitely one exciting experience. The 50 of us were from all around the world, coming from Germany, the US, Brazil, Austria, Spain, China, Turkey, and many other countries. They are a group I won't forget and people who will be friends forever.