How to Survive Oktoberfest in Stuttgart, Cannstatter Volksfest
Tips and tricks for conquering an Oktoberfest-style beer festival like the champion you are
Second to Oktoberfest only in size, Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart, Germany, is just as fun and unapologetically German as its Munich counterpart. In fact, what started as an agricultural festival in 1818 has grown to attract more than 4 million revelers each year.
For the 2017 edition, Cannstatter Volksfest is slated to take place from Sept. 22 to Oct. 8—so you have plenty of time to book your flights, reserve hotels near the festival grounds and get the best possible travel deals available.
Before attending any German beer festival, however, consider these 8 critical survival tips.
1. Buy Festival Wear
Spend a little money on lederhosen or dirndl, the traditional Bavarian outfits that you’ll see all over the festival. You’ll find that the costume makes you more approachable and thus makes you feel more included in the celebrations. You might even get a free beer out of it.
2. Play Games and Ride the Rides Before You Drink
This should be pretty straightforward, but you’d be surprised how riding the Polyp or giant swings sounds like a brilliant idea when you’re buzzed. Do yourself a favor and play the festival games as well as ride the rides before you hit the beer tent and start gulping liters of beer.
3. Eat a Heavy Dinner
It’s hard to go hungry in Southern Germany, with its massive plates of braised meat, sausages, cheese and roasted chicken. The portions are ridiculous, yet perfect because you need to line your stomach with something starchy and that’s high in fat and protein.
4. Start With a Radler
A Radler is half beer, typically a pilsner, and half sparkling lemonade—or another type of refreshing soda. Germans consider this 50/50 mix to be thirst-quenching and perfect for your first beer of the night (when you are more likely to be drinking quickly in order to get in the groove).
5. Limit Yourself to Two Liters of Beer
Look, everyone’s alcohol tolerance is different, but if you’re traveling by yourself in a new country, it’s better to err on the side of caution. And two liters of beer will get you lit! Plus, festival beers cost around 10 euro each these days, so consider your wallet before ordering a third mug of the good stuff.
6. Get Your Bearings
Before the sun goes down, explore the grounds and get your bearings. In particular, find out where the exits to the S-Bahn and U-Bahn are located and select a meeting place for your group in case your phones run out of juice.
7. Make Reservations Early
Everyone wants to hang in a beer tent on the weekends, especially from the late afternoon onward. Therefore, it’s critical that you reserve a table at the beer tent of your choice by going to their individual websites to make the booking. Do this as soon as you can.
8. Don’t Be Shy
German beer festivals, such as Cannstatter Volksfest, are all about comradery and community, so don’t be afraid to chat to people you don’t know. One night, I ended up joining a table of strangers who insisted I dance with them on top of our seats. Between sips of pilsner, I tried my best German on them, and they spoke whatever English they knew. But when the band started playing Nina’s “99 Luftballons”—everything made perfect sense.
------
If you value experiences over consumerism, if you think there's more to life than the 9-5, if you want to travel to every country in the world before you die, subscribe to my channel, and let’s see where we end up next:
Snapchat: JoanJetsetter
Blog:
Twitter:
Vine:
Instagram:
Tumblr:
Executive Producer: Skye Mayring
Editor: Gerardo Jaquez Lechuga
My trip to Germany was made possible by the Germany National Tourist Office. Views expressed are my own.
Stuttgart Oktoberfest 2019 Canstatter Volksfest Wasen
Stuttgart Frühlingsfest Oktoberfest Wasen Canstatter Volksfest 2019
frühlingsfest kassel 2019,
frühlingsfest hannover 2019,
frühlingsfest münchen,
frühlingsfest munich,
frühlingsfest berlin 2019,
frühlingsfest kassel,
frühlingsfest augustfehn 2019,
frühlingsfest aalen,
frühlingsfest augsburg,
frühlingsfest im altenheim,
frühlingsfest berlin,
frühlingsfest bregenz,
frühlingsfest berlin spandau,
frühlingsfest bayreuth 2019,
frühlingsfest bernstadt,
frühlingsfest bregenz 2019,
frühlingsfest china,
frühlingsfest cham,
frühlingsfest china 2019,
cannstatter frühlingsfest 2019,
chinesische frühlingsfest,
frühlingsfest deggendorf,
frühlingsfest der volksmusik switch,
frühlingsfest dancing line,
frühlingsfest erfurt 2019,
frühlingsfest elsterwerda 2019,
frühlingsfest fürth 2019,
frühlingsfest 2019 foe,
frühlingsfest zentraler festplatz 2019,
frühlingsfest münchen fahrgeschäfte,
frühlingsfest hannover fahrgeschäfte,
gögginger frühlingsfest,
geisterbahn frühlingsfest kassel,
frühlingsfest kassel gladiator,
göppingen frühlingsfest,
hippodrome frühlingsfest,
frühlingsfest hannover turbine,
frühlingsfest in kassel,
frühlingsfest kassel 2019 freak,
frühlingsfest kassel 2019 take off,
frühlingsfest kassel take off,
frühlingsfest mainz 2019,
mhw frühlingsfest,
frühlingsfest owen,
frühlingsfest polka,
frühlingsfest paderborn,
frühlingsfest potsdam,
frühlingsfest potsdam 2019,
frühlingsfest reutlingen,
frühlingsfest reutlingen 2019,
frühlingsfest ramsau,
stuttgarter frühlingsfest 2019,
stuttgarter frühlingsfest 2019 aufbau,
frühlingsfest varel,
frühlingsfest zeitlarn,
frühlingsfest zschopau
wasen musik,
wasen achterbahn,
wasen besoffen,
wasen bierzelt,
wasen boxen,
cannstatter wasen breakdance,
cannstatter wasen bierzelt,
breakdance wasen,
wasen opening berkheim 2019,
cannstatter wasen,
cannstatter wasen stuttgart,
klaas cannstatter wasen,
cannstatter wasen musik,
cannstatter wasen festzelt,
cannstatter wasen grandls,
cannstatter wasen umfrage,
cannstatter wasen 2019,
cannstatter wasen transformer,
wasen elina verstecken,
wasen frisuren,
wasen fahrgeschäfte,
cannstatter wasen fahrgeschäfte,
flipper wasen,
gladiator wasen,
geisterbahn wasen,
wasen hits 2019,
wasen los hier,
wasen infinity,
wasen jodlerklub,
joko wasen,
wasen lieder 2019,
wasen live
oktoberfest kiss,
oktoberfest türk,
oktoberfest medic,
oktoberfest münchen,
oktoberfest asmr,
oktoberfest 2019,
oktoberfest music,
oktoberfest fail,
oktoberfest fails,
oktoberfest almanya,
oktoberfest accordion music,
oktoberfest anthem,
oktoberfest aftermovie,
oktoberfest argentina,
oktoberfest angels,
oktoberfest alemania,
oktoberfest alice,
oktoberfest bayern munich,
oktoberfest beer chug,
oktoberfest buzzfeed,
oktoberfest band,
oktoberfest brazil,
oktoberfest celebration,
oktoberfest chicken,
oktoberfest costume,
oktoberfest cake,
oktoberfest crazy,
oktoberfest chicken dance,
oktoberfest drunk,
oktoberfest drunk girl,
oktoberfest drinking song,
oktoberfest dubstep gun,
oktoberfest drummer,
oktoberfest deutschland,
partyfriex - oktoberfest (d-stylezz remix),
oktoberfest english,
oktoberfest ein prosit,
oktoberfest extended,
oktoberfest enquete exclusive,
oktoberfest european vacation,
oktoberfest festivali,
oktoberfest firework,
oktoberfest food,
oktoberfest fortnite,
oktoberfest film,
oktoberfest fight,
oktoberfest germany,
oktoberfest in deutschland,
oktoberfest in germany,
oktoberfest in munich germany,
oktoberfest is in september,
oktoberfest in brazil,
oktoberfest instrumental music,
oktoberfest japan,
oktoberfest johnny depp,
oktoberfest kussen
volksfest musik,
volksfest stuttgart,
volksfest bayern,
volksfest aschaffenburg,
volksfest aufbau,
volksfest ansagen,
volksfest achterbahn,
volksfest attraktionen,
volksfest allershausen,
brucker volksfest,
volksfest brasil,
volksfest blasmusik,
volksfest boxen,
volksfest balingen,
cannstatter volksfest,
volksfest crailsheim,
volksfest curitiba,
volksfest cham,
dolce vita volksfest,
kickdown volksfest,
volksfest doku,
volksfest deggendorf,
volksfest eichstätt,
volksfest erding,
volksfest esche,
volksfest eisenach,
volksfest freising,
volksfest frisuren,
volksfest fails,
volksfest germany,
volksfest grafenwöhr 2019,
german volksfest,
volksfest geisterbahn,
volksfest grafenau,
volksfest grafenwöhr,
volksfest geräusche,
volksfest geräte,
volksfest gmund,
welser volksfest hermes,
volksfest hardstyle,
volksfest in nürnberg,
volksfest ingolstadt,
volksfest indersdorf,
volksfest in begunje,
klaas volksfest,
volksfest karlshuld,
volksfest kirmes welt,
volksfest karussell,
volksfest kugel,
volksfest kinder,
karpfhamer volksfest,
volksfest live,
volksfest mickey mouse,
volksfest musik bayern,
volksfest musik remix,
volksfest mühldorf