If you have not decided what to do over Labor Day, or you are yearning to take a long weekend before summer Fridays come to an end, we highly recommend a long weekend in Stuttgart. As fall peeks out its head behind the curtain of August, the city's excitement builds as the wine and beer festivals kick up the pace in this capital city of SouthWest Germany, the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Chock a block with twenty plus museums, including the world's two top car museums (Mercedes and Porsche) and another set of stellar art museums; opera, ballet and a whole village dedicated to discount shopping, Stuttgart beckons culture fans but also shoppers looking for great value. The mix of highbrow culture and relaxing walks, great architecture and sightseeing make even a few days in Stuttgart a memorable escape.
Surrounded by picture perfect river valleys and steep wine hills that come plunging down into the city, Stuttgart is the capital of SouthWest Germany and the center of the Württemberg wine region. Stuttgart has a long tradition of viniculture, dating as far back as the 3rd century AD when Roman Emperors planted vineyards all over the region.
By the 16th century, Stuttgart was one of the largest wine-growing communities in the German region of the Holy Roman Empire. Stuttgart is still the only German city to own 17.5 hectares of municipal vineyards.
Today, Stuttgart is the capital city of SouthWest Germany and produces some of Europe's finest wines ranging from the Trollinger, the Lemberger (Blaufraenkisch) to the Riesling. The names of the grape varieties may be unfamiliar, but half of the fun of traveling in the region is to discover which new ones you like best and to mix with locals and other visitors.
An ideal time to visit the wine city is during the Stuttgart Wine Festival, a local favorite, which takes place from Aug. 30 to Sept. 10 this year. You can pick up your long-stemmed wine glass and wander around 125 different wine stalls serving over 500 different types of wines from the Baden and Württemberg wine regions. Walking down the Marketplace, Schiller Square and Kirchstraße, locals like to order the traditional "Viertele" (1/4 liter) glass and enjoy the many wines produced in the region.
This is one of Germany's biggest and best wine festivals; it has a very relaxed atmosphere that pairs well with the warm late summer weather. Chefs serve Swabian specialties such as "Kässpätzle" (cheese noodles), "Maultaschen" (filled pasta) or potato noodles with sauerkraut which pair perfectly with the variety of wines. stuttgarter-weindorf.de
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For those who also love beer, Stuttgart stands ready to please in a significant way. On the heels of the Stuttgart Wine Festival, the second largest beer festival in the world takes place in Stuttgart each year. This year the beer will be tapped on September 9 and the festival will be open til Oct. 8.
Last year about four million people visited the exuberant harvest Thanksgiving festival at the Cannstatter Wasen fairground. The seven beer tents, one wine tent and the "Alpine Village" can hold over 35,000 guests. All around the "Fruchtsäule" - the festival's symbolic column of fruit - more than 330 showmen, hosts and stallholders present a wide range of attractions. wasen.de
The best way to Stuttgart is either to fly direct from Atlanta if you live near there or fly direct to Frankfurt and hop on the direct train to Stuttgart (two hours).
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