Oktoberfest.

snipped-for-privacy@tiscali.co.uk a écrit :

Are the Schweinshaxe the full 1.3-1.4 kilos or the more manageable

It's a bit dull at 8 on a Sunday morning when a late sleeper train means you've missed the infrequent onward connection for Zagreb. We found beer on sale for breakfast, though :-)

I wimped out and had the 700(ish) gram version [around 28 Oz in English]. The half chicken in the beer hall wasn't bad either.

snipped-for-privacy@tiscali.co.uk a écrit :

Note : for those who haven't met those bavarian beauties, that's raw weight, including the bone. ;o)

That's the advice I would have given you before you left, if you'd asked :-)

I love drinking in Munich, but avoid it when the Oktoberfest is on. High prices, short measures, no service whilst you're standing, and a lot of unfriendly Bavarians. Don't forget that all the visitors are invading "their" festival. They don't!

And in your view, does this unhappy situation apply to the Cannstatter Volksfest? I'm not having a dig here, I was thinking of going next week (just an excuse to do the 'special service only' U11 route, you understand). We certainly didn't have a problem getting a reasonably priced room in Stuttgart. Mind you, I haven't seen it yet...

Dave

I don't think it does, although I've never been to it. I'll ask a pal of mine whose band may be playing there. (The beer's better in Bavaria, though.......)

Dave Spencer a écrit :

I've stayed a few times in cheap hotels and "Pensionen" in Stuttgart : well, decently clean they usually are. Cheerful and sunny they aren't necessarily...

Once you've abused beer, sausage and pig knuckles for a day or two, I'd suggest you stop at the Mineralbad Leuze (local public spa) to recover and detox. (qv.

Cheers !

In message , The Submarine Captain writes

Thanks, Laurent. We shall only be in Stuttgart for one evening so hopefully detox won't be necessary!

Dave

Dave,

Make sure to seek out Calwer Eck-Brau, a Stuttgart local beer

Rick Cleveland USA

I've just returned from it too, and found the atmosphere absolutely excellent - perhaps earlier in the festival they aren't yet fed up with all the visitors, or maybe you were there at a weekend?

I liked the "Ochsenbraterai" tent, where they roast a whole Ox and serve it up, I didn't have time to get a pig knuckle, unfortunately, but I've had them in Dusseldorf and at the in-laws before.

Do once seems a good plan, the beer isn't that interesting but works, it's slightly pricey - but has no admission fee. Mostly it's like an oversized funfair with a heavy German touch and singing in the tents.

In message , Rick Seibt writes

Thanks for the tip, Rick. In fact I've been to the pub several times, it being handily situated by Stadtmitte S-Bahn station to use up any spare time on the way back to the airport. For your amusement, have a look at this page for a very different opinion of the beer:

Dave

No. It was midweek, I was at a table in the Augustiner marquee with some South Africans, and the adjoining table was all Bavarian. When we got to standing on the seats and linking arms, the lady on my right said something to me in German, I responded in German, and then she said "Sie sind ja auch kein Bayer, Sie" ("You're no Bavarian, either"), let go of my arm and turned away to her friends.

Don't get me wrong - I have some lovely Bavarian friends, but they're not from Munich.