The charming city of Stuttgart was not in our original travel itinerary. We had originally planned to go to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn but due to cloudy weather and rains, we decided against it. And what a happy change of plans it was as we encountered something in Stuttgart that we least expected to! Will get to it in a bit but let me start by telling you all why we decided to go to Stuttgart. Firstly as we had the Eurail Global Pass, it was easy for us to change our plans as both Switzerland and Germany were pass-friendly countries i.e. there were no mandatory reservation charges when we traveled to these two countries. Plus as the day before we had such a wonderful time in Munich, I decided that in case our plans do change due to the weather I would try to visit another famous German city. And turned out that Stuttgart was a two-hour and fifty-five-minute direct train ride from Zurich HB at the time we were in Europe (currently as I am writing this post can't find the direct train on the Eurail App). So we were on our way leisurely by the 10:37 AM train. by the time it was around 1 PM, suddenly at those train stops, we started seeing ladies get on the train with some traditional "dirndl"(Bavarian dress) outfits. We were puzzled as many people were getting on at each stop and some were carrying beer etc. The kind elderly German couple sitting next to us saw our puzzled faces and as they didn't know English they tried to do a Google search for us to explain to us what was going on. Turned out that we encountered these people traveling to a famous German Spring festival called Frühlingsfest which is held mainly in Stuttgart. To simplify it, you can say it is like Oktoberfest but in springtime. We were lucky to have come across this as it turned out the day we were traveling was the second last day of this festival.
I immediately checked out where this fest was being held and it turned out to be a three-minute train ride from Stuttgart HBF to Bad Cannstatt and luckily our Eurail pass included that leg of the train travel as well. All I had to do was to find the train on the planner and add it to my trip and pass for that day. So we decided to first head straight to the festival and then come back to explore Stuttgart a bit later. To be honest I wasn't even aware such a festival existed and I was so glad as I always wanted to see what Oktoberfest felt like and here I was getting the chance to experience something similar! As we exited the Bad Cannstatt station, we followed the crowds and hardly a two-minute walk away was the festival grounds. As we entered this space we could hear the cheerful sounds of merry revellers enjoying this fest.
Looking all around me I was so overwhelmed at the number of different fair treats on offer like chocolate-covered fruit stores, candy shops with all the candy your heart can desire, different rides and amusement games and beer gardens for those who wanted to just chill and enjoy with their friends. As I explored this place further I was just so happy to take in all the excitement around me. I got myself some chocolate-covered strawberries and just observed people going on these extremely scary rides from a safe distance!
I then visited one of the most beautiful candy shops I have ever seen to buy some nougat for my mom as she loves it. We took a complete round of the festival grounds and just took in the merriment all around us.
As time was of the essence and Stuttgart still awaited us, we then headed back by the train station to Stuttgart HBF and exited the station to explore the city. So here as well the main attractions were close by to the station and we did not require any public transport. So we chose to walk along the famous Konigstrabe after getting out of the station and just explored the variety of shopping around us. We reached the Pusteblume-Brunnen which was a lovely fountain surrounded by even more stores and things to see. The street was lined with these tree barks bare without leaves as they must not be in season, but still they looked scenic somehow.
We then shortly reached the main city square Schlossplatz which was a beautiful square with the Neues Schloss, the stunning Ober Schlossgarten and more. This area had the Pavillion which had a Jazz festival going on so there was live music playing in this amazing square.
This really set the mood because we were surrounded by so many beautiful castles and gardens and along with that the music just added more happiness to the atmosphere. Also close by was Saturn, the famous tech store chain that we encountered in Munich and had a lovely time browsing the branch here as well.
Then we further walked along Konigstrabe to go to the nearby attraction Stiftskirche, one of the most iconic churches in Stuttgart.
We walked along a bit more to explore another landmark the Markthalle, which is a famous indoor food market with a variety of vendors offering some amazing eats and food souvenirs.
What a variety of cheeses and sweet treats and all sorts of nuts and spices were on display.
We also picked up a tasty treat called simit a Middle Eastern bread dough ring with sesame seeds filled with fresh veggies and a flavoured cream cheese. It was so delicious! I had never tried simit before and was so glad to have tried it here.
Having seen all that we wanted to see and also the surprising Frühlingsfest that we were so lucky to encounter. This day which was unplanned and sudden turned out to be one of the most memorable days of our European trip. We were lucky to be there at the right place at the right time. We headed back to Stuttgart by the 6:26 PM train and reached Zurich HB by 9:23 PM. We took some takeaway from our favorite chain of vegetarian buffets called Hiltl near the station and went home and reminisced about our wonderful day.
Thank you for reading ❤️
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