wine festival

I%26#39;m hoping to go to the wine festival in Stuttgart at the end of august 2008. Will I need to buy entrance tickets in advance, or is it open access to the public?

Thanks

Babs32

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http://www.stuttgarter-weindorf.de

27. Aug. - 7. Sep. 2008

Open and free access to the public.

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For information about Stuttgart go to www.stuttgart-tourist.de (Weindorf 27Aug-7Sept www.stuttgarter-weindorf.de).

You might also like to visit a Besenwirtschaft. The wineries are allowed to serve food as long as the new wine lasts. They advertise this by placing a Besen (broom) outside. Most often you eat in the owner%26#39;s dining room or back yard at tables with others. Depending on the winery, the new red or white wine will be served in viertels (1/4 liter glasses) or by the pitcher. All kinds of traditional Swabian food will be available, as it is also at the Weindorf. It%26#39;s a fun thing to do! The Besenwirtschaft season has been extended throughout the year by the wineries taking turns when they are open, so it is best to inquire about them at the tourist office opposite the main train station or at the airport. The Uhlback, Untertuerkheim and Obertuerkhein parts of Stuttgart have a lot of them, and in Uhlback is the wine museum (Weinbaumuseum) which is open April to October, Sat 14-18 and Sun and holidays 10-12 and 14-18.

Another wine related activity would be a tour of Germany%26#39;s first Sekt (sparkling wine) cellars in Esslingen, 15 minutes away from Stuttgart by S-bahn, G.C. Kessler GmbH %26amp; Co., Marktplatz 21-23. An appointment should be made prior to the visit, and it will cost 6 euros per person. (www.kessler-sektkellerei.de). Esslingen also has an excellently preserved medieval center that is a delight to visit.

These are the wine-related activities in Stuttgart.

If you have a car, a pleasant drive is to head north out of Stuttgart on Hwy 27 along the Neckar River. Germany%26#39;s largest perfectly preserved Baroque Palace in Ludwigsburg is nice to visit, but skip it as it takes several days to see it all, and continue to Besigheim, a delightful old town. After a visit there continue on to Lauffen, which has a small completely walled old town. A good place to eat across the river on the hill in the rest of the town is the excellent Hotel Elefant. Have one of their Rolf Willy wines with lunch. After lunch go to nextdoor Nordheim and visit the Rolf Willy winery (signposted as this is part of the Wuerttemberg Wine Road) and taste and buy some of his wines. His red wines are excellent. (You can google for his website.)

Then go back to Lauffen, take Hwy 27 a short distance north and turn right for Ilsfeld. Continue under the A81 autobahn to Beilstein which is a nice small town with old churches and castle, particularly nice when approached from the other direction so look backwards when you leave. Continue on to Oberstenfeld which has an excellent church if it is open (this is a Protestant area, and churches are kept locked most of the time) and a castle that is only open on Sundays. Continue on to Grossbottwar which is a premium wine area, Steinheim an der Murr (where eatly man was discovered and its museum) to Marbach, a pleasant town in which the poet Schiller was born. Then head back to Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart.

Much of this journey will be through vineyards, which a month later would be wonderful with the ripe grapes on the vines. There%26#39;s way to much to stop and visit everything, and I didn%26#39;t even mention all the sights, but it%26#39;s a very pleasant drive, and you will see some wonderful places that have only a handful of German tourists and no foreign ones.

If you want any other information, just ask, as I live in Stuttgart.

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I%26#39;ll mentiuon one other thing. GermanWings has inexpensive flights between London Stansted and Stuttgart twice a day, early morning and early evening so you can get almost two extra days at your destination going in either direction. If you sign up to be advised of their frequent specials, real free flights are also possible as well as highly discounted flights, www.germanwings.com .

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