A chorus of voices and the to-ing and fro-ing of daily commuters, Hamburg is a city of life. I was walking down towards the central area to purchase a handbag since mine had torn, particularly inconveniently, and suddenly surrounding me were stalls, tables and groups of people laughing, talking and eating.
Of course, the eating part was the first thing to catch my interest. Especially the opportunity to try German food, the pretzels, the sausages, the beef, the potatoes and the delicious cheese and breads. Add to this, a wine festival. Stuttgart's best out on display, where you could sample a variety of wines.
Welcome to the Wine Festival, Hamburg
I felt like quite a star really as the waiter brought over a taster of the wine he thought most appropriate for my palate. I opened up the menu and of course, everything was in German but my waiter, whose name was Florian and proceeded to call himself "Flo-Rida", translated everything for me and made sure to ask me specific questions in order to elucidate what kind of food would best suit the wine he had already chosen for me.
Wine Festival Stall, Hamburg
I looked up at Flo-Rida, the German version, and said "I trust you, please bring me the Ox dish." And thus I was brought a dish of ox meat, German coleslaw, a delicious sauce and too many slices of bread. But really one cannot complain when the bread in Germany, unlike Australia, does not make you want to hold your stomach and head as you nurse the pain.
These pretzels did make me thirsty for more wine
With every bite, the desire to pitch a tent and declare the wine festival my new place of residence was growing. To add to the wondrous food, the summer heat of Europe was slowly dying and a light breeze was picking up. In the distance, a man played an accordion - a common feature I have seen on the streets of Hamburg but nevertheless, delightfully European.
Food to be enjoyed
As the night fell, so too did the rain, in quite a Brisbane summer storm fashion, which unfortunately had to end the night. I ran to the nearest taxi stand but of course not before having a nice chat with German Flo-Rida about his travels to Jamaica and how much he loves Stuttgart. I asked Flo-Rida how long the wine festival ran, he told me it ran for 3 weeks and that the wine festival comes up to Hamburg from Stuttgart and the fish market from Hamburg goes to Stuttgart. There's a lot to look forward to in German summers for food and culture lovers.
I was lucky enough to stumble across the festival but for those who like to plan, the
Stuttgart Wine Festival is on from 28th August till 8th September and there are various other
German Wine and Beer Festivals happening throughout the year.
