Cannstatter Volksfest

So on Sunday we did two things; one I might never do again and that was go to IKEA.  Oh my gosh!!!  Can I say it was crazy and Jen told me it was a really, really slow day.  I couldn't believe it!!!  There were a lot of people, so much stuff and floors.  I really couldn't believe it!  We went in there for two beds for their kids and it took almost 2 and a half hours.  CRAZY!!  The boys had a good time because there was a kids area where we could drop them off and shop without them (I will say a definite bonus, but still not sure enough to get me to go back) and it had a ball pit with a playhouse in it.  They asked if they could stay longer!  At least somebody had a good time.  Then after that we packed up and headed to the Volksfest.  Man it is really hard to navigate and find parking when you don't know the language to read the signs and there are so many people that are not paying any attention to the cars and walking through the street when and where they want.  I thought one pedestrian was going to pull a taxi driver out of the car and have a fight right there.  We finally were able to park and man you could see the rides from really far away.  David called it a county fair on steroids and it was so true!!!  It had two of the biggest Ferris wheels that we have ever seen and the rides there would never make it in the states.  I am sure most of you know the swing ride at the fairs, well this one was about 150 feet in the air if not more!  I couldn't believe it!!  We were in awe as we started to walk around.  The beer tents were much more than tents, they were as big as a football field.  We didn't go in them with the kids, but looking inside there were live bands and people dancing on the table.  We went on a Sunday night and it was still rocking.  We only saw a few things that I was glad my kids were oblivious to, we left before it got too wild.  The boys were able to go on a couple of rides (quite pricey and no wrist bands).  The roller coaster one I went on with AJ I was just praying the cart wouldn't fall off the track.  All I could think about was it going right off the edge.  But we made it safely!!  Michael chose for one of his rides a scary haunted house type thing.  The people also were very dressed up!  I bet at least a quarter of the people there were dressed up.  It was definitely an experience!!!  A little history behind it: 

In 1815 a gigantic eruption of the volcano Tambora in Indonesia led to a climatic catastrophe even in Europe. The incredible explosion hurled around 100 cubic km of rocks, ashes and dust up to 70 km high and darkened the sky. The blast equaled to 170,000 Hiroshima bombs. The shockwave could be felt 1,500 km away.  10,000 people died due to the eruption. Another 100,000 died because of the aftermath. The dust particles were distributed by the jet stream around the world and caused crop failure and famine in Europe.
The winter of 1815/16 in Wurttemberg was the coldest since weather records were kept. Snow until May, no summer, alternating rain, whipping hail and thunderstorms continued into the growth season. This made bringing in a harvest in those years not possible. Throughout Germany, people were starving. The little existing flour was stretched with sawdust and the planted potatoes were dug up again. The need of the people was indescribable.
When Wilhelm I became King of Wurttemberg in 1816, the crisis of the people couldn’t be any worse. His brother-in-law, Czar Nikolaus of Russia, helped him to relieve the biggest misery with deliveries of grain.
Then, in 1817, when the first harvest wagon was brought in, King Wilhelm and his Russian wife Katharina had the glorious idea to sponsor a harvest festival. This should take place annually on the King’s birthday, September 28th, in the area of the Cannstatter Wasen.
The first festival in 1818 lasted one day and had more than 30,000 visitors. At the time the village of Canstatt had a population of 3000. The Royal Couple donated cash prizes and honorary awards for outstanding agricultural accomplishment. The festival was designed to encourage the farmers.
At the same time the popular monarch couple established an agricultural school in Hohenheim Palace. This set the foundation for today’s agricultural university. Due to this and other outstanding efforts the young monarch was titled “King of the farmers” and “Farmer amongst kings”. In the German Agricultural Museum many of the developments, e.g. the double bladed plow, can still be seen. During the 19th century the first festival lasted one day, by 1920 it was extended to five days and since 1972 the Volksfest has been celebrated for 16 days. King Wilhelm created the fruit pillar as a symbol for thanksgiving which is still the emblem of the Volksfest

One of the two Ferris wheels, look at the size of it compared to the people on the ground

One of the beer "tents"

The fruit pillar

Check out the Ferris wheel, remember its size - those are the swings to the right of it

Look where the people are waiting, inside the bars, for the next ride

                                             bumper cars - the boys LOVED it!!!

The mummy ride

Excited to go in!  I was surprised he wanted to go on this one

 

Dinner

One of the big things at the fest is to have cookies like this around your neck that have all different sayings

The coaster I wasn't sure I would survive

As we headed out, one look back - look at the ride on the right of the Ferris wheel - kind of like the old hammer head, but 80 feet or more in the air.