Stuttgart's wineries in autumn - Herbst in Stuttgart
Autumn time, der Herbst, is a colourful affair in Germany and North and Central Europe. Days are getting shorter and more time is spend indoors. Families love to decorate their houses in an autumn theme and enjoy the cosiness "Gemuetlichkeit" of their homes. There is something deeply satisfying about an autumn walk in any kind of weather, foggy or sunny, windy or rainy and coming home to a nice hot drink and candle lights.
Autumn time is the time of harvest. Long before Christianity did Germanic pagans thank their god Wotan for plenty at harvest time and celebrated  this with sacrifices. We know of Christian celebrations since the 3rd century. Visitors in Germany find mainly at the beginning of October churches decorated with grain, fruit and vegetables for the "Erntedankfest", thanking god for the harvest. A lot of towns and regions celebrate this time with harvest fires, Kirmes (fun fair) and other festivities.
If you would like to attend one of these harvest celebrations you should head for the countryside. It can be fun and you have a chance to practice some German language with locals. Many communities organize floats and fun fairs until late at night. There are farmer's markets (Bauernmarkt), party tents (Festzelte) and a lot of traditional music.
Tourist offices in bigger towns provide some material about the larger events in neighboring communities. Another way of finding out where is what happening is to keep an open eye for leaflets and similar advertising material in shopping windows and public display areas when travelling through the country.
It's a wonderful opportunity to drink young wine, freshly brewed beer and eat some of the best street food you will come across. ERNTEDANKFEST in Weissenkirchen 2009 shows some pictures of a traditional celebrations in Austria.
