The campaign is called “Hitzefrei” – a reference to the fact that school kids in Germany are allowed to go home when it’s getting to hot in summer. When the thermometer climbs up to 25 degrees Celsius (which equals 77 degrees Fahrenheit), the Landesmuseum (State Museum) offers free entry to everybody.

At Landesmuseum Württemberg you can explore the history of Baden-Württemberg, starting at the Stone Age. The museum was established by King William I in 1862 as a “state collection of national antiquities”. The Museum of Decorative Arts was merged into the museum in the 60s, which has been housed in Stuttgart’s old castle since 1969.

More information:

Hitzefrei at Landesmuseum Württemberg

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For some years now, the Marienplatz is a hot spot in Stuttgart – and not only because of the temperatures during the summer months! 😉 A lot of great restaurants and bars are located in the area like Café Galao and the pizza place L.A. Signorina. To find out more about these locations check out my former posts:

Café Galao: My first dinner outside in 2013!

L.A. Signorina – extraordinary pizza at Marienplatz

But on four days each year, the Marienplatz is really the place to be. And that’s when the Marienplatzfest is going on!

It has already started last Thursday but you have still today and Sunday to pay it a visit. It’s definitely worth it!

I went to Marienplatzfest 2016 on Thursday after work.

It was incredibly hot so my friend Janine and I had to have a cold drink right away! We found a stand where they gave out samples of rum on ice for free. Sweet! So that’s how we started into the evening.

Afterwards we checked the food trucks. As a vegetarian my options were a bit limited but I found a stand were they sold falafel. So that’s what I had and I have to say, it was a good decision. They tasted great.

Then we felt like cool drinks again and got two “Hugo”! Yummy!

My favorite spot by the way were the carpets on the street in front of Café Galao! You don’t get the chance very often to hang out there! 😀

Marienplatzfest 2016 offers a free program every day as well. You can listen to bands playing, mainly Indie Folk, Electro Pop, Songwriter und Tribal Hop but there are also other events going on like a slackline competition and a impro theatre for example. Check out the official website of Marienplatzfest for the program: www.marienplatzfest.de

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You get all the traditional beer garden style dishes at Schwabengarten, like pork knuckle, sausages, potato salad and of course beer, but they also serve Flammkuchen (tarte flambée), Dampfnudel (steam dumpling), Weißwürste (white sausages) and dumplings with a creamy mushroom sauce, which you would not find in every beer garden. Nice for Vegetarians though!! 

Well, I have to admit, I totally felt like fries today, so that’s what I got. Boring, I know 🙂

The unicorn in the background is not mine by the way! The Apfelschorle (apple spritz) though was mine indeed! As I don’t like beer (yep, how dare I call myself a German, right?!), I always order Apfelschorle with my meal when I visit a beer garden.

My nephews (proud holders of the unicorn by the way!) on the other hand ordered Rote Wurst and Kartoffelsalat (red sausage and potato salad) and thus made up for my boring decision on the food front.

What I like about Schwabengarten is, that they have more to offer than just the usual benches and tables: There is a playground for the kids and sun chairs for the grown ups…

Niiiiiice!! 

It is a great destination after a bike trip, too. And if you are the proud holder of an e-bike, you can even recharge your bike while visiting the beer garden. They have their own e-bike station now! Awesome, right?!

During the season, Schwabengarten is open every day from 11 am until 11 pm. They also organize several special events every year, for example a “US-Car Meeting” on the 25th and 26th of July.

More information about:

Schwabengarten (only in German)

Schwabengarten on Facebook

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There has always been the roof where you could climb up to and enjoy the view. But lately, they have put up sun beds – very comfy ones by the way… 🙂

Ok, I am not the biggest fan of the cold, metal design – I wouldn’t mind some palm trees and sunshades. And a cocktail bar. And sand. And a pool. But the sun beds and the view are very nice as well 🙂 A good spot to spend your break on a sunny day! And when doing so, don’t miss the café LesBar on the 8th floor. 🙂

Let’s hope for some more sunny days this summer! I know I will spend my lunch break up at City Library Stuttgart again when it’s warm enough.

More information about:

Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart (only in German)

Café LesBar (only in German)

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They have put up this huge screen in the courtyard of the Karlskaserne, so the ambiance it quite nice by itself.

But I noticed three things, I want to point out you guys…

1.) Reservations

Better be at the Open Air Cinema early. Because as we are Germans, we are very territorial when it comes to reserving seats… Yes. We even reserve seats at the cinema (at least when it’s an open air one) and if we don’t have towels at hand, we don’t mind using pillows, bags or whatever is present…

😀

2.) Don’t be astonished when you have to order popcorn in liters.

At least when visiting the Open Air Cinema in Ludwigsburg, you can be faced with this…

I ordered 3 liters but actually, I was a bit disappointed. I thought, I’ll get a bigger bag… But they tasted extraordinary good, I have to say!

So let the film begin! I am ready!

3.) You should not mind that they show only movies in German…

We watched Die Kirche bleibt im Dorf, which is a German saying that translates literally into “The church will stay in the village”. The actors spoke with Swabian accent which was quite funny to watch as you don’t hear our accent in movies very often 🙂

I checked their program and unfortunately all of the movies they show until the 11th of August are in German. So if you want to go, you should either understand German or be interested in listening to it…

But I can definitely recommend going. I liked the atmosphere of watching a movie under the dark sky of a summer night…

More information about:

Sommernachts Open Air Cinema Ludwigsburg 2013 (only in German)

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