Spring is coming: Baumblütenfest Werder

Berlin is definitely a great city where you will never stop finding places to know and enjoy. Close to Berlin you will also find lots of towns, smaller but, in my opinion, with a more traditional German culture surrounding them completely. If you want to spend a great day eating, dancing and singing, or even practicing the new German words and grammar you’ve learned at Kapitel Zwei, while being on a more traditional German town close to Berlin, then you have to go to Baumblütenfest Werder! The fest is held at the end of April/beginning of May, just when “spring is coming”, so that’s the best time to go!

Werder is a small town located about 18 km west from Potsdam. You can get there by train or, as I did, biking the 50km from Berlin. The landscape is amazing so maybe you can try to go biking early and return by train.

When you arrive at the station you will immediately notice that everyone has left the train with you and will begin walking on the same direction. Just follow the mass! You will notice that there are people selling wine. But not just common wine: It’s Werder’s Obstwein (Obst means Fruit). Stop! Although you might already be thirsty, please don’t hurry, wait a bit, because the price of the wine will be cheaper later. I followed the mass through the main street but then went up a long stair to the right. Up there you’ll see not only one or two, but at least twenty different stands selling not only wine but also food. A lot of food! Music is already in the ambience so your legs might start dancing without you noticing. People will already be drinking and chatting while sitting on the numerous benches and tables there are.

If you continue walking you’ll get to another street, where you should take your left. Although normally it would just be a residential area, now it will be full of people and, what’s best, most of the private gardens will be opened to public, with their owners selling wine, food, plants, flowers and handicrafts. Homemade cake, steaks, ice cream, the typical Wursts, a 50 cm long sausages and lots of other German typical foods, which will make you get hungry immediately. And, of course, different wines, made of different fruits, colorful to the eyes, will delight you in a second. You can ask for wine tryouts to get to know the taste of the numerous kinds of wines. It is better if you buy a bottle, a lot cheaper than having only a glass. But don’t expect a typical Merlot, Cabernet or any of those though; these are fruit wines, delicious and sweet, so you have to be careful not to drink a whole bottle too fast.

The other good thing about this fest is that there are four stages with live music and shows for people of different ages and preferences. In this street there is a stage with older German music and comic shows. Going down to the town center and later on to the small island –typical of Werder – you will find the kids stage on the way and two other stages at the end with pop and rock-electro music. We went to all of them and ended on the rock stage, next to the river.

The fest lasts until 10.30 pm with live music all the time. You can dance, eat, drink, dance, drink, eat, rest, and drink all the day. Everything is open to public so, besides the food and drinks, the fest itself is free! The day will be over faster than expected, but it lasts for two weeks so you can come back again if you want. Don’t forget to buy the last bottles of wine, either for making presents or for continue drinking when arriving home. Just be careful not to get asleep on your way back home!