A couple of weeks ago I flew to Stuttgart to visit the very impressive Marc Cain HQ and factory (see the first part here). After our tour (I was with the lovely Kylie from Memoir Mode and a whole load of magazine stylists) we returned to our hotel to find a quite unexpected flat lay on our beds…

Traditional German dress for Stuttgart’s Spring Festival we would be attending that evening. After the shock (cue lots of squeals in the hotel corridors as we tried on our outfits) we loaded onto a tour bus and set off for Europe’s biggest and best-attended beer festival. On arrival, we found a pretty amazing funfair with big wheel, bumper cars, every description of ride and traditional sweets and savouries, from gingerbread hearts and crepes to sausages.

But it was inside the beer hall that things were really happening. A band on stage at the far end of picnic table after picnic table laden with cold meats and cheeses for starters and pan-fried chicken for mains and, of course, huge flagons of beer. When we arrived people were already pretty jolly, but an hour or so later, every single person in that hall was up on benches and tables, singing, stamping and dancing their hearts out. The covers ranged from the sublimely cheesy to German takes on well-known songs and I was impressed to see everyone knew every single one of the words, including the Marc Cain team. Hats off!

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Obvs leather jackets are the only legit Bavarian dress accessory!

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We danced and stomped our way through the whole night, a kind of crazy mix between club, festival and beer hall and come the end of the night, the thrill seekers among us leapt on one of those awful rides (not me!) before we fell into the bus exhausted. Bed was hugely welcome and I slept like a log. The next morning, we breakfasted well and set off for our flight. A big thank you to Marc Cain and Task PR for organising such an incredible trip. It won’t be one I forget soon!

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The not-so-reluctant beer maiden

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With Kylie and Vanessa from Marc Cain

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