Germany’s Weird but Wonderful Wine Festival – Baumblütenfest in Werder (Havel)

By Adam Groffman

One of my favorite German traditions is the city festival. Every town, small or big, seems to host their own public festival where street vendor showing up selling fried foods, cheap beer and there’s always Schlager music (essentially German pop music). And during the spring and summer, these festivals show up in full force. But perhaps one of the biggest and best is the annual Baumblütenfest in Werder, Germany.

The Baumblütenfest is as kitschy as it is wonderful. The city produces many fruit wines—super sweet wines fermented from various fruits such as rhubarb, peach, apple or any combination of flavors. This festival, which is in its 138 annual year, celebrates the season. The streets are lined with blooming cherry blossom tress, and with public parades, a festival queen, live music stages, carnival rides, arcades and thousands of vendors—it’s unquestionably a seriously fun affair.

I’ve been to the festival for the past five years—an easy day trip…