Festivals and Events Around Konstanz

Konstanz host just an astounding number of festivals and other public events in the spring and summer months. Not much was going on in terms of these type of events back in March, but once the sun came out that changed. It seems like every week there are multiple events and festivals going on throughout the city. Everything from the weekly farmers market, to free live music, to full on festivals.These are not only a great way to get out and have some fun with friends, but they are also a great chance to meet locals and people from across German. I attribute the number of these events to the fact that Konstanz is a major tourist destination for Germans. The Bodensee is famous throughout the country for its beauty and excellent weather.

The Isle Mainu is a great place only a mile or two from the university campus. For some historical reason that i an not really clear on, it is owned by the Swedish royal family who use it as a summer vacation home. Or rather palace. The island is a botanical garden, known for its many flowers. It seems that every other week there is some sort of festival or public event going on here, ranging music festivals to art walks. So if you have a chance, swing by and check one out. Even the events that are not free usually have a discount price for students.

The university also hosts a lot of events around the city and around the campus. These events are not as frequent as those hosted by NAU, as there is always some some sort of student event going on at NAU, but those that there are often on a larger scale. The best examples of this are the EURO Konstanzia and the Campus Festival. The EURO Konstanzia is a sporting event that brings students from universities around the world together to Konstanz for some friendly competition. Anyone can sign up for a team, even international exchange students, to take part in one of the events. So if you ever wanted to claim to be a college athlete, here is your chance because you don't even have to be good at the sport. The campus festival is a music festival hosted in the woods just outside of the campus. The tickets were 35 Euros ahead of time, which is really pretty cheap for this sort of event. It occured the same weekend this year as EURO Konstanzia, so I only go to go to this event. It was a great time though, and I had a lot of fun. There was a main stage an an “electro stage,” playing a wide variety of music. They had rap, EDM, some sort of hip hop-Jazz fusion group and more that I missed. I went on for two days, so I got my money's worth. My favorite artist was a trance DJ who played an electric violin live on stage while he did the beat and everything else of a computer.

A lot of events also happen in the historic downtown and down by the main harbour. Various types of markets happen in the square around the Cathedral, such as an Italian food market that lasted for about a week in late May. The Konstanz harbour host a festival known as International Bodensee week. This brings together food vendors, carnival rides and water craft and sports companies showing off their wares. It also involves live performances of boats and water skies and whatnot out on the lake. The most interesting event I have experienced recently downtown was the Flowmart. This event is kind of like a flea market meets farmers market and swap meet at once. It also involves hundreds of vendors spread between Konstanz and Kreuzlingen Switzerland, with upward of 10,000 shoppers in attendance. Also, it goes on for 24 hours straight, from 7PM Saturday until 7PM Sunday. It is truly something to experience. Also a great place to pick up cheap stuff, like beer steins for souvenirs. Kind of a shame it took place like a month and a half from the time I am going to be leaving, so I did not need to accumulate more stuff to bring home. The market is truly one of the most interesting experiences I have had over here, so it is worth checking out.

Good times at the Campus Festival. In this picture are people from 5 different countries: Sweden, Australia, Canada, Italy, Turkey and the US. Study abraod is somthing else.