On our drive back from Floripa we took the opportunity to spend the night in the city of Blumenau, Brazil in the state of Santa Catarina. We had heard so much about it since moving to Brazil especially about the Oktoberfest there. The one here actually does take place in October, usually the first two weeks.
This part of the country is in an area called the European Valley. Here there are towns with residents which have held tight to their strong European roots. The area reflects the cultures of Italy and German and in many places Italian and German are spoken as much or more than Portuguese.
Blumenau still has some remaining German touches within it. The main street through the city has a German feel and there are some buildings that look like they are straight out of old Europe, however, it has changed a lot. We’ve learned that you really have to go to some of the smaller towns to experience the strong German influence and unfortunately we didn’t have time this trip.
Despite the lesser German feel of the city, the food was top notch. The best part about the area was the beer. Microbreweries are all over the area some featuring selections we can’t get anywhere else. We stopped for beer and snacks in the center of town to get some Eisenbahn which is brewed in Blumenau.
We can also get this beer in Curitiba, but I it was incredibly fresh from the source and tasted amazing. My favorite is the Weiss. Our snack was fried mandioca wrapped in bacon. This was something different for us and I’m so glad we tried it. Mandioca (manioc, yucca) is a really unique root vegetable for me and it was excellent prepared like this.
Aside from all the seafood on the rest of our trip, the other meal we couldn’t wait to have was at the restaurant Frohsinn which sits atop the city offering some great views. We were really expecting more of a beer garden, but this place turned out to be a bit of an upscale restaurant. Good thing it is hard to be underdressed in Brazil! Jeans are pretty much accepted everywhere.
We couldn’t resist the Oktoberfest Platter. Of course they said it was for two people, but four could have eaten it. Look at this thing!
It featured stuffed duck, sausages, pork knee, some other random pork meats, spaetzle, pureed peas with bacon, sauerkraut and potatoes. It was quite a feast! I think the pork knee was my favorite. It was actually a little better than the one I had in Vienna last summer.
Unfortunately we were too full for dessert that night. Don’t you think we should be! You’ve seen all this wonderful food from our trip and now it has finally come to an end. From pastries to seafood to German fare it was quite a food-filled adventure!
I’m always trying to get my husband to take a vacation in South America, but since he’s a German professor, we often end up in Europe where we combine a work research trip and vacation. (I know, sounds whiny, but I speak Spanish!) Maybe I can get him to figure out a research project based in Brazil! 😉
What a fun place to stay! It’s amazing how diverse Brazil is. I’ve heard that Brazil and Argentina are especially diverse, but it’s easy to forget.
Very cool- great stop! I love the shape of that first beer glass!
That Oktoberfest Platter looks great and I would love to try all the yummy microbrews! Sounds like you had a very nice time!
Wow! I had no idea that Brazil had areas like this. So interesting, Lori!
I never knew there was such a German community in Brazil. They seem to pop up in the strangest places, we were amazed to find a big one in the hill country of Texas
Blumenau is amazing! Great food and beer!
How fun! Oktoberfest in Brazil, who knew? It’s always great to get really fresh beer, isn’t it?
Amazing looking foods. Looks like you had a great time and it was fun hearing all about it.
My hubby has to try the platter if it’s on the menu- after that we have to doggy bag home with the remaining orders!!
Love the place-the houses are so European too,it looks like those in the Alps!
Make a trip to Goa-you’ll love it,some people still speak Portuguese out there!!
Mmmm.. looks absolutely divine!!
mmmm. everything looks so good! i need to come to brazil!!
Mindy – No whining registered here! 🙂 I can definitely see why you’d want to come, speaking Spanish. Personally, I’m learning that I am a much bigger fan of Europe than Brazil. I think your husband could do some incredibly interesting research projects in the south of the country!
Alison – Even living here I find it very easy to forget as well.
Erica – The glass did add a bit of fun to the whole experience. 🙂
5 Star – We love microbrews and tend to go for those whenever they are available. They are so much more enjoyable to us than the major brands.
cathy – I didn’t either! It has definitely been a fun discovery.
kat – Funny that you mention that. German communities due have a strong showing in unexpected places. 🙂
Vanilla – Yes! We loved the food and beer.
Michelle – Yep. We hear that the actual Oktoberfest really isn’t worth a visit b/c they serve a lot of Brazilian brand name beers and not the microbrews. People have told us it is kind of a disappointing drunken fest, but I’m glad to have seen the city.
Angie – Thanks, I love sharing about my travels.
Sweta – Thanks for the suggestion!
Hi Darrin – It was great!
Heather – I think it is a place everyone needs to see for sure. 🙂
Oh Man! That oktoberfest platter looks amazing…and I love bacon wrapped anything!
I’ve been catching up on your various holiday posts and, my, do I feel full just reading about all of the food and drink! I especially like the sound of the Schornstein beer – a light weiss beer would be right up my street…
I’ve been eagerly anticipating this post and I am late reading it! Still, your pictures and descriptions are fantastic – I didn’t think it was possible for anything to make me want to visit Brazil even more.
The bacon wrapped mandioca is my kind of snack! All the food and beers look delicious – what an awesome trip you had to Santa Catarina. My husband will love this post since he’s the one who first fell in love with Brazil. I’ve got an itinerary developing but given all the places (and food) we want to try, we might have to mover there!
Thanks for sharing your holidays!
Hi,
We have just added your latest post “Gail’s Place: German food!” to our Food Directory . You can check the inclusion of the post here . We are delighted to invite you to submit all your future posts to the directory for getting a huge base of visitors to your website and gaining a valuable backlink to your site.
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Hi Marshall –
Not sure if you are spamming or what since your profile is unavailable. I think you have the wrong blogger. That isn’t my post, first of all. Second of all you would have to have my written permission to post my content.
Warm regards,
Lori