A 15-page independent football travel guide based on my trip to Stuttgart for VfB v Heidenheim. Discover the MHPArena, Cannstatter Volksfest, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz museums — plus the extraordinary story of how a missing passport turned my journey home

The Groundhopper’s Guide to Stuttgart

Football, Volksfest & a Missing Passport

What happens when a football weekend turns into something much bigger than the match?

This independent Groundhopper Guide follows my October 2025 trip to Stuttgart for VfB Stuttgart v 1. FC Heidenheim - a weekend that combined Bundesliga football, one of Germany’s biggest festivals, two world-class motor museums and a journey home that went completely off-plan.

The football centred on a sold-out MHPArena, but Stuttgart offered far more. I visited the Porsche and Mercedes-Benz museums, experienced the huge Cannstatter Volksfest, explored the city and discovered why Bad Cannstatt makes such a good base for a football weekend.

Then I lost my passport at Baden-Baden Airport.

What should have been a straightforward flight home became an unexpected journey across Germany to Munich, a visit to the British Consulate, an emergency travel document and an expensive replacement flight back to Heathrow.

Inside the guide:

• My VfB Stuttgart matchday experience

• VfB Stuttgart v Heidenheim at the MHPArena

• Advice on buying VfB tickets

• Getting to the stadium and Bad Cannstatt

• What the MHPArena is like on matchday

• How to combine football with Cannstatter Volksfest

• My experience inside the Volksfest tents and fairground

• Porsche Museum

• Mercedes-Benz Museum

• What else to see and do in Stuttgart

• Where I’d stay for a football and Volksfest weekend

• How I’d structure the trip

• Stuttgart and Baden-Baden airport considerations

• The full story of my missing passport

• Getting across Germany to Munich

• Obtaining an emergency travel document

• The lessons I learned when the journey home went badly wrong

• Practical QR codes linking to official information

This isn't a generic guide assembled from the internet. It's based around a trip I actually made, using my own experiences and photographs — including the mistakes and unexpected moments that became as memorable as the football itself.

WHAT YOU RECEIVE

One 15-page digital PDF guide, available to download immediately after purchase.

No physical product will be posted.

THE GROUNDHOPPER GUIDES / NO. 04 Written by Richard Angell.

Independent guide. Not affiliated with or endorsed by VfB Stuttgart, 1. FC Heidenheim, the Bundesliga, MHPArena, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Cannstatter Volksfest or any travel, accommodation or ticket provider.