Winzfest: Success!! (plus, first photos!)

Maybe it was because we knew we had made mistakes in the past. Maybe it was because we had prepared a day in advance, figuring out when we would be able to leave and return. Maybe we were wiser. Whatever it was, we made it to the Neustadt wine fest without a hitch.

It was all very exciting -- the adrenaline from having taken the right train added with the amount of people and activity in Neustadt (and, the biggest part, the festival being right by the train station, so we didn't have to wander around looking for it) made me giddy. Those of you who have seen me giddy know what it's like. (hint: it's scary)

They had food stands, game stands, shiny thing stands, a plant stand, and, of course, drink stands. Sometimes drink was mixed with food in a not-so-normal manner.

Did you know, that you can make a crêpe usingliquorss? For example, Bailey's? Good news! You can! A hot crêpe with Bailey's and sugar makes a nice, toasty late breakfast. Would you like a shot oliquorer with your pancake? Why, yes, I would!

We tried some of the local Cremant (Pfalz); tasted fine, but I wasn't partial to it. There was a band playing 50's and 60's songs until they broke out with "Achy, Breaky Heart." Wine glasses lifted high, we sang along. We should, after all, know the words better than most Germans.

Ah, I forgot to mention the rides. They had those, too. Mentioned.

Moving on: there was a parade, that we waited 45 minutes for, then gave up because I wanted to buy a bottle of the local Rieseling. And, as predicted, as soon as we left our spots the first bit of the parade came up the street. Not like we could see much of anything. There were flags waving and being tossed in the air, but for all I could see... they were just flags being tossed in the air. I managed a picture of one float -- but I have no idea what it's for.




But what I mostly saw were legs.


There were also these guys in tuxedos riding on the swings, tophats and all.




So things went well. We made it to Neustadt and back in one piece, and had a good day. Even though the weather started out shady, it turned into a tolerable afternoon and the woods behind my apartment building had a lot of activity. Silly woods.