Frühlingsfest

AKA: Huge amounts of glorious flowers EVERYWHERE!

Last Saturday we went to our first Frühlingsfest (which means Spring Festival) and my first Volksfest. I was in awe of all the flowers!  Every other tent was full of fresh cut flowers by the bundle and beautifully arranged bouquets, for no more than 10EUR.

This was our third time in Nüremburg and the sun even made an appearance for about 30 min.  It was very exciting.  I can’t even describe how good it felt to sit on a bench, drink a beer and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.  I’m am most certainly ready for spring!  Winter is one of my favorite seasons and I really do like the snow, but winter in Germany is long, cold, and dreary.  Much different than the Colorado winters I grew up with.  I’m beyond ready for warmth and sunshine and leaves on trees.  Maybe that’s why the Germans do the Frühlingsfest each year.  They probably all feel exactly the same way.
The Volksfest was fun!  It was a giant carnival with rides and games and beer gardens.  We learned that German women will dance the electric slide to any song.  ANY. SONG.  Polka, rock, oldies, you name it, they’ll do the electric slide to it.  So we did too.  It was fun.  There was also a song that everyone got very excited about.  I wish I could remember what it was called.  Everyone stood up on their benches and sang the song and flapped their arms, pretended to swim, jumped up and down and then wrapped their arms around each others shoulders and swayed.  It was awesome.  It reminded me of the chicken dance.  I must learn it.  My friend also got the stink eye for reaching out to pet someone’s dog.  Then, some where in the back of my mind, I remembered my dear friend Faron telling me something about not touching dogs with out asking first… too bad I didn’t remember BEFORE the stink eye was administered.  It was a very fun day and I can’t wait to go to my next Volksfest! And now the pictures.

These adorable egg garlands were decorating everything!  I loved them especially on this little well.

Here’s the same picture but edited (obviously). I couldn't decide. Which one do you like better?

I’d never seen so many fresh tulips in my life!  They were breathtaking!

There is a small, hard to find black ring opposite the popular gold one.  You turn it three times for fertility.

Clockwise from top left: Marzipan kartoffeln (potatoes), Cody as we waited at a café to meet our friends,the two of us, and me at the café (the blue behind me on my chair is a little blanket for you lap since it was cold out.  All the cafés  and restaurants do this).

Clockwise from top left: Cody and I each with a Mas Bier, the fun house we all went through, me with two well dressed German men, Tool Time carnival stand, Cody playing a shooting game, Cody and I after he won a prize, my “ich liebe dich” heart that Cody won, Cody in his favorite German pastime of beer drinking.

And if you’ve stuck around this long, I’ve saved the best for last.  Cody got an Army Achievement Medal for doing well in their field exercise last month!  I’m very proud of him and here’s some pictures to show it.