Late August/early September is when festival season really kicks off in Germany. It’s a wonderful time of the year to play dress up and drink wine, beer, and eat (rinse and repeat).
Our squadron had a First Friday (our annual Warhawktoberfest) in early September and we were required to dress the part. This is Owen and his girlfriend looking too cute for words.
The same weekend we went to the weinfest in Bernkastel. It was my third, the Viper Pilot’s second, and Owen’s first time to this festival. Previous posts about this festival are here (2012) and here (2013).
It’s a very popular and one of the largest wine festivals around. There isn’t much more that I can say about it that I haven’t in previous posts. It’s a ton of fun, lots of people and music and there’s good wine and food. đŸ™‚ What more could you ask for?
Owen wore his lederhosen (leather pants)…those puppies are expensive and I wanted to get my money out of them. Plus, he looks so cute in them.
It was ridiculously hot so Owen changed into his hippo suit.
The following weekend, we picked up my parents from the airport early in the morning. My mom was here in April (we went to the Netherlands and Paris) but my dad hasn’t been here since Owen
was born. To put it into perspective, this was the last time these two saw each other…
I’d say he’s changed a bit.
Such a proud grandpa. They hit it off like old pals.
After dropping their things off at home and letting them freshen up, we took them to a weinfest on the Mosel to beat the jet lag. They didn’t really know what to expect, but we were all very impressed with the fest this tiny little town of Lieser put on.
I’ve never in my life seen my dad drink wine. (I’d never in the time I’d known the Viper Pilot seen him drink wine until we moved here.) Turns out my dad likes a good Mosel wine. Well, who doesn’t? My dad and husband are wine connoisseurs. They are picky about their wine. And they know the good stuff. Seeing my dad with a wine glass in his hand was like seeing him for the first time without a mustache when I was a teenager.
Owen must have said something funny.
It was really crowded, but every 10 feet there was a food stand with different wines and different food. We settled for a brat and a bottle. We had to take a break from the noise and ruckus to get Owen to sleep. The men took charge of Owen while my mom and I had some mother-daughter time.
Then it was back for more food. This time we opted for some kind of seasoned pork on a stick. And it was absolutely, positively, unbelievably amazing. Hey Iowa State Fair, you guys need to serve this.
{I love this photo. That hunk đŸ™‚ and the cute kid in the band (he played trumpet) behind him was drinking grape juice from a wine glass. At least, I assume it was grape juice.} We got another bottle of wine – it was helping my parents stay awake đŸ˜‰ – and found a table near a band. When they broke out into Sweet Caroline, the crowd went nuts. You think they love that song in the states? They LOVE that song in the Fatherland.
I don’t know if this picture does much to your heart, but mine is in a puddle so don’t mind me while I mop it up.
Hope you’re having a great Wednesday! I’m definitely looking forward to a three-day-weekend. I’ll be back at you with more about my parents’ visit!
PROST!