Bernkastel Wine Festival 9/3/2011

Matt and I have been very busy lately! On August 19, 2011 we celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. We went out to dinner to celebrate and Matt surprised me with my new favorite thing...handmade (in Lithuania) German houses. I am sure by the time we leave here I will have my own mini German village on my mantle.

Yesterday was a GOREGOUS day! Probably the nicest day we have had since we arrived. The town we live in, Greimersburg, was having their bi-annual festival. There was a rummage sale were you could buy lady and childrens closes second hand or some cake and coffee. At night they had a "disco", rides, food, games, and of course beer. When we stopped by it must have been in between the rummage sale and the "disco" as they were still setting up. So we decided to go for a walk. We walked past the dog park where they have a dog agility course for the hunde club in town and of the pastures behind our house. I also took some pictures of my favorite yard near our house..so beautiful! I even chatted with the owner...well tried to! lol

Last night we went to the Bernkastel Wine Festival. It was such a nice day to be outside. The festival was outside along the Mosel river. There were booths where you could sample the wines from the region or buy a bottle to take home. There were food vendors, craftsmen, rides, and music. There were so many people! We have been to a couple of festivals but none were like this one!

At 9pm they had fireworks which were breathtaking. Everyone lined up along the river on their blankets or lawn chairs (some people stood) to watch the fireworks. The fireworks were set off by the town Castle and were amazing. Some of the nicest firework shows I have seen! There were a lot of wine cruise/ riverboats going up and down the river which were beautiful to see with their lights on.
http://www.bernkastel.de/english/festival---culture/the-middle-mosel-wine-festival/

Matt and I enjoyed some bratwurst and fries for dinner and shared an ice cream which I ordered 100% in German!! :)

Today (9/4) we went to Bitburg (an annex of Spangdahlem) to do our grocery shopping and out for a special lunch treat..McDonalds. I know what you all are thinking..McDonalds is a treat? Well I have been hearing all of the spouses rave about how great McDonalds was over here so of course I had to try it! It did not disappoint! THE nicest McDonalds I have ever seen AND they had a whole McCafe center that we do not have in the states (even though they do sell the McCafe coffees). It was like going to a boutique coffee shop inside a McDonalds. It also made me laugh to see all of the "American All Star" choices they had considering they were NOT burgers you could get in the states.

Tomorrow our furniture comes! Once the house is all settled we will post pictures!

Next week we plan to go to Bad Sobernheim outdoor trails! :)

Wittlich Pig Festival

Matt and I traveled to Wittlich Pig Festival today. It was a beautiful day, one of the first without ANY rain, in weeks! It was sunny and unseasonably warm (must have been in the 80s). Getting to Wittlich was no problem, parking on the other hand was a mess.

Me sitting on one of the many
Wittlich pigs

We went around lunch time in order to enjoy the nice weather. There was a lot to do and see. There was a carnival section with rides and games. There were food, beer, and wine stands everywhere. There was even a craft market area. We walked through the center area where the butchers were getting the pigs ready for dinner. It smelled HEAVENLY! Matt and I didn't plan on staying for dinner but maybe we will next year due to how amazing that pig smelled.
We enjoyed walking around and just taking in the scenery. Then we sat and had some wurst (SOO GOOD!) And Matt wanted some pommes (fries). Since it was about 1pm and so warm we didn't sample any of the wein (wine) or bier (beer) but people around us definately were. There was a stage being set up for later where the live bands would play.

I really got a kick out of the German idea of a carosel (real ponies tied up in a circle that kids could ride) and their idea of American carnival food (so aptly named lol) All in all a good day!

Window display with a "pig roasting"

Town center where the band plays

HUGE wine glass with the Wittlich
town crest on it

Some of the market place where vendors were selling their goods.

Town butchers working on the daily pigs...so yummy

They counted how many pigs they slaughtered each day
they cooked these in the middle of the town square next to the band

Matt is SOO excited about our wurst. It was amazingly yummy.

The stand where we got our wurst from

Bier Garten

German carousel

This stand made me laugh. They were selling "American Ice Cream".
It came in a white bucket the size of a medium pickle jar and it
had a picture of Uncle Sam on it!