Happy May Day!

Thursday......Happy May Day! Today is May 1st which is a German holiday. On any German holiday 90% of all businesses are closed. Shelly and I knew that there would not be much open but hoped to find a place to have a cappuccino and maybe some lunch. We walked to the center of Wieden and just as we suspected most everything was closed. There were long tables set up and a stage. Anytime there are tables set us like that, there is normally going to be some sort of festivities going on. (Of course that means a lot of Germans drinking a LOT of beer) So Shelly and I found a restaurant that was open to have lunch. We sat outside and ordered our lunch. After we ate we finished with a cappuccino. While eating we were noticing some men had uncovered a part of the cobblestone and seem to be doing some kind of work in the hole. Also, there were some teenagers roping off a large section which included the area the men were working on. THEN, we noticed that little by little the area was getting crowded with people. So we paid for our food and drink and got up to walk back to the hotel. A German lady who spoke very good English stopped me and said, "Are you sure you want to leave? Any minute they will be bringing in the May Pole. It is a tradition; I think you will like seeing it". I told Shelly and we decided to stay. So we sat back down and ordered another cappuccino and continued with our girl talk. A few minutes later the band started playing and a parade of people began to come down the center of the town. They were dressed in German clothing, some carrying flags. Not sure what they all stood for. Following the people was a huge truck pulling a HUGE blue and white striped pole with pictures of different building from the town on it. They used a crane and placed the pole in the hole that Shelly and I thought was where men were working on a drain of some sort. Silly us, it was what held the May Pole! Funny thing is we were right up front...I mean one of the best seats to have. There were a few times we were a little concerned about the pole breaking loose and rolling right over us. We were also right in the lime light of pictures being taken and cameras rolling and I told Shelly I could just see the news paper with a big picture of 2 Americans front and center for the planting of the May Pole. Shelly said the towns’ people will look at it saying I know this person and that person....but I don't know those two. Guess you had to be there but it was rather funny.

Of course as soon as the ceremony was over and we could once again head back to the hotel....here come the rain, and lots of it. They had already opened the huge umbrellas and the lady who was telling us about the event came under the umbrella and shared our table until the rain stopped. She told us that the pole is a symbol of spring and means that the dark is gone (winter) and spring is here. The pole will remain up the entire month of May. At this point we were freezing. Finally we headed back to the hotel and here I am, telling the story. Of course I didn't have my camera as we thought we were just going to find some lunch. I'll go back and take a picture and add it to this blog later.

I did try something today at lunch that Larry talks about a lot and loves. Spargal soup (I know I misspelled that) made from white asparagus. White asparagus is asparagus that has never seen light and remains white. It is only available this time of year and for a short period of time. It was yummy. I felt guilty having it without him but I plan to take him there for dinner one night so he can have one of his favorite German soups.

That’s the biggest part of my day so far. Now it’s time to rest before getting ready for dinner. More yummy German food!

Love and Hugs from Germany!