Säubrennerkirmes (Sow Burner Fair) is a German festival in our town of Wittlich. In English we refer to it as Pig Fest. The festival started back in 1951 and is based on a medieval legend that tells of a sow that inadvertently allowed a siege force to enter Wittlich, sack it, and burn it down after she ate the turnip that the gatekeeper had used instead of the misplaced bolt to lock the gate. Because of this, all swine in the town were accordingly punished with burning – meaning, in effect, a huge pork barbecue. Yes, the pork sandwich was pretty good.
The festival is four days long and started this past Friday. There are multiple, small food and drink stands all through out the city and stages for music. Yesterday's parade brought the pigs to the main square and the pork sandwiches haven't stopped since. We've enjoyed a some time at the fest along with Lana's mother and brother who came in for the weekend. We usually went in the evenings, since the past two days have been unusually hot and in the mid 90s.
Lana the kids and I are settled here and enjoying our time in Germany. I leave on a work trip this coming Tuesday to Sweden (called Nordic Air Meet) for 2.5 weeks, and Lana will spend some of that time in Munich with her family. Once we're back in Wittlich, our first visitors from the USA arrive. There's plenty of room for those who can make it over!
A couple months ago, Lana and I bought bikes off of German Ebay and also purchased a kid wagon to pull behind. The wagon fits Lilli's car seat (help in place with a couple bungee chords) and Liam quite well. A couple weekends ago, we rode from Wittlich to Bernkastel with some friends of ours from the squadron and then took a bus back, one that pulled a big bike trailer to carry the bikes. The scenery was great, and there was a nice old mill we stopped at along the way for a drink before continuing on and having lunch in Bernkastel.
About 20 minutes north of here there are also some old volcanic lakes, which I mentioned a few posts ago. One of them has a couple swimming pools in addition to the lake. Recently the weather has been abnormally hot, so it's made for a nice spot to cool off! Liam also enjoys the river that runs through our town and the local swimming pool.
