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.
Lana and I took a trip with the kids this past weekend to Bad Kreuznach, about an hour and a half east of where we live in Wittlich. We've been in Germany over three months already and thought it was time for a short weekend trip...time is flying by!
On our way and drive back home we stopped in some of the small towns (Altenbaumburg and Bad Munster) to look at castles and scenic areas, which seem to be around almost every corner here. Liam enjoyed a different bed, which was topped off with a lion pillow! Bad Kreuznach had a really interesting bridge upon which were a couple of old homes, now shops. It also had a couple of nice churches and a great Italian restaurant where we ate on Saturday night. The weather was also great, which made for a short, but great weekend away from the local area.
On July 2nd and 3rd we received our shipments of household goods at our new house in Wittlich, Germany. The unpacking of boxes started right away, and at this point all are empty! There's huge pile of them in garage awaiting pick-up from the base moving office. Most everything has found it's new place, thanks to Lana's mother Gabi and best friend Susi (thanks for the help!). It felt good to get rid of things / clothes that have for some reason moved the past few times with us but are never used...
Our new home is a 10 minute walk to the zentrum (center), where there are plenty of restaurants, cafes, and a couple of bakeries. Lana and I took our first walk with Liam and Lilli to the local baker to get some bread and rolls this past Friday, one benefit of German culture! The house is a little (a lot actually) bigger than we need, but has a great patio and backyard for Liam to play around in and plenty of room for visitors. It even has a garage with door openers, which is not common in Germany. This has already come in handy with the rain that's common here and will remove the need for window scrapping in the winter.
Since arriving here in Germany, Lana and I have purchased bikes to enjoy the local country trails together with the kids. Liam and I went for a ride today through the local vineyards, from which we had a great view down on the city. This region of Germany is very well know for it's white Riesling wine, most of which comes from along the Mosel River about 10 min drive to the east of Wittlich. We enjoyed a short river cruise yesterday on the Mosel from Bernkastel and a nice dinner at Kloster Machern.
On Memorial Day the end of last month, we drove to Luxembourg to tour the American WWII Cemetery and Memorial and spent time with some of our friends there (originally from Munich, but living in Luxembourg now). It was a short one hour drive, and a nice day to travel...as we've learned living in this region, sunny days are not the norm! The cemetery was a sober reminder of how quickly life can pass, which was the case for more than 5,000 buried in Luxembourg. General Patton, leader of many Army troops during WWII, is also buried there. The city of Luxembourg was very nice, and having local people give us tour made it even better.
The next weekend, June 4th, was Lana's Scottish Grandmother's 90th birthday, which we were fortunate enough to be at after a short two hour flight Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Edinburgh. Lana's Scottish Aunts, Uncle and Father were all in town, along with some of her cousins. It was the first time I met many of them, and the second time we had been to Scotland. It was a short yet enjoyable trip.
We have also enjoyed some of the local cities in the surrounding area, like Bernkastel and Trier, for both the sites and recent Eurocup fussball (soccer) games. Both cities are located on the Mosel River. Lana and I made quick trips to Bernkastel and Trier when I was here at Spangdahlem last August during Weapons School, but this time we had more time to enjoy the sites. We've also enjoyed been enjoying some of the more simple things, like the many walking / running trails through the country side near the small town Speicher we currently live in (we move into our permanent house July 1st).
I've been fully back to work for a few weeks now, and took over the Weapons & Tactics section of the squadron on June 1st. I'm learning day by day, and have been flying and instructing a lot. Going back to work has been an adjustment for both Lana and I, as we both really enjoyed my time off during our transition from the USA to Germany. We're excited to be here and thankful God has brought us to Germany!
