Bernkastel-Kues Winefest Adventure

It's my most favoritest time of the year!!!! Which of course means time to break out the pumpkin mug. I did end up making pumpkin spice syrup this past weekend and not only did it turn out FANTASTIC, but it made our house smell amazing!!!! Yankee Candles for the fall? Nu-uh... just make some handy-dandy PSL syrup before guests come over...It seems this season I'm in the "spirit" more than usual. Perhaps it's because I'm not at home, I'm in Germany, at MY home. So many of my memories of this time of year are linked to being in Garland, or being in Lubbock at Tech. Because this was her favorite season, several of my favorite memories are also tied to my mother. She had the other matching mug to this one and I would always bring it home so we could have coffee to together in our matching pumpkin mugs. So at long last, it's time to make new memories. I couldn't as for a better place to exploit this opportunity. With all of the wine-fests, pumpkin-fests, apple picking etc I shouldn't have any trouble coming up with ideas.

Then fall kicked into full swing on Saturday morning when I made the Pumpkin Brown Butter cupcakes for Crystal's babyshower.... I made the rookie mistake of forgetting to charge my battery on Camie, so all I have are shots of the cupcakes. I was really happy at how they turned out! Most importantly Crystal loved them and I watched her eat more than one! Sarah did a great job of putting the shower together. We painted one-zies and played creative games. And Paula's and my mustache pacifiers were a huge hit! Congratulations Crystal and we'll soon be welcoming baby Bach in to the world!

Last weekend Jen & Tony had invited D & I to go with them to the winefest in Stuttgart. We were all excited to take the train until we got there, figured out that the cheap tickets don't include the ice train, and what would have been a two hour train ride, was now a four hour train ride. We were crushed... and trying to decide if it was worth it. Then Jen remembered that a friend of hers told her that there was a winefest going on in Bernkastel-Kues, which was only about an hour away if we drove. After not much deliberation, we decided this was our best option. I am SO in love with this charming village on the Mosel river. We got there early enough so that it was hardly busy at all and the town was just starting to wake up. My favorite part was that we took a chance and parked on a street that said "No Parking" and after eight hours at the festival, we didn't get a ticket! This is one of the best days in Germany to date. I could hardly put my camera down... which definitely works to my reader's benefit. It's almost impossible to give you any more information without showing pictures.... so here we go...

We got there so early, it was really nice to walk around without the onslaught of a huge crowd. Plus, I loved the amount of older folks that attended this festival. Just goes to show, the Germans live it up, no matter what age they are!

First stop, breakfast of champions: Bratwurst mit Brot und wein!

This cheese booth was freaking amazing!!! I believe the cheeses were made in Holland. They are flavored and covered in bright colored wax to attract a younger generation. We got the sample plate shown below and tasted the pesto cheese (green), walnut cheese, & garlic cheese. OMG. Delicious! We ended up buying two wheels later before we left. One wheel of cayenne pepper & one of pesto cheese.

Looking at the town while standing on the bridge. Amazing. I love the vineyards up the side of the hill.

There were quite a few bikers here at the festival. I just love the shorts!

Oh, right. Did I mention there was a parade the day that we were there??? So much fun!!!!

The castle on the other side of the river. I still can't get over how every town has one of these. Brit- I will make a point to take you to as many castles as I can while you're here.

Fresh bread from a vendor. Can't beat that.....

I LOVED all the bowls full of nuts and dried berries. So very fall!

Tony was looking for mead, a honey based wine, and we found it! I had never tried it before, so I can now check that off the bucket list. It's pretty good, tastes like alcoholic honey with a very sweet after taste.

Tiny little glass figurines! They remind me of Fernando!!!! These were no bigger than my thumbnail.

Brit- I looked for some really soft yarn for knitting, but it was all pretty coarse....bummer!

Funky random keychains. I thought this was hysterical....They could all be Jack & Sally's children.

They had so many wood carvings there. I wanted to get one, but they were mega expensive. So again, we took pictures instead.

This dog was my fav. I wanted to take him home so bad!

One of the bottles of wine we bought and drank. Yummay!!!

Parade!!!!! This lasted for SO long! I wish I knew enough German to read the floats.... It was one of the coolest things I've seen since I've been here.

Ruler Caesar Grape. or Dionysus. Either one works for me!

King Grape. I don't know if that's his name, but that's what Tony named him.

I so very badly want to know what these instruments are! It's something right out of who-ville by Dr. Seuss! They even sound cool!

Miss Grape. I don't know if they did this for every vinyard there? but there were a lot of Queen Grapes. And some of these girls don't look older than 10 or 12 with a glass of wine in their hand!

Viking wine boat. Dad, this one's for you!

I loved that the parade was over the bridge. How fun!

These ladies were SO great! I want to do this when I'm pushing 45.

Favorite float. Period. Check out all that detail!!!

This is how I think of Jen. Wine, Cotton Candy, & a Camera at all times.

The lost sole. tee hee.

Chocolate covered strawberries & my favorite, the balloon guy!!!!

I'm so excited that I know what the German word for cotton candy is: Zuckerwatte!

Tony's mead and Jen's hooter backpack! So cute!!!! He was stuffed SO full of items by the end of the day we could barely close him!

These guys on stage are definitely doing the dance from "Thriller". Very entertaining to watch.

My brother was with me at the festival!!! I miss you Patrick!!!!!!

Ice cream!!!!!

This one is my favorite of Tony and Jen. Look how happy they are!!!!

Fresh sauteed mushrooms. YUM.

I love that the later it got in the day, the more wine bottles accumulated on the side of the bridge.

D & Tony being boys and spitting over the side of the bridge to excite the fish below.

And of course as we had been drinking wine most of the day, things got a little crazy. Everyone wanted to ride the airplane.....

The watch the Ndjerareou's gave to D for the wedding. I am such a huge fan.

So here's the story. Two little girls are riding on the airplane. This little dude comes up and is clearly telling them to get off because he wants to ride. I cracked up at his stance. And what do you know, not five seconds later they get off and little boy cranky pants gets to ride.... lol

This is my favorite photo, but I hate that I framed the dumpster. Way to go, k.

Yeah Tony! Way to double fist on the airplane....

I'm obsessed with this door. I want it. Pronto.

Hooter! and a "k". Totally meant to be.

These guns were so interesting! I had never seen anything like them! These guys were also in the parade, but I couldn't get a good shot of the guns close up.

We took a picture of Jen here, because she is standing next to a certified "Jen Size" door.

I love me some patterned cobblestone!!

The sky as we were leaving.... so sad to go... but so tired!!! I had to have D rub my feet when we got home because they hurt so bad I couldn't sleep!

Seriously amazing trip. I have spent so long on this post today I have nothing left to say, except I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday!!! Happy Fall.

**These photos were edited using Lovely Action by orangetopatos & Willette Autumn action set**