Tis the season...

For festivals!

Contrary to the overcast skies outside as I write this, we're coming into the summer season here, which means a lot of sunshine, low humidity, and pleasant temperatures. It's a time when Germany and beyond gets all warm and fuzzy and start celebrating with festivals of music, culture, food and wine.

Oh the wine.

For this reason, I've been spending a lot of time at the gym recently, as I'm trying to bank some calorie burning-action prior to the endless glasses of wine, sausages, cakes, and more. And do some school work so I don't have to stress about it while enjoying all that the season has to offer.

Here are some of the events we did last year that are coming up fast! Who knows what we'll add on this year...

Wine Hike: These are awesome. They are heavy on the wine, very light on the hiking portion. The Eibinger Weinwanderung is a 5k loop with 10 stations setup for you to sample. At the beginning you get this little glass, pay 12 Euro, and at each stand you get a refilled glass. They've really made a game out of it, too, because you get a card to take to each stand for a "stamp" as well. Despite the fact the glass is on the small side and only holds .1 liters, about halfway through it's inevitable that we'll strike up a conversation with Germans our age, people will start passing around bottles.... and things get a little fuzzy. What saved us last year was Matt carrying large bottles of water.

Johannisnacht: It's Mainz's huge summer festival down next to the Rhine. I only got to enjoy one day of it last year, but this time I'm so going every day. And I'll get to see the fireworks this time! Great food, great wine and beer, and even a large selection of cocktails. Even live music and carnival rides. I'm really looking forward to it (especially since that after it's over, my sister is going to be here! Eeeeeeee!)

Lake Como: this isn't currently on our schedule right now, but I would always, always, always go back. It's one of my favorite spots, if not my top. We have two trips on the schedule right now, but I'll share that info later.

Frankfurt Apfelwein Festival! Take the train into Frankfurt, follow the crowds, find a table, and start imbibing in this delicious hard-cider cousin. Matt and I recall fondly the ham sandwiches from last year, which were perfectly moist and only included ham and some sauerkraut on a crusty roll. The music was good too.

Apartment grilling! I want to do all kinds of burgers and some chicken this season. Oh - and pineapple and peppers, mmm.....

Mainz Wine Fest in the Rose Garden: Another favorite. The backdrop is a huge park area, full of flowers (I recall I needed to pop some Claritin last time), and each night we went, we always ended up at the cake stand. Hence the preemptive gym action.

...Because after these have gone, it's not too long before Oktoberfest, and you gotta be in tip-top form for all that beer!