Johannisnacht Weekend 2014

The Johannisnacht Festival is the highlight of the summer here in Mainz, with a giant carnival/food/drink extravaganza. They set up along the bank of the Rhine river and everything spills into the center of town as well. Luckily it lasts all weekend, and even runs into this evening as well, ending with fireworks. Last year I was flying back to the U.S. which caused me to miss all but the first day, so I was excited to experience more of the fun this time around.

Matt and I have gone every day. It's been awesome.

The first day we split a roast beef sandwich, with some kind of tomato-y sauce on the roll. Great sandwich all around.

Next we wanted to try the "spiciest currywurst in the world." There were various levels of heat we could try, and their corresponding scoville ratings. Matt settled on level 5 out of 7 (they went up to 10, but they were so hot that they explained they were not allowed to sell it!).

Matt asked for it in German, and upon hearing it, the lady immediately switched to English and said, quite dubiously, "that's pretty hot, are you sure?" And she continued to smirk the entire time she prepared it (and fries for me - I wasn't too terribly interested in this level 5 business).

I mean, they have the sauces of death all lined up here...

Check out the amount of sauce that currywurst is covered in. Totally ridiculous. Even more ridiculous? It was so hot that my husband "I'm-from-Texas-and-love-spicy-food" Matt was only able to eat maybe 25%.

And I tried one piece. It was a stupid thing to do. I was careful not to get it anywhere near my lips. But my tongue still burned. The fries were really great though - and yes, that is ketchup AND mayo. Mayo on fries is huge here and I am totally a convert.

One of the ways we got the spice out was with some drinks. After walking it off for awhile, Matt and I had a beer (for him) and Aperol Spritz (for me).

Much better than that currywurst. Bleh.

I meant to get a picture when this was full, but Matt and I later shared some noodles while we listened to a band with John and Susan.

The band was really good, too. It was what I'd call a Bavarian rock band in that they had two guitars, drums, and the main guy was killing it on an accordion. Lederhosen were worn as well. Nice.

Mmm, wine.

The second day we had plans to meet up with a group of people and I had a hankering for currywurst that was NOT the spiciest in the world. Much tastier, too. Mayo + ketchup = good times.

 I stuck to weinschorles the entire day, while Matt had wheat beers.

After hearing about Matt's experience with the spicy currywurst, John had to try it too. He made it much farther than Matt and even finished it (with a little help from some of our unsure friends), but it should be mentioned that the amount of sauce that Matt had was much more than what John got. I took a picture of him as he was eating it, but I'll spare you all from seeing how painful and sweaty he was. Even still - a valiant effort.

Later during the day we got our raclette. It's a delicious treat of slowly melting and bubbling cheese that is scraped off the top of a large block and gingerly placed on a crusty baguette slice. No picture - these are often devoured immediately.

Here's a few shots from the top level where things are a little more calm and less crowded. We found a nice shady table and bench and hung out for awhile, sharing some pretzel with spundekas.

 Remember how I said I was sticking to the weinschorle? Well... not so with some of our large group. Someone discovered how delicious the long island iced teas were at the stand nearby, and buzzed picture taking soon ensued.

On the way back from the fest that evening, Matt expressed interest in a ham sandwich, while I gobbled up another portion of those noodles. This is him getting some mustard.

 Schinken = ham

 Definitely really hammy.

The next day (yesterday), Matt and I took it easy and actually got stuff done around the house (namely for me, I made some great progress on my grad school project). To reward ourselves, we went back out and had dinner at the fest.

Matt started with this. It was a garlic cheese bread.

The weather was yet again great, so the place was packed.

Mmm, cheesy.

Speaking of cheese, I had been wanting kasespatzle, the dish that my Dad didn't know he would love and so I had to force him to try. See what you're missing out on, Dad? This was a great batch.

Washed down with a glass of sekt as well.

Can anyone identify this one? I know it's not that much to look at, but I had passed far too many crepe stands not to get one with Nutella drizzled inside. Just superb.

Matt opted for the little doughy balls with powdered sugar on top.

We also hung around to hear some music. Two of the places where we tried were having technical difficulties, but these guys eventually got it together. Too bad it wasn't that good.

I wonder what I'll have for dinner this evening before the fireworks. Hmmm....

Hope everyone has a great week, happy Monday!

Also note: No posts until next Wednesday. Gotta get ready for my sister's visit!