Wilhemstrasse Fest

Germany - the land of festivals and plentiful excuses to party! The latest festival was last weekend over yet another German holiday (I feel they have at least two each month), called Wilhelmstrasse Fest, which takes place on the main street in Wiesbaden. They closed off the street and lined each side with tons of beer, wine, prosecco, Thai food, sausage, nut stands, crepe and candy tents. The food and drink options were endless and there was also great entertainment with four different stages with music. The Fest kicked off on Thursday and ran through Sunday, and being the good community-goers we are, we attended every day.

One of the main attractions was a giant swing set that twirled round and round. I rode this once, but Jon felt the need to ride in at least 3 times in a row....., 6 times total. Although a swing ride sounds kiddie, their were actually just as many adults who rode this as kids. They also had a carousel, but I couldn't exactly coax him to do this.

On Saturday, we met up with some of Jon's friends from work, the Grades and two kids they were baby-sitting. We ended up at the Robby Williams tribute stage and danced the night away to his British tunes. I think the kids saw how much Jon and I were itching to dance, and allowed us to dance with them around the fountains in front of the casino.

On Sunday, Jon and I went back to the Fest to watch the opera Rigoletto, which was being performed in the Theatre, but they broadcast it on a big screen for all us commoners to watch on the grassy casino park. Despite the off and on rain, it was a great finale to the weekend and Festival.

Sunday was also a very special day because we managed to find a decent (at least by German standards) Mexican food restaurant. We had heard about a place in nearby Mainz that had good Tex-Mex, but of course we were skeptical of its quality until we could check it out ourselves. The owner claims to be Mexican from San Antonio, therefore the bar was already set pretty high. I was prepared to walk in there and give him the smack-down if the food was as pathetic as the other "Mexican" food restaurants we'd been to. You don't claim you're from Texas and then serve a tiny burrito with no kick! It turns out the food was actually delicious, despite the heated up Velveeta cheese for "queso." The restaurant was decked out in vibrant colors and Mexican wall-hangings, and they played some grade-A mariachi music. So, we have succeeded in finding a place that will serve us comfort food for when we're really down and out (although it's no Trujillo's, LG!).

Somehow it's already Wednesday, and this morning I braved the open-air market. It was actually not as scary as I thought it would be and people were very patient with my slaughtered German. I got some brie cheese, salami with pepper, cherries, strawberries, bananas and a beautiful arrangement of fresh flowers. It really got me in the mood to be Betty Homemaker (not including the cooking), so I better take advantage of the mood and do some cleaning before it leaves me in a matter of minutes.

Thanks for every one's comments thus far. I really appreciate hearing from you!