The German fest: it’s a cultural institution, a centuries-old celebration of friends, family, and excellent food and drink.  It’s also a big party.  You see, the Germans, quite simply, have it all figured out.  Towns of all sizes, no matter how large or small, host amazing festivals during summer weekends.  Children get off school, people take off work, and the entire community (or in the case of the larger fests, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world) come to indulge, imbibe, and just celebrate how fun life can be.  Of course everyone knows Oktoberfest, the Big Daddy of the German wine and beer fests, but I had no idea how extensively the fest factors into German pride and culture everywhere.

The week I spent in Germany with my boyfriend and his family was nothing short of incredible—every day was another adventure, and every day I fell more in love with that gorgeous, lovable country.  There are a million instances I could document here.  But as my gushing intro may indicate, my favorite night was without a doubt the night we went to the Weinfest der Mittelmosel in Bernkastel, Germany—the biggest wine fest in the Mosel wine-growing region of Germany.  It consist of about 200,000 people who, over the course of 5 days, gather to come drink some amazing local wine (the venders can literally point to the hill where the grapes were grown), listen to some live music, watch beautiful fireworks shoot out of an ancient castle, and schmooze with family and friends in the streets of a town that is absolutely bursting with rich history and pride.  I’m pretty sure if I could craft my perfect day, it would involve wine, food, Germans in costume playing percussion, and castles, so I was pretty much the happiest girl in the world.

I knew things were off to an excellent start when they offered wine both in the parking lot and on the 5-minute boat shuttle from the parking lot to the festival; obviously we decided to take advantage of this option.  The very elderly German woman walking by me drinking straight out of her own bottle of wine (hey, no one likes sharing) was another indication of a fine night ahead.  Strolling through the streets, I was in awe to the point of utter uselessness; my boyfriend had to steer me around the crowds so I could take pictures without focusing on important things like not trampling young children.  I had just never seen anything quite like it.  The buildings there are so old they physically lean, and many display the date they were built proudly on their faces.  The picturesque image of cobblestone streets suddenly giving way to acres upon acres of gorgeous vineyards was absolutely breathtaking.  But I can’t lie—as a girl who seriously loves her food, I was pretty damn preoccupied by the culinary “sights” as well.  Everywhere you looked there was, quite frankly, real live food porn: thick, gorgeous red tomatoes gleaming against cheesy margherita pizzas, decadent fried mushrooms as big as tennis balls lined up on kebabs, and, perhaps most epically, 6-foot wide hanging grills covered every inch with pure, unadulterated meat.  Yes, even though as a longtime vegetarian I couldn’t fully appreciate German cuisine in its entirety, Germany has taught me to wholeheartedly respect the bratwurst.  I speak in particular of the ½ meter long bratwursts that pervaded the fest, crammed into an entire baguette and slathered with sauerkraut, designed for families to share….or, as it turned out, for my boyfriend to consume by himself.  (I was so proud.)

The night ended with the aforementioned castle fireworks; the gorgeous reenactment of the historic burning of the castle pretty much put every 4^th of July I’ve ever had to shame.  Maybe it was just the wine talking, but as we strolled to the car (stopping, of course, for one last drink in the parking lot) I couldn’t help but think: I don’t remember the last time I was quite this happy. And with that, I promptly fell asleep.  Because what better way to end a trip to Germany than with an alcohol and pretzel-induced nap? I’m sure the elderly women clutching their solo bottles of wine would agree.