It's time for Wurstfest!

Willkommen, Damen und Herren, zum Neuen Braunfels Wurstfest!

Ah, yes, it was a beautiful sunny day...just perfect for a bunch of crazy Germans to get together for their annual ten day salute to sausage.

The Wurstfest grounds sit right next to Landa Park where the spring fed Comal River runs through. (I've already taken you on a walk in the park.)

Here's the first lively band I saw playing.

They referred to the accordians as "Stomach Steinways." Ha! I'd never heard that one before.


This guy was quite the entertainer.

Okay, a weak moment here. I just took this picture because I thought he was a cutie. Dimples and lederhosen...what a combination!

Another band playing inside.

Some people really dressed the part.

Wurstfest's human version of a nutcracker.

Awwww...and this little cutie. I bet her name is Heidi.

German souvenirs. Does anyone really drink out of these things? Maybe in the old days, I guess.

And your obligatory cuckoo clocks. It's cute, but I don't know if I'd spend $639 for it.

Now we get to the food. Don't ask me what an "Opa Button" is...I have no clue.

I don't know...this just seems wrong.

Lots of German baked goods.

It makes my arteries curdle just looking at these.

Pecan pie. They mostly say "PEE-KAN," with an equal accent on both syllables, down here. I've always said, "pi-KAHN." I guess it all depends on where you grew up. No matter how you pronounce it, I'm thinking this little freulein has had it up to her eyeballs with pecan pie.

Here was my lunch...a bratwurst with sauerkraut and an imported dark German beer. Mighty tasty. The beer was excellent...which made the $6 pricetag a little more swallowable.

This was across the river from where I was sitting. Looks like Bubba has set up camp next to the Wurstfest with his sausages hanging on a string. The little signs at the end of the strings say "FKK." Now I've heard of "KKK," but not "FKK." Maybe it's an offshoot. They do have satellite, though.

Okay, now here's something that I thought was a little strange. A LOT of people were wearing these weird hats...and 95% of them were adults! When I walked in, I saw this lady, and thought it was a little strange, but decided it must have been just HER. Then I started seeing them all over the place. Is this some new fad that I don't know about? Or maybe it's just a Wurstfest thing. Crazy Germans (of course I am German myself, but that's besides the point.)

Love the one on the left with the dangling appendages.

And strings so that you can make the ears move.

Can you imagine having a normal conversation with someone wearing one of these things? "Hey, Honey...what do you think of global warming?" "Well, I don't know, sweetheart, but what do you think of my pig hat?"

And then, what the heck do you do with them after the Wurstfest is over? Let's say your spouse says he wants to go out to dinner one night. It's not like you're gonna say, "Great! Should I wear my hot dog hat or my pig hat??"

Enough of the hats. Only saw one case of this this time.

Passed by this and couldn't help myself...reminiscent of my doors on Isla. I saw a couple people look at me, then look at what I was taking a picture of as if to ask, "Why in the world is she taking a picture of an old rusty door, for cryin' out loud??" My thought is, if you have you ask, you wouldn't understand.

A final Hibiscus pic because they always remind me of Isla.

So that was the Wurstfest. Saturday (Nov. 1) was only day two of the ten day salute to sausage, so everyone has plenty of time to get out here and experience it for yourself.