#bode2k

The fairgrounds in Wuerzburg plays host to a series of extraordinary and fun local events. The location is called the Talavera which when said aloud in the right accent clings gently with a wisp of magic in the very sound of the word.

Maybe it’s the fresh-out-of-the-box feel I still have with my new hometown, or it could simply be that I’m picking up on the subconscious body language and micro expressions people have when referring to that area, but to me… The word Talavera is an idea or feeling as though something is spoken into being by the collective memories of those who have been there before. People who say it always seem to say Talavera with a smile, as though to do otherwise would be to do the one hearing about it a great disservice giving a false impression of some mystical, fun Adventureland that really has to be experienced to fully understand.

Before you get your hopes up too high, though, you should know that when there isn’t a Festival, convention or other event being hosted there, more often than not, plenty of Wuerzburgers use the open space as a parking lot. Ha ha ha!

  I’ve been going to Volksfests and smaller Kirchweih-s in Bavaria and parts of Franconia (Northern Bavaria) since I first came to Germany for school on the Bodensee at the turn of the millennium.

Each fest is, in essence, all the same. Like a pizza, once you get the basics of the ingredients to go together ba-da-boom you’re a maker of the ‘zza! The same principle applies to setting up a carnival. There is almost always a Ferris Wheel even if it is only big enough for elementary school kids to ride.

There is almost always a stand peddling hot Crêpes while just around the corner somebody is pressuring anyone who walks by to buy the largest pretzel known to man, and no Volksfest is complete without a booth selling hot sugar-coated almonds. Of course all of those carnie games that are a test of skill, chance, strength, whatever it is you can do and do slightly better than others are to be expected as part and parcel of the fair-going experience, pretty much at any carnival you go to in the world where you can pay to prove it with an oversized stuffed animal as your reward.

Remember son, Mama said you have to save room for dinner…

I am a firm believer in the fact that it’s never the place, always the people that make a place great, considering there is nothing new under the sun. For me, Wuerzburg is one of those places.

It’s one of those cities with the sort of folk who are just easy to get along with, ultimately have good intentions in what they do and know how to be happy.