Today we took the bus out to Harting to witness something we’ve been hearing about for a few years now, but never had the chance to witness: raising the maypole in Harting. Our pals who live in this village to the South and East of Regensburg were already there, reserving a table. I observed the whole process, from the band parading into the village, the representatives of the village’s volunteer fire department and sporting clubs bringing the pole into town with their bare hands, to the hour-long process of aligning the base and gradually propping the pole into vertical position, all while staying well-supplied with Maßen of Bischofshof.
You don’t get this kind of cuteness in downtown Regensburg, or on the island where we live. I dug it.
That looks awesome!
That looks like a great deal of fun!
And wow, I love the last photo. Your duds look sweet.
Thanks, CN &TQE. It was a good time. We could have used some more sun, but at least we didn’t get more than the occasional sprinkle of rain.
The Dult gets underway next weekend — should mean more traditional garb hijinks.
Has it really been a year since the last Dult?
Yup. Well, since the last Maidult, when you were here last, yes.
I was at something similar donkey’s years ago in an smaller community in Southern Ba-Wü. There the local volunteer fire dept gets a little mechanical help (tractor) with the lifting because there aren’t quite so many of them.
Donkey’s years!? I love that expression! I wonder how many that is in dog years.
I always wondered how they did that! Thanks for the series of pics.
Oh, and I FINALLY get to see Cliff all “Trachted” out!
But man… no calves. That is what excites me about these Bavarian Boys! Show me some leg!
Come on down for a visit over the next three weekends, Snooker — you’ll see plenty (even mine!) at the Maidult — a two-week carnival happening just a 2-minute walk or 7-minute stumble (depending on how much fun you had) from our doorstep.
Very cool. What’s the purpose of it, though? Is it for a Kermis or something like that?
Here are a couple of Wikipedia links on the subject:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maibaum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maypole
It wasn’t a Kermis so much — too small for rides or trade stalls. It seemed to be about the Dorf coming together to eat, drink, be merry and thankful that someone else was grunting and sweating that big ole tree into place.