Happy May!

The month of May has once again arrived, and with it....May Day.  Or as the Germans say, "erster Mai."  The tradition here in Germany is to raise the Maibaum the night before May 1st and have a party with bands and beer to celebrate, of course.  This year the first of May fell on a Thursday, which meant we all had the day off of work (to recover from the night before...or in my case, just to sleep in on a weekday).  Each little village in Germany has a Maypole and it is fun to see the various designs as I drive through the towns in this area.  Some are bigger or higher than others, but all of them are raised up on a pole and have colorful ribbons.  It is a fun celebration to announce that spring has officially arrived (although we hardly had any winter here and no snow at all...so we're kind of cheating).  Here are some pictures of the Maibaum in my village of Langbroich, which is located about 100m from my house.