Swine is Divine

Wittlich Pig Fest, 2008. Can I get a whoop whoop? Pig Fest is a celebration (though I'm not sure the pigs would describe it as such) involving wine, a parade, pork sandwiches, and old cover songs. Way back in the day, the town of Wittlich was constantly under siege. One night, the guard couldn't find the proper latch for the gate. In his infinite wisdom, he closed the gate and put a carrot through it to lock it. A piggie came by that night, and ate the carrot, allowing the enemies access to the town.

Now, each August, the town gets together to get back at the pigs by cooking a bunch of them and eating pork sandwiches. We arrived just in time for the parade, which seemed to be telling the story of Wittlich in the olden days. We're not really sure. There was a lot of day drinking, pig shirts, and Euro fashions (as always). We saw a ton of people from N's work, most of whom took their little kiddos on the carnival rides.

Kids in this parade we're definitely drinking wine. The drinking age in Europe is...2 years old, I think. People can't drive until age 18, though. And from the looks of things on Saturday night, the Germs don't really get crazy intoxicated. Even in their party-state, they're fairly reserved. Except for our favorite interpretive dancer, Boss, who was movin' and grovin' to the sounds of a cover band.


There was, of course, an offering to the town saint to bless the festival. Or at least I'm pretty sure that's why this man was risking his life to climb on an ancient and rickety ladder. He returned to terra firma safely.


The sacrifice- I did not end up eating a pork sandwich, but I heard they were pretty good.

I'll be out of commission for a few days while I recover from a minor surgery. I plan on using this as an excuse to stay in bed all day and watch bad movies that I check out from the library. Don't you worry- I have N to take care of me! Lovins.