Remember Remember the wine and beer festival Germany

Tomorrow is bonfire night, the annual event that is marked to celebrate the failure of Guy Fawkes to blow up the houses of parliament in 1605. So why is the Motoscape banger car rally talking about bonfire night? Well what do we associate most with bonfire night? Bonfires of course, toffee apples, parkin, lots of happy smiling faces but most of all, fireworks! ?

Day 2 of our European road trip, 6th September 2015Bratwurst and other wares on sale at the wine/beer festival Germany

And it’s the fireworks of course that takes us back to the wine festival on the 6th September, in the pretty village of Winningen just outside Koblenz. This is day 2 of our European road trip. The wine and beer festival Germany in Winningen is the oldest wine and beer festival in Germany lasting 10 days and bringing thousands of visitors from near and far (the far bit is us Motoscapers, everyone else pretty much is German). This is a chance for the wine growers to show their wares, with Reisling, Reisling everywhere. There’s music and dancing, drinking and eating. Bratwurst and Currywurst are typical specialities so it’s a feast for sausage lovers. The atmosphere is fantastic the drink is flowing and the people are warm and friendly.

Down to the Moselle RiverFireworks over the Moselle River on Day 2 of the banger rally

If you haven’t been here before you’ll find it really strange when you see everyone walking away from the main festivities at around 10.00 p.m. That’s how we as organisers felt, the very first year that we took in the wine festival, 7 years ago. There is of course method in this madness. They are heading for the river to watch the fireworks. Village fireworks you think, doesn’t sound that great, except this in not just any old fireworks show, it is in fact one hell of a spectacle! This is a 15-minute eye popping, ear-exploding extravaganza that lights up the Moselle River in flames. It has got to be one of the best firework displays you will ever see. The comments from the banger rally contestants are on the lines of ‘wow, the Germans certainly know how to do fireworks’ and ‘what a fantastic display, much better than anything I’ve seen in the UK’.

(Check out the last two minutes of the 2015 fireworks at the beer festival Germany via the following link)


Fireworks over the river

Back to the party

At the end of the spectacle it’s back to the party, with Motoscapers joining the locals to dance the night away before resuming their European road trip the following morning.

 

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