Golden October

It's harvest time in the Bottwartal! Today we had an usually warm day in this "Golden October" - one of the best months to be in Germany. I took the opportunity for a walk around the vineyards on the other side of town. It took me about 10 minutes to walk to the other edge of town, and then I mosied upwards for another 45, snagging the extra grapes that were left behind by the harvesters this week - not good enough for wine, but still tasty!

 

 

Above is a photo of the vines before harvesting - a process that usually involves large buckets, tractors, a portable picnic table, and comeraderie with the 10 or so friends and relatives who volunteer to help out that year. Last week you could find little groups set up at tables scattered all throughout the hills, laughing and eating buttered pretzels with their coffee (they bring along their ceramic mugs, glass plates and silverware from home). Then they got back to work, dumping buckets of "ready" grapes into bins that are at least 3 yards long and 1 yard tall, to be delivered to the wineries that same evening. The "almost ready" grapes go into a bin too, but I'm not quite sure what they do with those.

 

 

The trees are aboslutely gorgeous this week. I'll have to rely on my memories of the pretty times as we head into winter, which is typically colder and darker than in St. Louis. In January, the sun rises at 8:30 a.m. and sets already at 4:30 p.m. - wish me luck!