Summer Day Parade 2012

Joining the Summer's Day Parade (Sommertagszug) is a tradition to welcome summer and to say goodbye to winter.

See the snowman, representing winter, flanked by summer and fall?

There is something that tickles me this year: MC is walking with her new found love, with her new found group, 'the Volunteer Youth Fire Brigade'. We cannot wait to see her in uniform!!

It's a pity that the day we wre supposed to be welcoming summer is gray and wet. But despite that, my girls geared up for the weather and happily joined their respective groups. MC had to be excused from school because she chose to join the aforementioned youth group. IC, meanwhile, marched with her classmates; proudly carrying her summer day stick adorned with pretzel, egg and leaves on top.

The grade schoolers marching

MC meanwhile, looks so proud in her fire fighter uniform. Well, the uniform is considerably too big for her; at least they found one that would almost fit her. She would be fitted with her uniform as long as she has completed six months of attendance in most of the seminars and activities in the local volunteer youth fire group.

Ms. Fire fighter on the move :-D

The wagon which were made and painted by the youth group.

The streets were not full, because of the weather; but we all had fun watching. And the kids who joined the parade were rewarded by cheers from the small crowd.

The side streets are almost bare, but no matter, the parade was beautiful.

Look at these kindergarten kids roughing it up.

And look at that pretzel, the cold made them hungry so most of the pretzels were eaten along the way :-D

And always a part of the parade, the city's chosen wine princesses.

The end of the parade means the burning of the snowman. Some kids cry when they see the snowman burning. But when it was explained to them that it only 'melting' because of the heat of the sun; then they are pacified.