A Wurst First

Just up the road in New Braunfels, the locals celebrate their German heritage in the fall with Wurstfest, a sort of mini-Oktoberfest with lots of beer, food, and music.

The last time we went was many years ago, back in the mists of pre-children time, and I don't remember much about it (perhaps some beer was drunk?). But I'm pretty sure we didn't go specifically to hear the music, much less any particular band.

For the 2015 Wurstfest, however, we finally yielded to some friends' insistence that we go to hear these guys...

It's Alex Meixner, accordionist-extraordinaire (and very un-ordinary!) and his band. 

Now we understand what our friends have been raving about all these years. What a show they put on! We stayed for two sets, the first being a bit more traditional, while the second got pretty wild. We've already decided next year we have to go and stay for the third set in the evening, which we expect will be even crazier.

The musicianship, as well as the showmanship, was outstanding. Here's a shot of our boy handling two instruments at once (and the rest of the band was equally multi-talented):

(My pictures aren't that great, but you can see better ones, and even catch some video, by following the link above.)

We did have some great German food and of course some beer (the variety of brewski choices was almost overwhelming for Henry; we sent him off to get some and he didn't come back for over an hour!). But there was more music as well. Another good band was this group of musical ladies, who are actually from München...

See better pictures and some video of them at their website: Die Bayerische 7.

We had some great sausage and pastries in addition to the brews, but decided not to go for this delicacy:

Yes, there weren't a lot of healthy eating options on offer. But it was a very fun and festive time, so we tried to ignore that failing and go with the flow. 

As is often the case at such festivals, especially as the cumulative beer consumption continues to rise, the crowds in the audience are as much fun to watch as the performers. Funny hats, in particular, seem to be almost de rigueur...

The pink pig hat this guy was wearing had strings that he could pull so that the pig could "fly":

I thought it was interesting that a more traditional German Hut (aber ohne drei Ecke!) was in the foreground here, in front of some wilder examples...

It did seem that as the day wore on, not only did Alex get wilder, but also the number and absurdity of the crazy hats increased with the beer consumption. And some party-goers went even further with their costuming:

Next year we want to see Alex after dark, and also, perhaps, do some polka-ing in the Wursthalle...

We think it will be doable, but we'll have to pace ourselves, and probably spend some time outside the music tent (das grosse Zelt) decompressing on the parklike festival grounds (it's held right along the lovely Comal River in downtown New Braunfels). The music did get louder as well as more raucous as the afternoon progressed. 

But for now we're just grateful to our friends for turning us on to this great event. Thanks, Joline and Sandra!