Maifest 2013

Well hello everyone! My name is Shawn Faller, I am 20 years old, and a sophomore at Northern Kentucky University currently. I've never done one of these blogs, so bear with me! I have been chosen to be 1 out of 75 students from all over the United States to be picked for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals Program. This program sends students to live in Germany for a year to work, study, and grow as young adults. I am very excited to be able to represent Northern Kentucky University and the United States as a young ambassador. I am really looking forward to meeting the other 74 candidates chosen. I have gotten to know many of them already, they're all great people! So here it is. This blog will be dedicated to my year-long stay in Germany. I love to read a current CBYXer's blog, her name is Taylor, she's an awesome happy-go-lucky kind of girl that seems to make the best of things. She inspired me to write one of these because I have found her's to be very interesting, informative, and helpful. Not to mention it made me even more excited to go to Germany! So, here we go!

Now, where does it all begin you might ask?! I have recently finished my 2nd year of college, and this week my best friend Cassaundra was in town for the weekend. She has been a long since childhood friend along with Amanda. What better time to be up here than for Covington, KY's own Maifest 2013!!! There are very strong roots in German heritage where I have grown up. Every year in an area of town commonly referred to as Mainstrasse (Mainstraße for us German speakers), Covington holds Maifest and our own version of Oktoberfest. The scale of our festivals is much smaller than that of Oktoberfest's, but I have to say we still put on quite a show! This year I had come up with a great idea. I wanted to take pictures of all things "Maifest," and show the Germans how we do it. (and maybe pick up a few tips along the way)

Cassaundra(left) and Amanda(right), bestest friends!!!

Happy Dad at Maifest

Here is a few pictures of the Maifest that I felt I had to show the Germans. It's a German festival with some American twists, a gem of Covington

Maifest 2013

Willkommen! Covingtonhaus

The Crawdad Man

This man is an icon of Maifest and Oktoberfest. As early as I can remember as a child, my family and uncle ALWAYS had to stop by and pick up a large order of spicy Cajun Craw-fish to go. I can say that this Louisiana style of cooking is unrivaled by anyone in town. We don't often get to eat real Cajun style food, so this booth is a must. This man will live on.

I remember talking with Cassaundra about how I really didn't know if Germans actually did this kind of thing. These almonds are roasted, and coated with cinnamon and sugar, they are quite delicious. She said jokingly, "Sounds like more of an American things, take something healthy and coat it with sugar." It was a good laugh, so here's a reminder to myself when I meet my German host families, "Sugary delicious German almonds?!" Oh, how I can only hope.

Covington Clocktower at Sunset

The Radisson

Wertheim's Restaurant is a German icon of Mainstraße. The picture doesn't quite do it justice.

Eine Königin unter den Bieren

My dad used to have one of these beautiful wood carvings from this man. He is quite an artist. He comes from Africa and has been at Maifest for over 20 years. He hand-carves wooden statues of animals and paints them. Beautiful work by such a humble man.

Chez Nora, Jazz Cafe

If there's something that hasn't been deep fried in America, then something isn't right! Oh, how we love our deep fried food. As unhealthy as it is, I wouldn't give it up for the world. And right next door we have the Strasse Haus.

This IS part of Kentucky culture, truly. I am not a fan of college basketball, but wow do the fans go crazy. University of Kentucky is EXTREMELY popular here in Covington, and these nifty little birdhouses could only mean just that.

The above German band was not playing the "oh so typical" German polka. The music they played was mostly American style with this German twist on it. The song that stuck out most was, OF COURSE, Free Bird. Could not believe they were playing this, must say it was interesting, but it seems music is forever universal.

I have decided to name him "The Strudel Man." Of course because he served me Apful Strudel(it was SOOOO good). I was able to take this picture after talking with him about what exactly I was doing. He was quite excited to be in a photo showing the Germans our version of a German festival. We spoke afterwords, he talked much about Bavaria(Bayern) and how I absolutely had to go and see it. Strangely enough we began to hold up the line (accidentally). And an older couple overheard us talking about my "going-away" to Germany and began telling me about how they were there this past summer. It made me quite proud to see many more German cultured people than I expected. This man and that couple were awesome.

The Maifest is definitely a "must see." It is a great place with lots of people from all over, many more cultures than one might think. The multitude of delicious foods, people, and interesting sites makes this scene quite unique. I cannot wait to be able to look back on this first post and show my German host family. And on a current note, I can't wait to meet all you CBYXer's! We are going to have the adventure of a lifetime. So here it goes, 73 days until I'm on a plane to Germany. To me, a new world called Germany.