Labor fDay Picnic

Please note that both Nadja and Ralfe are wearing their special Anarchist Store (from Berkeley) T Shirts that I got for them just for this holiday. I even was able to guess correctly on the sizes.

After the labor day march, we headed back to Maintal on Rhine, where Ralfe and Nadja live, for their traditional post march, labor day picnic/bar b que. On the way back, we stopped at the Ice House (where the ice hockey team plays) and picked up posters for their current exhibit. They did this as a favor to me, as it was the second year in a row that I was in Germany and in the right city for the largest pornography trade show in Germany. The last time was in Mannhiem, and I was waiting for my friend Klaus to pick me up in front of the train station when a van pulled up and 7 drop dead gorgeous sex industry workers got out. I found myself wondering what would happen if they had the trade show at the Syracuse War Memorial, or maybe even at the Fulton hockey rink. Oh well. Probably would never happen.

At any rate, Ralfe took care of the cooking, including wurstel and fillets, and Nadja had prepared some side dishes. We ate and drank, and I switched from beer to water to apple wine to beer and back again. Tomas and Kirsten, who had visited me in Sicily shortly after I met Nadja on the train, were also there, as was a doctoral student who had been born in Iran, and who was studying in Frankfort, but unable to return home.

Later on, we walked down to the Rhine River. There is a strip of seemingly unused land (I am told it is not a park), and there were many families having picnics there. There was also a sad little luna park at one end of the open area, and it reminded me of so many memorial day salutes, with the parade, the picnic, and then the kids going to the overnight set up and tear down amusement ride.