2010/01 – Pigshead Revisited – Steckdosenessen im Wald

10 Jan

Pigshead lunch in the forest

Pighead being halved

January 2010

Early January we again had the traditional pigs head lunch sponsored by the NaBu – Naturschutzbund / Nature’s Protection Fund Germany.

www.worfelden.de/nabu/termine.htm

As always it took place in an open air forest clearing in Worfelden near Frankfurt airport.

While last year the temperature was minus 13 C, this year we had the added “pleasure” of winter storm “Daisy” adding lots of drifting snow, and again freezing temperatures.

Lots of ice cold eastern wind. Difficult driving on local roads, as, being Sunday, they had not been cleared, so it was a right mess, although the Autobahns were cleared by the efficient Winterdienst.

Being prepared, we had taken along cutlery with wooden grips, no fun eating off metal cutlery in these low temperatures.

Also, we had prepared a little picnic baggy containing some hot beverages and left earlier than planned just in case.

We all enjoyed some good cigars on the waiting line (you better be early if you want to grab a pigs head) and one or two for after lunch and the usual clear beverages to help digest all the fat.
You are asked if you like to have your half head with or without the “plug”, meaning snout or nose, which is “Steckdose” – a plug. Which is why we call our lunch : Steckdosenessen – plug lunch.

Andreas, Bernhard, Gottfried and myself set off in my car, equipped with snow tires, and had Lotte, Andreas dog comfy in a mattress in the trunk.

It was a winter’s delight helped somewhat by the homemade hot apple cider, hot orange juice and hot Glühwein ( red wine with spices ) being passed around from steaming vats in the forest clearing.

Dressed like an onion, in layers, the cold was bearable; I just needed 3 undershirts, 3 underpants (problem with the “onion layers” being that they are not very helpful when you need to get rid of the liquid), thermal socks, padded Caterpillar boots and my trusted Chinese dead cat on the head.

Boy was I ever glad I was faster than that cat and made a hat of it …………

All in all 80 pigs heads were halved and 160 people had a good lunch with lots of fun and mustard. Additionally some 250 very tasty sausages were grilled.

We met up with Gabriel and Michael there and had almost 3 hours of good fun, with all except the drivers ending up quite tipsy from all the shots of Mirabelle, Jägermeister and other assorted fat-chasers.

Airplanes would pass over our heads from nearby Runway 18 west of FRA International, and I have rarely more enjoyed being retired and let others fly away than today.

Speaking of flying ; next day I should have a more comfortable farewell lunch at Lufthansa’s HQ to celebrate my retirement, but this lunch was something completely different, as Monty Python would exclaim.

Nino