May 6, 2012
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Linz Carnival and Lebkuchenherzen
After the May Pole came to town, so did the carnival! We decided to check it out on Saturday night. It was about the size of the Grange Fair/Clearfield County Fair.
There were a few differences. One was the archery booth. People had actual bows and arrows to shoot at targets to win stuffed animals and the like. We didn’t get a good picture. (All these pics were on James’ phone.)
Many people–teenagers to grandparents–were dressed in traditional Austrian clothes, leiderhosen and the like.
Can you see that guy’s moustache??
Another difference is that a lot of the booths had what appeared to be highly decorated gingerbread cookies.
They had messages like “I love you” or things along those lines. James and Rachel got cotton candy, but I decided I wanted to try one of those.
It had a long, white ribbon on it, and I saw several people wearing them around their necks. Were you supposed to eat it, or was it a decoration? I decided to try eating it. I think it was a decoration. It was hard and tasted sort of bland. It was like eating a Christmas ornament, I suppose!
I went home and looked it up on online. They are called Lebkuchenherzen, and they are something you buy at Valentine’s Day and at fairs and such. But they didn’t say if you were supposed to eat it or just hang it on your wall. I bet the Austrians had a good laugh at me chawing down on a Lebkuchenherzen.
