I am in love with my May calendar.

Every year on May 1st, there’s a winelagenwanderung (or just a wine walk) through the vineyards of the Bergstrasse, an area south of Frankfurt.

The walk stretches about 20 kilometers, but you can start and stop where you want.

My friend and I decided to see what all the fuss was about (it was the talk of the office on Friday and many people have taken off tomorrow).

The train to Zweigenberg was standing room only; believe me that it got a little sweaty.

Once we got there, we made our way through the towns, stopping at certain points to sit and picnic and take selfies.

The winemakers have little stands and they sell cups on necklaces to wear around your neck.

I brought my own cup.

The things that cracked me up: people pulling little carts with their picnic stuff, people with mini boom boxes jamming out to Aretha, Otis Redding, or Kanye – take your pick, girls wearing crowns of leaves from the forest, guys singing German pop hits at the top of their lungs.

It reminded me of Preakness. Or an outside version of Oktoberfest.

The weather was perfect and the vineyards were gorgeous.

We kept commenting that this was the biggest thing these little towns see each year.

And so May, Riesling season, festival season, hiking season, begins.