First of May

 ... otherwise known as International Workers Day.  Federal Holiday.  No work. Shops closed.  There are marches and speeches.  In some areas, it can get confrontational between the left-wingers and the right-wingers, but it was a peaceful march here in Bremen with about 3,000 participants.

Last year we planned a bike trip with friends but it was cold and wet and we had to abandon our trip half way through.  This year it was just cool and windy, so we headed to the Straw Museum in Twistringen, earlier center of straw manufacturing in Germany. 

Our friends were somewhat skeptical that it would be even minimally interesting, but we could go free on May 1 throughout the whole public transport network, so why not?

And it is interesting!  Of course they wasted nothing in the old days, so the straw was used for making hats, mattress filling, food for the livestock, packing for wine, decorations for the house and the ladies, and of course drinking straws (that's why they call them straws!). 

 

It's hard to go anywhere that you can't find coffee and cake in the afternoon, and the museum was no exception.  Volunteers make the cakes at home - no professional stuff here! - and they were wonderful.  "American" lemon cake, cherry cake with egg liqueur, and gooseberry cake.  Y U M.

Then it was time to hit the road, work off some of the calories and head to the next train station. Along the way there were the fields of canola just reaching peak flowering. There is nothing more yellow than these plants!  (Except maybe dandelions.)

And I couldn't leave without a souvenir.   My old straw hat is about to give up the ghost and I couldn't resist the bright pink!  Here they are posed at home with lovely fragrant lilacs from the yard.  Now to find a dress to go with the hat ....