The maypole has left its storage barn and is prepared for moving to the place of erection. View from my balcony. The cock at the top of the maypole. The maypole prepared for being moved in front of the local distillery. The wreath can also be seen fully prepared. Quickly the place fills up. Everyone awaits their cue. Positions are assumed. And the maypole is brought to the center of the village accompanied by music. First the children with the sign. Then the music. Followed by the wreath. And finally the maypole itself. The bottom of the pole is brought into position and fixed in its future anchorage. The wreath is laid down for a moment. The pole is being lifted slightly. And the wreath is placed. Please note the symbology of the pole and the wreath and the fact that the wreath is carried by women and the pole by the men :-). The wreath is being fastened to the pole. The pole is lifted some more. Notice the egg-chain which can already be seen in the back. An chain made of eggs is fastened to the maypole. Well we put the pole in the wreath, now we hope for fertility :-). Though strangely, nowadays one usually hopes for the opposite ;-). Here the egg-chain can be seen dangling by the pole. A nice view of the half-erected maypole. The signs can already be seen a little now. And the maypole is lifted further up. All that watching wreathes being impaled and poles erected made us hungry and thirsty, so we started to find a place before the run on the food and drink begins in earnest. The pole was erected, now everyone wants a beer and something to eat. No maypole without beer and no beer without the proper music. It gets full. The "Goaslschnoitzer" (bavarian, transl: "whip crackers") prepare for their show. They distribute themselves evenly among the guests standing on the benches. Then they start their act, using the whips as percussion instrument, cracking them over the heads of the guests in tune with the music. After the rains the previous days everyone enjoyed the sunshine. Notice the signs representing the diverse crafts and institutions. Now the maypole is ready to provide fertility for the usual timespan of four years, after which a new pole will be erected.