On Tuesday I took my car and drove to Marling, a village on a hill just 5 minutes from Merano. I had a meeting with the president of the tourist office of the town, a very gentle man. During the last three years I called him to ask him if he would bring the carriage with the apple crown to the procession of the Grape Festival in Merano. This year I made him a surprise :) I asked him if he could dedicate me some of his time for a brief interview about the history of the carriage. As the carriage has been his baby during the last 15 years, he accepted with enthusiasm to make an interview with me. Also this carriage needs several days for its preparation. There must be at least three persons for three days to create it and you need one day to dismantle it. Over 500 kg apples and 14 kg nails!! Also this carriage has been created 1951 for the Landesmusikfest (the X-large version of the Merano Grape Festival) and Mr. Arquin could even find a picture of the carriage in 1951! I love history... :) After the Merano Grape Festival, the carriage is exposed in Marling for at least two weeks in the central place of the village.I'm working hard for this event, but I think it's worth it. Every year it's a big emotion for me to see so many people coming to Merano and interacting for passion for music, for tradition, for nice food, for the beautiful things of life. And for me it's cool to have a role in all this too.
