Meet Volker Kraft, the man of 10,000 Easter eggs
Hand-painted Easter eggs for sale at a market in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2010. The works reflect an Easter tradition shared by Germany and many Central European countries.
BERLIN, Germany — Volker Kraft would have to sleep with the next Easter egg that came his way. There's just no way he can squeeze one more to the 10,000 egg ornaments currently swinging from the branches of the apple tree in his east German garden.
“I do not have storage capacity anymore,” the retiree told the Associated Press today. “I would have to sleep with the eggs otherwise.”
Yes, it's game over for the festooned fruit tree, after nearly 50 years of growing holiday decoration.
Hand-blowing eggs and decorating them is a time-honored tradition in Germany, but the sheer number on display in Kraft's garden in the eastern town of Saalfeld draws visitors every year, according to AP.
The 67-year-old retiree enlisted family members to help with egg-decorating labor after changing from plastic eggs decades ago, said AP.
His apple sapling could only hold a paltry 18 egg ornaments when he first planted it in 1965.
The number has gradually increased, year after year, for over 40 years.
For Kraft, the project reflects the cycle of life: "when the tree grows, the wife blows the eggs and the children start painting," he told AP.