万颗复活节彩蛋装饰德国果树

You thought Easter eggs don't grow on trees? Check out Volker Kraft's garden in eastern Germany, and think again.

Kraft's apple sapling sported just 18 eggs when he first decorated it for Easter in 1965. The number increased year by year; and by last year, the sturdy tree was festooned with 9,800 eggs, artfully decorated with everything from sequins to sea shells.

This time, Kraft has reached 10,000 — and he says he's stopping there.

"There will be no increase because I do not have storage capacity anymore," the 76-year-old retiree says. "I would have to sleep with the eggs otherwise."

Kraft's tree in the town of Saalfeld has become a tourist attraction, drawing thousands of people every year. Decorating trees with colored eggs at Easter is a tradition in Germany — though usually on a smaller scale.

Kraft started with plastic eggs decades ago, but later switched to real eggs and enlisted his family's help in blowing out the insides of the eggs and painting them.

"You can now see here what develops after 47 years, when the tree grows, the wife blows the eggs and the children start painting," he says.

你认为复活节彩蛋不会长在树上？来看看德国东部福尔克尔•克拉夫特家的花园，然后再想想吧。

克拉夫特在1965年开始在复活节装饰这棵苹果树，最开始上面只挂了18颗彩蛋。但是经过逐年累积，到去年为止，这棵强壮的果树上已经装饰了9800颗彩蛋，上面巧妙地装饰了各种饰物，从亮片到海贝壳应有尽有。

这次，克拉夫特家的这棵树上的彩蛋已经达到一万颗，而且他表示不会再继续挂了。

这位76岁的退休老人说：“我不会再继续挂了，因为我没有精力了。否则我就得躺在鸡蛋上睡大觉了。”

萨尔费尔德镇的这棵彩蛋树已经成为了旅游景点，每年吸引着数万人前来。在德国，复活节用彩蛋装饰树是一项风俗，但一般只在小部分地区流行。

数十年前，克拉夫特开始用塑料彩蛋装饰这棵果树，但随后开始用真鸡蛋，并在家人的帮助下清空鸡蛋的蛋清和蛋黄，在鸡蛋壳上绘制图案。

他说：“你可以看见47年后树变成什么样子，当树逐渐长大时，妻子清空鸡蛋，孩子们开始绘彩蛋。”