Maiweissen Bier Festival in Burghausen!

What an exciting time to be back in Burghausen.  Every year in May (Mai) the Bier Festival arrives. It's amazing to watch the entire city come out for this event day after day...kinda like Riverbend in Chattanooga.  It lasts for 10 days and the food/bier/entertainment/rides are first class.  The quality of their tents and equipment are first class...but what else would you expect out of a German.  The bier comes in "Mass", which equals to 1 Liter.  Three and a half of these is equivalent to one gallon. 

Our friend Daria took this picture. The weather was awesome and the Ferris Wheel was calling Deede's name.  I was off that day celebrating Jesus ascending into Heaven.  Yep, we get a day off for that. 

 

What a view of the Castle (Burg).  It's in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest Castle in the World.  It is over a mile long.  On the left hand side is a yellow field of flowers.  Wow!  The colors were magical that day.

 

Another photo from the Ferris Wheel.  Since I am terrified of heights, taking these pictures kept my mind elsewhere.  It was about 3:00 pm and was very crowded.  It's amazing to see the local people support these events.  And even with this much beer being served, I never saw a single fight or argument.  

Beautiful green grass.  If you look close at the shadow, you can see me waving. (no, not really)

Being the engineer geek, I am fascinated at how things work.  This Ferris Wheel has 4 tires that turn the wheel.  The metal is rough so the tires can grip in wet weather.  Keep it simple.

 

 

Posted by Billy.

On Returning to What We Thought was Past

It was exactly 4 weeks ago that we returned to Bavaria. In some ways, it seems like several months ago.  In so many ways we feel we were never back in Tennessee for those 10 months. Everything here feels so normal. We never missed a beat in falling back into our German life.
 

 The weekly outdoor market in Burghausen--rain or shine.

Cooking by weighing ingredients instead of measuring in cups and spoonfuls.

The charming look of the old houses along with the crispness of the new ones.

Traveling by train to watch the beautiful landscape pass by.

The sounds of the church bells tolling the hours and the regional train passing by with a shrill whistle... doesn't seem strange. The smell of the spicy wood smoke in the air and people standing WAY too close to me in the stores feels totally normal.
So many of the little things: The cobblestones, working to stay out of the bicycle lane when walking, hearing nearby conversations and only understanding 1/2 of what's being said, and spending 2 hours and more at a restaurant during a meal... not odd at all.

It's a mixed bag of gratefulness and a tugging sense of longing that fills our days.

 



Warm and Snug in a cafe

As spring rapidly approaches and the snow has already melted here in Burghausen, I thought I'd better get busy and post some of my February snow pictures. I will soon have pictures of blossoms and freshly tilled earth on which to comment.

I have noticed that I'm a bit lax in posting now that Billy and I are well passed the half way mark of our Germany stay. Life has settled into a more relaxed mood in some ways ...I am NOT constantly surprised & astonished at the strangeness of the little things about my surroundings now. Though I still have a little smile for the extra-special things..like sitting over a hot cup of coffee in a cafe and enjoying the way it is served on a little tray with a glass of water. I've spent quite a bit of time this winter looking out on scenes like these with my hat, gloves, and scarf on the chair beside me (There's always a coat rack by the door!) It was a great way to defrost from my bike ride or walk.

I was sitting at a restaurant called the Wiener Brathendl on Marktler Strasse in Burghausen when I took these pictures. My friend Daria (an ex-pat from California) was across the table. This is a place we like to get chicken noodle soup. They also have an imbus...or a place to get orders to go.

I'm really grateful to have met Daria. So often everyone I know here is working or busy with their children and we are both free during the days. We've been able to share lots of good conversation over coffee or soup and have a common interest in art. She is married to a brilliant German guy named Timo and they live in a neighboring town.

Local Kids at Ice Rink

Here are some of the local kids hanging out at the ice rink over this past weekend. The bigger boys were playing hockey and the younger children are just skating and playing in the middle of it all.

 Today is the last day of school for two weeks. This afternoon the local school in the New Town will have afternoon church services instead of class. The service is led by their teachers and is geared toward teenagers and pre-teens. It is held at a local catholic church next door to the school (St. Konrad's.) Since there is not the level of separation of church and state as there is in the USA, this is a common thing in Bavaria. Bavaria is officially Catholic, but appears to be very tolerant of other religions. The school kids can choose to go the the service or not and there are alternative activities.

My Car is Ugly Now!

Here's my little Volvo! I love it...but now its very homely.  We had to get the winter tires put on it and there are no decorative hubcaps on the wheels that have snowtires. This seems to be the same with everyone...or at least most.

The Germans have a deadline of when the winter tires are required to be on the cars. The off-season tires and wheels are stored in the name of the owner until they are needed again. I've heard that if you get in an accident without your correct tires that it can actually void your insurance

Haircuts in Germany

I am getting my hair cut by a woman named Uli.  This is her salon in Altotting, Germany.  She is a master stylist with great skill. Her shop is as neat as a pin, bright and cheerful...it also has the latest in equipment. She even has a portable sink that you can see in the foreground of the picture directly above. This is her in the pink shirt working on a teenager's hair.  I was waiting to have my bangs trimmed.  Zip, zip...it only took a few seconds! I then made an appointment for a full haircut in about two weeks.

Most stylists work by appointment only, but occasionally you'll find one that will take walk-ins.  Men don't have separate barbers, it seems.  They go to the same salons as the ladies.

This picture was taken on Sunday morning.  It is an old Red Tractor that was spotless!  The driver was an older gentleman wearing a suit jacket and there were flowers on the fenders.  This tractor is really driven only on Sunday morning by an old man going to church.  You have got to appreciate the simplier life in Burghausen.

Billy

Recycling at the Grocery Store

Leergutannahme translates to
"Empties Acceptance"

 

Recycling at the grocery store is easy....if you can read German! I had to take these shots and head home to translate the instructions. This is in an area as you first walk into the store .
When you buy a drink in a bottle here, you pay a fairly large deposit on the bottle.  In the case of sparkling water (which is VERY popular here) the bottle can cost you more than the water.  You bring the empty bottles to the machine, ...it reads the UPC codes and when you're done, it prints a ticket that you take to the checkout.  Most Germans buy their beer in cases and you can see there is a place for the plastic crate return at the bottom. We peered into the round bottle return (picture #2) and expected to see the inner workings of a machine...but instead, we saw bottles, cans, and jars stacked & sorted on large tables in the room behind.  Evidently, your returns drop into a hopper and an actual human takes them and groups the bottles for return to the appropriate company. I'm going to post more on recycling later! They really have a great system here.
Deede

I never thought I would enjoy a foreign country.  I was happy in my own little world in the Chattanooga area and there is nothing outside that could add to my joy of living.  Having said that....I have to eat my own words.  Here is a perfect example.  You will see areas of beautiful flowers from time to time with a sign like this. You can pull up to these gardens and cut your own flowers and deposit the money as you leave.  All of this is on the honor system!!  No thugs going around destroying the hard work that somebody has put into the plots of land.  It is a refreshing site.  Also, I feel totally safe walking the streets at night.  I found that it is almost impossible to purchase a gun.  Crime is almost nothing!!  Burghausen is a small slice of heaven!!  I wish other people could experience this feeling and take it back to the states with them.  What an improvement in the quality of life everybody could have.   

Billy