Bier Brot und Brezeln.... Bayern!

Many of the images Americans associate with Germany are indeed Bavarian: the Alps, castles like Neuschwanstein, Fachwerkhaeuser (half-timbered homes) enormous beer steins at Oktoberfest and of course Lederhosen!

One stereotype which rang true was the typical Bavarian breakfast of Weisswurst, giant pretzles and beer.  We were invited to some friends' house for breakfast and were astonished to see exactly that (plus Senf, mustard, for the sausage) and apples -- supposedly for the kids.

Unlike nachos at Mexican restaurants, you're charged for how many you eat

                                                                                                        Apparently no self-respecting Bavarian will be caught dead enjoying Weisswurst after 12 pm.  You don't eat the skin so you kind of suck the veal/pork mixture out by pulling it against your teeth. The kids and I aren't really fond of it so there's no danger of our eating it after noon. In fact, we will not eat it here or there, we will not eat it anywhere.  Not on a boat, not with a goat, not on a train.... well, you get the picture :)

When in Rome...

In the fall, we did actually see quite a few people going around town wearing Dirndl or Lederhosen. A huge reason for this was Oktoberfest in Munich.  Interestingly, it starts in late September and is regarded as the largest Volksfest in the world! 

This traditional Tracht has seen a revival with the younger crowd.  One school's graduating class last year all chose to wear Tracht to their graduation ceremony!  Of course, we couldn't let this opportunity to jump on the bandwagon pass us by.  Next week Tuesday is "Dirndl Tag" at Serena's school!

Our neighbors here in Bavaria are often shocked that we’ll drive an hour just to spend the afternoon somewhere.  After all, in the US, 100 years is a long time whereas in Germany 100 miles is a long distance.  Whether it’s ancient Germanic or Roman influences, the timeline of the Crusades, or the modern World Wars, Germany positively has history coming out its ears.

Germany is home to over 146 well-maintained castles, countless crumbling ruins (ok, some of them are admittedly in the Jericho category but still fascinating to explore for at least 11 minutes) as well as a slew of historically significant buildings. Many of these are of the “Goethe or Martin Luther slept here” variety. Germany is host to 37 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 7 of which are in our own backyard here in Bavaria.


We are particularly drawn to maintained medieval towns and fortifications.  The well-known Rothenburg ob der Tauber has some of the strictest residential regulations in the country to keep the city looking like it has for 500 years - to the delight of the tourists (mostly Americans and Japanese.) The Vulgarian Village in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” was also filmed there.

German Fairytale Street

Bavarians are very proud of their state and have every right to be:  A tourist's paradise, it's the biggest and richest of the 16 German states.  Bavaria contributes the most to the German Finanzausgleich (richer states pay into the pot, poorer states receive funds) and enjoy grumbling about it.  Bavaria was also one of the last states to abolish university fees just 2 months ago.  To be clear, no student here pays tuition as we know it in the US.  These fees were between 300-500 Euros per semester and cover various administration costs, on campus day care, and a pass for all public transport.  That pass alone is worth hundreds of Euros.  The main argument was the principle of paying for an education.  Students here can also apply for financial support for living expenses during their studies, 50% of which get forgiven upon graduation.  What a deal!  (Note: I recently celebrated paying my own student loans down to just 4 digits!)

Bavaria holds a special status in Germany, perhaps the role of Texas in the US.  Kind of a stand out, and regardless of whether you love it or hate it, you hear about its superlative qualtities - biggest this, longest that. Friends in the US, how many state flags other than your own home state can you identify?  I bet Texas is one of them.  Same here with Bayern.

 FC Bayern Muenchen has just won the title of Deutscher Fussballmeister even before the season officially ends because they are so many points ahead.  A joke in the North, "Who are you supporting in the game?"  "Whoever is playing against FC Bayern!"

"I thank my parents, siblings and relatives that I'm not a crappy Bayern fan."  (seen at a soccer game)

The "special" status is often subtle.  In all the German states this well-known organization is known as the Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (German Red Cross).  Only here, it is called Bayerisches Rotes Kreuz (Bavarian Red Cross).

Flensburg is in Northern Germany

It's similar with beer.  In 1516, a beer purity law was enacted in Bavaria to protect consumers which limited beer to 3 ingredients: barley, hops and water. It regulates other things in the beer industry as well such as sizes and prices.  You can find a statement on every bottle of beer, confirming that the contents do indeed comply with this law.  It was later adopted on a national scale and called the Deutsches Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Law).



Any guesses as to what they call it here?  That's right - Bayerisches Reinheitsgebot! (Bavarian Purity Law)  So on that note, "Cheers!" or as they say here, "Prost!"

Barcelona!


The German school system runs on the 6-7 weeks on, 1-2 weeks off cycle.  So "just" 6 weeks after Christmas vacation, we found ourselves with another break and decided to head south, this time to Spain.  Other than the 9 hour transatlantic flights to and from Germany, this is the only time the kids have flown.  They were astounded when we arrived after just 2 hours!

Not wanting another loud city trip, we booked an apartment in Sitges, a quiet town on the Mediterranen Sea about 40 minutes from Barcelona's center.  Little did we know, our 8 days completely overlapped with Karneval so much for quiet but it was still quite an experience.

I can imagine this is what Mardi Gras is like - such brightly colored costumes, dancing and floats and really loud music.  No candy thrown just tons of confetti!







We spent a day in Tarragona, marveling all the Roman ruins. Including an aqueduct that is in such good condition, you can still walk over it.  Will any constructions of our time still exist in 2,000 years?

Amphitheater

Vaults leading to the circus

Barclona's Parc Güell, designed by Antoni Gaudi, highlights countless mosaics and soft cornered passageways.  I could have spent the whole day here.

Gaudi also designed the famous and still unfinished Sagrada Familia (construction began in 1882!) and La Pedrera, whose roof has the best sculptures.

Barcelona is home to a world famous aquarium and it's tunnel did not disappoint.  All the kids cared about was finding Nemo, but settled happily for Dory!

The Poble Espanyol is an open-air architectural museum constructed in 1929 for the Barcelona International Exhibition which offers scale models of architecture and culture of various locations from around Spain. Who knew there are such vast differences within one country!

Special entrance rates for job seekers!

We were lucky to visit our good friend Elena, who lives in Barcelona with her family.  The dwarf hamster was enjoyed by all!

How a day on the train begins....

How it ends...

Andrew was ecstatic to get tickets to see FC Barcelona in Camp Nou (sold out capacity of 98,787!).  He and Emma saw Messi and Iniesta --rated Number 1 and 3 soccer players in the WORLD!

We spent a day hiking around Sitges

Our apartment was "cozy"

Now this is a good idea!

Although I have taken Spanish a few times, any confidence in my beginnner language skills quickly evaporated because in this part of the country, Catalan is definitely the primary language.  A few times Andrew's French had to come to the rescue including an incident when an ATM "ate" our card.

You can take the girl out of the gym...

Life in Sitges seems very laid back and we enjoyed the seaside atmosphere.  The kids could have spent every day at the beach!

Cut your own ham?