One of the inevitable realizations of living abroad (or even just from traveling) is discovering that there is more than one way of doing things.  Different is neither good nor bad, but simply different and often eye-opening.  This post will cover some of those neutral observations to "Wow - that is just cool!"

Above: standard sizes for sugar and flour.  Above right: vanilla comes sugared and in packets, like baking powder.

Jello sheets!

I've written before about the challenges of baking your tried and true recipes in another country. Different ingredients are always a wildcard. We've been surprised at the relatively small package sizes of some products -- no wonder people go shopping for often here and it's not just because of the smaller fridges!

Urban Farming at its finest!  Our friends Petra and Oliver have 7 hens and 2 roosters in a homemade coop in their front yard.  Fresh eggs most mornings although one hen, Lady Gaga, is withholding 3 eggs right now.  Chicks are expected within the week!

Tree huggers in the truest sense, they buy local and organic and serve meat rarely. This is the green roof on their garage.  Now that's what I call walking the walk!







Slugs here continue to fascinate us. We found this monster on the patio.  He had already constricted quite a bit by the time we fetched a pencil and the camera. 

Brown, black, beige and ... orange?

A neighbor grew tired of people dumping their yard waste in this grassy lane alongside her house. So she initiated the Hochzeitsallee or Wedding Alley. Newlyweds can buy a tree and plant it along the lane, complete with a dedication sign.  Now everyone benefits from it!

At Declan's kindergarten - in summer, a place to park your bike, in winter your sled.  Living in a village certainly has some advantages.  We don't even lock his bike up.

Sliced French bread, sauteed bologna/Spam shapes and ketchup garnish.  A hit with the kids!

There seem to be local beekeepers on every corner and you definitely can taste the difference in the honey based on where the hive was.

Serena's school scheduled a Dirndl Tag!  Seems to go well with Schnitzel Tag which is every Thursday in the school cafe.

Walpurgisnacht takes its name from Saint Walburga, an English abbess.  Traditionally, witches were kept away with big fires and since the villagers were assembled around a bonfire anyway, they would dance, and drink and celebrate the upcoming growing season and, oh yeah, pray for protection from those pesky witches.  Nowadays, people celebrate Walpurgisnacht on April 30 by dancing their way into May - Tanz in den Mai. Mischief still abounds but no longer by those witches but rather bored teenagers.  Our swap family reminded us to pack all outdoor furniture away and lock all doors.  Apparently a few years ago,  some kids had pulled out the boards of their compost pile and redistributed them around the neighborhood.

Father's Day is celebrated on Himmelfahrt, or Ascension Day, which is 40 days after Easter, always on a Thursday and it's a public holiday.  Many fathers (and many non-fathers) will spend the day going for a walk, singing, and pulling their wagon filled with beer.

What happens on Mother's Day you may be wondering?  Often the mom cooks and cleans and hosts her family.  Apparently, nothing says "I love you Mom" like leaving her a heap of dirty dishes!


One of the coolest hikes we've taken is to a nearby steinere Rinne. a raised stone groove caused by the slow deposit of chalk by a trickle of water.  This specimen was thigh/waist high but some in Bavaria can be 5 meters high!  Since this is such a rare geotope, there are no signs whatsoever.  We spent 40 minutes searching!