Kuchlbauer Weinachtsmarkt, Abensberg

On December 16, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany8 Comments

The third Christkindlmarkt I visited this year was in Abensberg. On Friday, Jenny, Robert, and I went to the Kuchlbauer’s Weinachtsmarkt at the Kuchlbauer brewery.

The Kuchlbauer brewery is not just a brewery, it’s also a tourist attraction, since the Kuchlbauer-Turm (Kuchlbauer Tower) was opened to visitors in 2010.

Up until this trip, I thought that Hundertwasser was the name of the tower- I didn’t realize that Hundertwasser was the name of the artist who designed it. The tower was designed by artist Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser. That’s not his given name- he was born in Austria as Friedrich Stowasser. His chosen name is kind of fascinating though, since the individual parts translate to Kingdom of Peace, Rainy Day, Darkly Colored, and Hundred Waters. I’m positive there’s a story there that I haven’t gotten to yet.

We didn’t climb up the tower on this visit- that’s something that would be much more interesting in the daytime, when you can properly see the view from the tower.

We were a little surprised at how small this market was- all three of us expected it to be larger. We started in the courtyard area around the base of the tower. There were a few stands, including Lebkuchen:

…as well as Baumstrietzel, the delicious rolled pastries that I first encountered in Prague. These were dessert. Dinner was a wrap with venison, horseradish, and some other typical fillings. Very delicious.

We spent some time in the tiny little Christmas market there before moving around to the street to take pictures of some of the other lit up buildings. There as a little train-tram in front to carry people from the outer parking area.

When we turned around the corner on the other side of the Bierwelt building, we found more booths. Our original assumption that we had seen the entire Christkindlmarkt was not accurate. The section at the base of the tower was only one tiny part of the market. There was much, much, much more.

This booth had incense burners. Very cute ones.

Toward the back, near the food, there’s a Rudolph “mounted” in the wall. The sign above his head says, Bitte Nicht Füttern! Rudolpf hat Verdauungsprobleme! Translated: “Please do not feed. Rudolph has digestive problems.”

Digestive problems would explain the singing…

The parking garage has been converted for the time being into a market for goods. Decorations…

Horns which I assume are supposed to be used for cornucopia displays, not this foolishness here:

There was a tiny carousel for the children.

…and lots of places to get food and drink.

The Brewery has a tilty building which is still being constructed on the inside, but the open parts are quite interesting, and it’s lit up adorably for the holidays.

The Kuchlbauer Weinachtsmarkt was actually the nicest Christmas Market I’ve been to, and I’ve seen them now in five cities. It was large, with a great deal of variety, and yet it wasn’t too crowded.

Which Christkindlmarkt is your favorite so far?

Hunting Krampus In Berchtesgaden

On December 9, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany4 Comments

I went to a Perchtenlauf this weekend in Berchtesgaden, a town nestled in the Alps near the Austrian border. It’s surrounded on three sides by Austria, and is actually south of Salzburg. Berchtesgaden is nearly as far to the Southeast as you can go and still remain in Germany.

A Perchtenlauf is a fascinating holiday tradition. The 5th of December is Krampus Night or Krampusnacht. On the 6th of December, the Feast of St. Nicholas occurs. On both nights, young men dress up as Krampus and roam the streets frightening children. Krampus is generally demonic in appearance, and typically kind of beastly. Krampus is said to punish children who have misbehaved during the Yule season. There’s folklore about him carrying naughty children back to his lair in a sack. On the 6th, St. Nicholas visits, looking a great deal like a Bishop. In Austria, Bavaria, and several other nearby regions, St. Nicholas is accompanied by Krampus on the 6th of December as well.

In Berchtesgaden, Krampus is also accompanied by Perchten. Wrapped from head to toe in straw, the Buttnmandl join the Krampus as they run noisily from home to home and around the community. Their heads are covered with a mask, usually with a long tongue to add to the frightening appearance. They have large cowbells attached to their backs, which clank when they run or jump. The picture to the left is from the Berchtesgaden website- I wasn’t able to get a good picture of any of the straw-clad Buttnmandl with my own camera, and I wanted to include a picture of them. The banner image from Berchtesgaden.de includes all three types: Buttnmandl, Krampus, and St. Nicholas.

In Berchtesgaden, you’ll never see one without the other. The Perchten carry a switch, and they strike passers-by with them for luck. When girls or children dance with the Perchten, their faces are marked with black charcoal- proof they have danced with the devil, so to speak.

We arrived in Berchtesgaden in the afternoon on the 6th of December, and went into the city in search of these mythic beasts. We saw signs of them near store-fronts.

It was a snowy day in the Berchtesgaden Christkindlmarkt, and we only had a little bit of time before the sun set.

After dark, we quickly found more sign that the Buttnmandl had passed by- everywhere they went, there was loose straw on the ground to mark their passing.

It was clear that at some point in the past, a mighty hunter had killed three of the beasts: their heads were on display in the Altstadt.

I thought the decorations throughout the city were very nice.

After a few mugs of hot mulled Apple wine, we finally heard the clanking of the beasts in the city. Each time we heard the clanking of those cowbells, we walked toward where the sound had been, and found nothing but straw. Finally, after several passes not finding the Perchten, we stumbled across a crowd surrounding several of them. I was not able to get clear pictures, but I assure you there were many of them.

The bells on their backs made a very distinct clattering sound. Hours later, after we had returned to the hotel, I heard the sound passing by before I went to bed. A group of Perchten passed in front of the hotel, and then another. I nearly went back outside, but the sound passed so swiftly I know I wouldn’t have seen anything more. These cowbells made quite a lot of noise.

Here’s a video clip from the same place a few years ago, to give you an idea of the sound of the bells.

Have you ever seen a Krampuslauf or a Perchtenlauf?

Day Trip To The Zugspitze

On October 14, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany7 Comments

The Alps are just a few hours away from Regensburg by car or train. Nestled within the Alps is the Zugspitze, Germany’s tallest mountain. The Zugspitze is 2962 meters (9718 feet) high. From the summit on a clear day, you can see mountain peaks in four countries.

Since I love tall places, of course I had to go and see it. There are trains between Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen almost once an hour, so getting there is pretty easy. As you approach the mountain from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, you can see a ski jump. The 1936 Winter Olympics were held here, opened by Adolf Hitler.

Once you arrive in G-P, you walk from the Bahnhof to the Zugspitzbahnhof right next door, to pay for your ticket up the mountain and back. The first part of the journey is by cogwheel train, until you get to Eibsee. From there, you take the Eibsee Seilbahn cable car up the side of the mountain.

When you reach the peak, the views are amazing. On one side, you have a separate cable car that goes to and from the Schneeferner glacier below.

There’s an observation deck at the very top, with the highest beer garden in Germany.

This weather monitoring and research station helps to monitor climate change.

There are cable cars coming up from both Germany and Austria, since the mountain sits on the border. Part of the summit faciliites is on the Austrian side- I walked in and out of Austria twice before I realized it was a border crossing.

Despite it being t-shirt weather at the base of the mountain, there was snow and ice at the top.

The wind at the summit does very interesting things to the ice formations. This is on a bit of metal stairs.

The actual peak is accessible to people who want to climb up to it. It’s set aside from the main facilities and does involve some climbing up in snow.

At an altitude of 2952 meters (9685 feet), the Gipfelalm is the tallest restaurant in Germany. Their food was not over-expensive, but it was kind of mediocre in flavor and quality.

The lake on the left is the Eibsee, and the little town to the right of it is Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

After you take the cable car from the summit down to the glacier, you can also choose to eat at Sonn Alpin, at 2600 meters. We stopped here for dessert.

…and shared our dessert with the aggressively snackish birds. One of them actually stole some of our kaiserschmarrn right out of the bowl when we didn’t offer it to them. Cheeky little bastards.

While we were at the Sonn Alpin, I got to see a small avalanche first-hand. The snow falling down the mountain here was tremendously loud.

Where there is snow, there are snow-people.

Have you ever been to the Zugspitze? What’s your favorite mountain?

Oktoberfest In The Rain

On September 30, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany15 Comments

It’s Oktoberfest time!

Oktoberfest is the world’s largest fair, and it runs for sixteen days every year from late September to the first Sunday in October. (It runs for seventeen or eighteen days on years when the first Sunday in October is the 1st or 2nd of the month, because the 3rd of October is a holiday here, German Unity Day.) It was started in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig I to Therese

This year’s Oktoberfest started on September 22nd and runs through Sunday October 6th. In Bavaria, its often referred to simply as die Wiesn. This refers back to the name Theresienwiese (Theresa’s Meadow), the fairgrounds in the center of Munich where it takes place.

Many of my bloggy friends in Germany have written about Oktoberfest. LLMW wrote “Best Bets for enjoying Munich’s Oktoberfest & the Parade” and Alex wrote about how to get a seat at oktoberfest in munich.

Factoids for everyone!

Oktoberfest receives more than six million visitors each year. That’s more than four times the population of Munich itself.
In the first week of Wiesn in 2012, more than 3.6 liters of beer were consumed. This also led to an increase in Bierleichen, or “beer corpses” — a term referring to people who have drunk themselves into a state of unconsciousness . (I love that there’s a specific word for this.) According to the Red Cross, most of the Bierleichen were below the age of 30.
The price of a Maß (one liter) of beer in 2013 is €9,85. That’s more than $13 per liter.
For beer to be served at Oktoberfest, it must be brewed within the city limits of Munich. It must also conform to the Reinheitsgebot (the German Beer Purity Law.)

I went to Oktoberfest on a Thursday with Jenny. The day before, it had been sunny in Munich. Not so on our chosen day.

This is the Hippodrom tent, one of the first tents seen when you enter Theresienwiese. It’s very popular with the younger crowds.

Inside the Hippodrom tent, at around 4pm on a Thursday:

A percentage of the tables in each tent can be reserved. Often, companies reserve these tables and food is on standby for these reservations.

A job I would not want: Dishwasher at Oktoberfest. This is one of many racks of beer steins ready to be filled.

The Hofbräu Festzelt. (Zelt means tent.)

The Augustiner tent.

The Löwenbräu (Lion’s Brew!) tent. The Lion is mechanical- it lifts the stein and drinks, then roars. Highly entertaining.

The Paulaner tent.

Sekt is champagne. This was a wine tent. As a result, it was a bit more mellow than the other tents.

Theresienwiese is adjacent to the Bavaria Statue.

As with all festivals in Germany, there are places to buy Lebkuchenherzen (gingerbread hearts) on ribbons. They’re decorated with various phrases, and it’s traditional to buy one for your significant other. It’s not uncommon to see people walking down the street wearing these.

This carriage was pulled by six of the most enormous horses I have ever seen in my life.

This one had slightly smaller horses. Still big, though.

Jenny and I found a table for lunch in the Schottenhamel tent. The Schottenhamel tent is where everything begins- on the first day of Oktoberfest, no beer is allowed to be served until noon. That’s when the mayor of Munich taps the first keg in the Schottenhamel tent, proclaiming, “O’zapft is!” (It’s tapped!)

Prost!

Bavarian men always seem to have such jaunty hats.

Just one of these is heavy. This woman must have incredible upper body strength.

Children in Tracht (traditional clothing) are pretty much always adorable.

I do love the giant pretzels…

After lunch, we went back outside, to check out the rest of the fest. There’s a lot of rides. This is the view as you’re approaching the front of Theresienwiese. That ride with the airplane on top goes much higher and faster than we expected.

I’m still trying to figure out why a) this one has American flags all over it, and b) the breakdancer is a Gremlin.

There are several places to ride bumper cars, which is a great idea after drinking a few liters of beer.

The ferris wheel at the back seemed like a good idea, because the gondolas are covered.

These next two pictures were taken from the ferris wheel, during one of the many rain bursts.

You can just barely make out the white balloon with a red cross in this picture. That balloon made it easy to find the first aid tent from a distance- kind of ingenious, in my opinion.

While most of the locals went with traditional Lederhosen and Dirndls, a few people went with a more modern take on Bavarian garb. I like to think of the guy on the left as Bavarian Jesus.

Do you have any fun Oktoberfest stories?

August Break: Under the Bridge

On August 14, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany

I’m on an August Break from my regular blogging schedule. Here’s today’s picture.

Today is a Bavarian public holiday. Public holidays here usually mean I’m traveling somewhere.

Most of my travel is by rail, and I see lots of really neat graffiti. This one caught my eye in the Düsseldorf area.

Do you have a favorite graffiti?

Whimsy. Tacos. The DMV.

Category: International Travel – Inside Germany