Palmator 2014

On May 1, 2014May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany4 Comments

Every year, on Palm Sunday, the Prösslbräu Brewery in Adlersberg has a one-day festival called Palmator, a celebration of their dark, strong bock beer of the same name. On this day each year, the Palmator is first served from the brewery’s kegs. On an unrelated note, any time I put anything about this brewery into Google Translate, I have to giggle. Adlersberg is the name of the place where the brewery stands, but it literally translates to Eagle Mountain. This amuses me greatly.

The first year I was here, I attended Palmator and was blown away by how strong the stuff is- and how delicious. Last year I skipped it because we weren’t done with our seven months of winter and the temperatures were below freezing. This year, the weather was perfect. I went with some friends, and we walked up the hill. It’s possible to get there without walking up this hill, but where’s the fun in that?

We had pretty spectacularly nice weather. This is the view from the top of that same hill.

They changed the layout since the first year I went to Palmator. There was much more tent coverage before, whereas now they’ve done away with the tent and left more beer garden style seating out in the open. This is much nicer, actually, particularly if the weather is rocking like this.

This is the beer in question- the Palmator. It is absolutely delicious, and extremely deadly. This glass is a Maß, or one full liter of the stuff. By the end of the glass, I was quite buzzed. The giant pretzel was soft and fresh and delicious.

When the tables got full, blankets became the next best way to enjoy the day. Our group brought blankets because my friends are smart like that.

Another popular thing is to sit on the wall. At certain points, the wall is well above my head, but people still clamber up onto it to sit and enjoy their Palmator in the sun.

Have you ever been to Palmator? Have you been to any Starkbierfest?

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?

Race Time!

On May 27, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany6 Comments

This weekend, I finally cashed in on my Christmas gift from Jenny- two races at Pro-Kart Raceland, in nearby Wackersdorf. (I don’t think that Wackersdorf will ever stop being a funny name to me.) Pro-Kart Raceland has two big tracks, one is indoors, in a giant warehouse type of space, and the other one is outdoors. We were racing on the indoor track.

I’ve been on go-karts before, but never quite like this. For one thing, these were a bit faster than any go-karts I’ve ever driven in the US. For another thing, helmets are required. There are shared helmets available, not unlike the bowling shoes you rent in the US. You can also buy a cheap balaclava (a head covering that just leaves the eyes exposed) to protect your head from other people’s head-cooties if you want. Some people bring their own helmets, racing gloves, and the like. Some people are really into this.

So here’s how the day went. We checked in, paid, and I got the aforementioned balaclava. The next several minutes were spent taking funny pictures of me in a balaclava. Then we went to the indoor track. There’s a short list of rules and then you get assigned to a numbered car. Everyone in that race is lined up, and the engines are started by a staff member. As soon as your engine is started, you floor it out of the holding pen.

Our races were ten minute heats, although there was a twenty minute race after we were done, so this varies. When you see the guy waving the checkered flag like so, it means it’s time to come in at the end of your current lap.

Once you get back in, all the engines are shut off and you get a print-out showing how well you did. There’s a lap time for each lap, and your best time is marked. Additionally, you’re ranked against everyone who was in that race. I was not in first place. Or second or third place. I wasn’t very fast at all, in fact.

I take pride in the fact that my overall lap times were decreasing as I went. The only exception was one lap where Jenny spun out in front of me and I braked hard to avoid hitting her. I braked a little *too* hard and my engine stalled. My time on that lap was 1:37. My best time was 51.575 seconds. And yes, these races were decided on hundredths of seconds.

For the part, there’s good sportsmanship here. The cars aren’t bumper cars, and you can be penalized or ejected for ramming people intentionally. That didn’t stop one kid from hitting me after I passed him, though. Of course he might have just been annoyed by my helmet- I didn’t realize it when I grabbed a helmet off the shelf, but I was giving everyone I passed a Trollface.

After we were done with our races, we spent a little while watching the outdoor races. These cars seemed to be faster even than the cars inside. They also had a more traditional race structure. They started out the same, with the staff members starting the engines, but the first few laps were a qualifying heat to put everyone in their starting positions.

Once everyone had a starting position, they all started at the same time, instead of going one at a time as before.

There’s an interesting side effect of doing this for two ten minute races on Saturday- the muscles in between my shoulder-blades were sore the next day. These cars have slick tires and no power steering, which means that if you turn hard, you’re doing it through strength and artful braking. The track is very curvy, and I was trying to turn without a lot of slowing.

This was a crapload of fun, but it was expensive- two ten minute races came out to around €25 per person. Still, I would do it again. Zoom!

Have you ever been go-kart racing?

Raising A Maypole

On May 6, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany12 Comments

On the first of May last year, I wrote a little bit about May Day, and about Maibäume, or maypoles. This year, I got to see the raising of a May Pole up close. My partner-in-crime Jenny and her boyfriend were planning on going to a raising in nearby Peising and invited me along to hang out with the Village People. (I mean the people who live in the village of Peising, not the band with the cowboy and the construction worker. I would actually have enjoyed having a beer with them too.) Since the day is a public holiday in Bavaria (no work!) I had nothing else planned, so I took them up on their offer. I’m glad I did, because it was actually a lot of fun.

First of all, a May Pole raising is often held with all the elements of a traditional Bavarian beer-fest. There are beer garden styled tables and benches, lots of people in Tracht (lederhosen and dirndls), and even some live musical entertainment.

This was also kind of a family event, and I have to just say- kids in Tracht are incredibly damned cute. These three pictures are proof of that. Also, the little kid on the scooter is kind of an adorable badass with the sunglasses and the spiky hair. He was my favorite Bavarian kid all day long.

At two in the afternoon, it was time for the Maypole to be raised. It had been stored a short distance from the place where it was to be raised, and there is a tradition where a group of people from the village guard their Maypole against theft by another village. This involves drinking lots of beer and hanging out overnight around the pole. If the people from the other village succeed in stealing the Maypole, it must be “bought” back for the princely sum of 50 Liters of beer and enough Bratwurst for all the members of the raiding party. At least this is how it was explained to me. As you can see, however, it wouldn’t be terribly easy to steal another village’s Maypole:

The process of raising the pole took around 45 minutes, but Robert says it can be done much faster if people really want to. It starts with everyone lining the pole up with its metal base so that a primary spike can be put through it to anchor it in place.

Next, they use smaller wood poles connected by barbed wire (seen below) to prop the pole up and to lift it in increments. These tongs are in varying lengths, and the longest are nearly as long as the Maypole is tall. The group would lever the pole up slightly, then move one or two of the sets of tongs further down the pole, then another lift. This is repeated until the pole is completely vertical. These next few photos show what I’m talking about.

There’s a secondary type of pole, seen here, which is used to help guide the longer sets of tongs when they’re quite a large distance above the ground. A “spotter” with one of these stands under the far end of the tongs to help steady them while they are being moved further down the Maypole. This is probably a very good idea, because it’s very easy to lose control of the longest sets of tongs when you’re only gripping it from the furthest end. As you can see, the tongs get very long.

Once the Maypole is entirely vertical, metal plates are bolted across the open side to keep it from toppling over again. A few pieces of wood are wedged into place to hold the pole steady. Finally, a quick bit of spot-welding on the bolts keeps them from coming loose for the next few months.

After all of this, Voila! A lovely Maypole has been set up in the village of Peising. The blue and white stripes are traditional; they’re the colors of the Bavarian flag. Once the Maypole is fully raised, everyone settles back down for beer and bratwurst. And, in my case, chocolate cake.

Have you ever seen a Maypole raising?

Burg Prunn

On April 18, 2013May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany13 Comments

One of the things that you learn while living in Germany is that castles are to Germany what Waffle House, Coca-Cola, and the name Peachtree are to Atlanta. There are castles everywhere over here. Some of them aren’t all that stereotypically castle-ish. For example, there’s Prunn Castle.

Burg (Castle) Prunn sits on the edge of a hill, so the view from the castle wall is nothing short of spectacular. There’s literary historical significance to this castle, also. The “Prunner Codex“, the fourth oldest complete manuscript of the high German heroic epic, the Nibelungenlied, was discovered in this castle.

The castle goes back to the 11th century, and there are clearly two parts to the castle. The central tower, and the buildings which were constructed around the tower later on.

There is a small courtyard near the main entrance to the castle. Unfortunately, pictures are not permitted inside the castle, so I can only show you the outside walls. The inside was cold, but fascinating. The entire structure has even been immortalized in Lego.