Sunday Shopping around Koblenz

So it is Sunday in Koblenz, Germany and you need a few organic veggies for dinner. Or maybe you need to pick up a birthday present for a friend. Maybe a nice orchid, a book about orchids, or a nice pie of art glass. An of course you need a birthday card.

But it's Sunday....in Germany. The stores are all closed.

OK there are the stores at the gas stations. But you aren't going to get organic there. And be honest, would you eat anything from a local BP station after the last 6 weeks? And a nice birthday present, no way.

Frankfurt Airport has shops open. But that is an hour each way, assuming no "Stau" (traffic jam). A little far. Plus parking is a pain.

You could take a trip to Luxembourg, but that is also a bit more than an hour each way.

There actually is an answer to this riddle, a 15-20 minute drive from Koblenz to Maria Laach Abbey. Maria Laach Abbey is an active Benedictine abbey on the south shore of the volcanic lake known as Laacher See. The monks there operate a greenhouse, a fruit and vegetable stand, and a store selling books and craft items. And they are open 7 days of the week.

In addition to the shops, the church there is considered one of the finest examples German Romanesque architecture. The church and a number of the structures date back to the 11th through 13th. If you wanted to make a day of it, a system of hiking trails is maintained around the abbey and lake. And of course there is the restaurant and biergarten on the grounds where you can relax after the hike or shopping.

I suppose some might question the sincerity of the monks operating a store on Sunday on the grounds of the  church while the rest of the country is required to honor this day of worship. But you need to remember that monks are always been a practical lot. Take the story of the invention of the German version of ravioli called Maultaschen. Maultaschen was invented by the monks at Maulbronn Abbey because the only time of the year that the parishioners would donate meat to the monks was during Lent, when the people themselves were not permitted to eat meat. The monks reasoned that by covering the meat with a layer of dough, God would not be aware that they were eating meat and it was therefore OK.

This practical side lead Maria Laach Abbey into some controvery during the period of National Socialism. The Wikipedia site goes into a bit more detail. But suffice it to say that the monks at Maria Laach were very aware of what they were against and grabbed a hold of something that was much worst. Is there a lesson here for us?

Traumpfad - Booser Doppelmaartour

Magda had a holiday last Monday, May 24. Monday holidays are great for Magda because one third of her classes are on Monday. So not only does she get a day free, but one third of her prep time for the week is freed up. With this freetime, we decided to tryout another of the Traumpfad hiking trails that we have been hearing people talk about.

Traumpfad or "Dream Hike" is a project of Rhein-Mosel-Eifel Touristik, an organization whose purpose is to increase the tourism in this part of Germany. The Traumpfad project involves setting up well marked, circuit hiking trails in smaller villages in an effort to entice people to get out of the major tourist areas and see some other parts of the region. What is nice is that some of these towns have taken a sense of pride in their Traumpfad and have made efforts to make the hikes even more interesting.

Such is the case with the village of Boos. It is about 5 km from the Nürburgring, the famous race track in the Eiffel. Largely a farming community, the only indication of tourism is the motorcyclist attracted to the Nürburgring that race around the roads in the area. But the Traumpfad does help bring a little tourism to the area. To make their Traumpfad distictive, they has set up information stations along the way to explain the geological and natural features of the area. Also they have build a tower at the highest point in the hike that offers panoramic views of the Eiffel landscape.

The trail is a nice one even without these additions. Just under 10 km, in winds its way on the edge of the woods through the Eiffel. This means that most of the hike is under shade, while still allowing views across the hills and fields of the Eiffel. There is only the one major climb up to the tower. Other than that, the hike is mostly level or slightly downhill. The hike starts and ends at the double "Maar". A "Maar" is an small lake formed in the crater of a volcano. The Eiffel has a history of volcanic activity, the potential for which persists even today. These two "Maars" are mostly filled in, however the bowls of the craters are clearly visible and some water still exists. Some rather rare plants have found a home here, including Germany's only wild orchid and a plant with yellow follows that is only found in marshes (see the pictures below).

Reinsteig - Lorch to Kaub

Rheinsteig is a 320 km hiking trails that follows the high banks along the Eastern side of the Rhine river from Bonn to Wiesbaden. As the trail follows the high banks there are plenty of wonderful views of the Rhine as you wander pass the castles along the way. But it also means that every river or stream that feeds the Rhine requires a decent and a climb. Thus the name Rheinsteig that translates to "Rhine Climb".

Magda's school wanted to have a fundraiser for UNICEF. So they chose May 20 as the day that the school would walk the entire Rheinsteig. That is to say, Rheinsteig would be split into sections that would be assigned to homerooms in each grade. Each homeroom there would walk there section on that day and the school would have then covered the entire Rheinsteig. UNICEF would receive the pledges that the students got for doing the walk.

Magda attached herself to a grade 11 homeroom and said that Frannie and I could tag along on their 15 km hike from Lorch to Kaub. So in the morning of May 20, Frannie, Magda, and I along with half of Max von Laue Gymnasium boarded a train heading south along the Rhine, while the other half of Max von Laue got on a train heading north.

As we traveled south, different homerooms would get off the train to hike there section of the trail, always hiking in towards Koblenz. The idea was that each homeroom would complete their section in about 5 hours meeting up with a single train North traveling back to Koblenz. The homerooms that went north would do the same, meeting a single south bound train. In this way, the entire school would end up back at the Koblenz train station at about the time.

It took about a hour to reach Lorch. The train station there was a little over 1 km from the trail. Once the trail reached the end of the town, it began climbing. It was a pretty steep climb, and the homeroom teacher for these 11th grades had a cold and was not feeling well. As a result he lagged behind as some of the boys in the group raced ahead. Magda, Frannie and I stayed towards the back, making sure that everyone was making it OK. Still, the walk was pleasant enough. There were some muddy sections that gave the students in their flat bottom shoes some problems. After all, what self respecting 11th grade girl could be seen in a pair of hiking boots. But the views of the Rhine and the castles on the other side were really wonderful. And soon enough we saw the small castle (toll booth really) in the middle of the Rhine that is the landmark for Kaub.

We reached the point where a trail headed down 1.8 km to Kaub, but Rheinsteig followed the trail up to a peak and then down pass the castle hoovering above the town of Kaub. That direction would be 5.8 km to Kaub. Which trail do you think the students racing ahead took? Yep, they were on the short trail almost to Kaub as Magda, Frannie and I reached the trail junction.

Unfortunately, since Magda was their in an official position, we had to follow the the students along the shorter path. So I didn't get to see as much of the Rheinsteig as I had hoped that day. But I'll certainly plan to see more in the not too distant future.

Spargelzeit

There is a two month period from late April to late June that is known as Spargelzeit. Spargel is German for asparagus. Zeit is time. So Spargelzeit means the time for asparagus. Since asparagus is the first harvest of the year, it is connected with the end of cold temperatures and the coming of summer. Asparagus growing use to be centered in southern German. But with the advent of growing under plastic, the growing asparagus has now extended into the central Germany. So there are a couple of fields not far from us.

Asparagus here is not the skinny green shoots that we get in the USA. Rather they are thick, white shoots, the thicker the better. They have a woody outer layer pretty much the whole length of the shoot that must be removed with a vegetable peeler. The shoots are graded according to their thickness, length and roundness. This is basically an indicator of how much work is needed to prepare the shoots. The thicker shoots have more volume per surface area, therefore less peeling and less waste. Also if the shoot is not round (cylindrical is maybe a better word) they are harder to peel. But even the farmers will say, they all the grades taste the same.

We tend to buy the grade II that are a bit thicker than my thumb. Once they are peeled, it is simply a matter of boiling for 20 minutes. The traditional German meal shown in the slide show below would start with a pound of asparagus per person (that is before peeling). and would serve boiled potatoes and slices of ham to go with it. Melted butter would be available to pour over the asparagus and potatoes. We like lighter white wine with low acidity is idea. For this meal, we used sweet potatoes, but a hard potato, like red or Yukon gold, would be more traditional. We also used a  Riesling which is normally little too acidic, but we had just returned from Wehlen and wanted to drink one of the wines that we bought there.

Bernkastel-Keus and Wehlen

We took a short trip to Bernkastel-Kues last week-end to look around. Bernkastel-Kues is a town in the heart of heart of the best vineyards on the Moselle. In fact, some will claim that Bernkasteler Doctor is the best vineyard on the Moselle.

But were were there to see the town that contains a number of half-timbered houses, some dating to the 15th century. One of these is called the smallest house in Germany. It can be seen in the background of some of the pictures in the sideshow below.

Going to places like this can be a little risky. It is a Mecca for tourists. So not only are the streets filled with tourist, all the shops there are gear towards the tourist trade. This means all kinds of junk and shops selling sweet white wines of marginal quality.

Still on balance, I have to say, Berkastel-Kues is worth the trip.

After a couple of hours there, we headed downstream to visit a couple of wineries and have some lunch in Wehlen. Wehlen vineyards are not quite as famous as Bernkastel's, but they are pretty darn good.

Lunch was at a Strasswirkshaft on the Moselle directly across from the vineyard call Wehlener Sonnenuhr. In Germany, vintners are allowed to set up some tables and serve food with their own wines for a few months of each year. One of there is known as a Strasswirkshaft or Strassi for short. A Strassi gives the vintner another avenue to sell their wines and provides a little local color for visiting tourists. We have had good luck with the food and the wine at the Strassis that we have visited. Nothing fancy, just good local food using ingredients from the region. Plus they are usually a pretty good value.

We also visited a couple of other vintners in town, including S.A.Prüm that is considered among Germany's best. There wines were definitely a cut above by at a price 2 or 3 times that of the other vintners that we tried. One other nice thing about S. A. Prüm is that they let the barn shallows nest in their tasting room. They also use their images in there literature.

House of the History of the German Republic

We took a quick trip up to the Museum Mile in Bonn to visit the Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. This is a museum devoted to the history of the Germany since the forming of republic following WWII.

The museum is organized so that you feel you are walking through a time line starting in 1945 to the present. The initial displays then are about the liberation and occupation. There you can see photos and videos of the state of the German cities following the war, artifacts from the occupation, and exhibits about the Berlin airlifts. This period also includes coming to grips with the atrocities of the war.

The exhibits then flow into formation of republic, the political parties, and the division of Germany. From this point as you walk along the time line, there are displays showing the results of each German election to orient you along the time lines. Along the time line are presented displays illustrating the life in Germany and the forces effecting that life. These include things like the cultural influences, the political forces in play, the products being produced, immigration, and, of course, reunification.

Many exhibits are interactive, allowing you to experience the sights and sounds of the time. There is, of course, the video of John F. Kennedy in Berlin. Also a 1950 VW Beatle with its split rear window, a BMW Zeta, Zeiss Optics, interviews with immigrants and rock music.

It really is a nice museum, and it is free. You can buy a guide to the exhibition to 3€ that can help follow the displays. But even without that, there is much that someone without good knowledge of the German language can enjoy here.

Beers I've Tried: Küppers Kölsch

In continuing to learn about kölsch beer, here's one that I found that sort of turned me off. Not because of the taste though. Rather it was the marketing of the product.

Reading the description Küppers Kölsch on the back label of the bottle I noticed the claim that Küppers Kölsch was brewed according to the Deutsches Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law) of 1516 that states that the only ingredients allowed in beer are water, barley, and hops. There are two troubling things about this claim.

First is that some regional beer styles exist in Germany today because the Reinheitsgebot did not cover those regions of what is today Germany. Kölsch is one of those styles. But I suppose that being brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot is a symbol of quality. Even some American beers put this claim on their labels.

My second problem is a little more serious. In reading the ingredient list, I see yeast, wheat malt, hops extract. Yeast was not mentioned in the Reinheitsgebot because they didn't know what it was at the time, so no problem with that addition. But wheat is not on the list of allowed ingredients in beer. And if you are using hop extract, how can you be sure what is in there. I mean if you are going to use the Reinheitsgebot to invoke images of centuries of brewing knowledge, then I think you should be controlling the whole process. That means bringing in the grain and hops, malting the grain, extracting the proteins in water and using the whole hops. That's what brewing has meant for centuries.

Walking Frannie - Finding Her Voice

I made this video of Frannie a couple of days ago. It is pretty shaky because I was trying to get her to play with me while filming her. The only reason I put it up here is that it actually captures her barking. She does it twice about half way through the film.

I know, many wondered if she actually had a voice. I only heard her bark twice in the year and a half we had her in the USA. But we have notice her doing the a bit more recently. At home she is quiet, although she did let out a bark the other day when a wind caused some drapes to move. So maybe she has a future as a watchdog.

From 2010-05-03

My Ride

This has been my ride the last couple of weeks. We have been pretty lucky with the weather, so I started riding bike to school. Of course the fact that fot the moment I'm no longer legally able to drive a car in German helped me make the change, but more about that in a moment.

As you can see, it is a pretty nice bike. It is from a German manufacturer, Kettler. Magda actually won this bike while she was in the USA. But she is not much of a bike rider, so I've sort of taken it over.

No this is not a ladies bike.  It is a city bike. The lack of a crossbar is a "feature" to allow the rider to easily get on an off the bike (although I still tend to swing my leg over the back of the bike by force of habit). All the moving parts a covered to prevent damage to clothing. There are big tires to handle the occasional rough roads in the city. Fenders to reduce road spray in wet weather. The shifter is integrated into the right grip. It only has 8 gears because in most cities there aren't that many steep climbs. For me, the only hill is getting up the bridge over the Moselle. Breaks can be operated from the handlebar or by reversing the pedals (just like the old days). Front and rear lights are powered by a generator integrated in the rear hub. Frame is all aluminum, so it is lighter than it might look, but I would not call it a light weight bike.

Bikes here are pretty expensive, and I'm not sure why. Retail is close to 1000 € on this baby, but I've seen ads for similar Kettler bikes for 599 €.

As to why I cannot drive. I was able to drive on my Ohio license for 6 months. That ended earlier this month. One of the nice things coming from Ohio is that there is an agreement between Ohio and Germany so that I can trade my Ohio license for a Germany one within those 6 months and not have to take the German driving test which I hear is pretty stiff. So we started that process about 5 weeks ago. What we didn't know is that before they can issue the German license, they need to contact Ohio authorities to seen if I'm wanted for any thing. That will take 2 months. So for the next 3 weeks, Magda is stuck driving me around.

Still, I am actually enjoying riding the bike to school. So far I've been lucky and not gotten too wet. Although I did have to delay a ride home until a storm passed one day. It is a bout 20 minutes each way with bike. Frankly that is faster than with the bus. And it is about the same as with the car if you add the time to find parking, feed the meter and walk to the school. Plus, you feel that you got in a little exercise.

Biking here is more prevalent than in Columbus. Koblenz has bike lanes planned into most of the city streets. And there is a bike trail along the Rhine. Legally, bikes have right-of-way over cars, and pedestrians over bikes. So if there is an accident, there is no question that the car driver is at fault. I would like to tell you that eliminates all the problems, but there are still some crazies that you have to watch out for. Still I think it is easier to get around the streets here on a bike than back in Columbus.

I just need to keep reminding myself that it is a city bike, not a girl's bike.