Einen guten Rutsch!!!!

Happy New Year Everyone.

In Germany, people wish each other a good slide into the new year -- Einen guten Rutsch in neues Jahr!

Beers I've Tried: Königsbacher 1689

Königsbacher is the local Koblenz brewery. In fact their current ad campaign is "Koblenz drinks Königsbacher". They trace their origins back to, you guessed it, 1689 when they made beer in the old city hall (a not that unusual combination back then).

1689 is one of Königsbacher's specialty beers. The recipe is suppost to have origins back in the original brew house. It in a caramel tasting brew with a nice deep brown color. If there is a complaint, the head is a little loose, not a tight as the last two brews that I wrote about. Still, this is the last of a half case that I bought, so I did enjoy this one.

Merry Christmas

A Merry Christmas to all. Here are a couple of pictures of our tree with the candles burning. Magda was tring to figure when she made some of these straw ornaments. She figures that it was at least 45 years ago.

That got me to thinking, if something put togeather with straw and thread can last that long, image what she could have done with duct tape.

Our Christmas Tree

We put up our Christmas tree on the 22nd. Magda feels that was a couple of days early. Her tradition is to put it up on the 24th. In general, the tree goes up later that in the U.S. Many of the Christmas tree stands did not even open until the 14th.

The type of tree that we choose was one called a "Nordmanntanne". They are a popular choice here in Germany. The tall tree tip and the openness at the top helps simulate the head and shoulders of a person. Like all the trees that we have seen here, the needles are relatively short that are soft and flat. Other types of trees that are sold here include blue spruce and firs. Have not seen any of the long needle verities such as scotch pine that are popular in Columbus.

We decided to be a little old fashioned by using straw ornaments and real candles. Magda tells me that she used to make these as a kid. They involve lay out pieces of straw in a pattern on a board and pinning the straw in place. Then thread is weaved around the straw to hold it all together allowing the pins can be removed and the ornament placed on the tree. You can see why it was (and still is) popular, the light brown of the straw does stand out against the dark green of the tree. Some of these are ones that Magda made several years ago, so the color does not darken with time.

We did watch a program discussing if an artificial tree is a better choice, strictly from an "environmental point"/"decreasing carbon footprint" of view. Certainly, looking at the initial purchase, the real tree wins out. These trees exist only for this purpose, and they will be replaced by another tree that will convert CO2 to oxygen. So the carbon impact is pretty much a wash. Some carbon cost related to fertilizer. And of course, there is the transportation from the farm to the tree stand and from there back home. Buying local will help here. The artificial tree requires energy in the manufacture of the raw materials as well as the tree . If the tree uses plastic, that involves using petroleum not required for a real tee. Plus there are the transportation costs which are likely longer that a real tree.

But of course, an artificial tree can be used multiple years, reducing the transportation cost over time. So when is the break even point? According to these experts you would have to used the artificial tree at least 17 years to lower the environmental impact to that of buying a real tree every year.

Walking Frannie - Relaxing After Car Ride

Magda and I went down to Badenweiler for the week-end, taking Frannie along. Frannie handles riding in a car pretty well. She certainly does much better than we hear from a lot of other dog owners. But she does like to spread out and relax after the drive. She does have a way of taking over the sofa.

Weihnachtsmarkt Freiburg

Freiburg's Wiehnachtsmarkt was the nicest that I was able to visit this year. It is situated on three martplatz in the Altstadt. The largest of these is in front of the Rathouse (City hall). The other two were not far away.

In all candor, Freiburg might be my favorite city in Germany. If I could choose a German city to live in, Freiburg would be up there. First of all, it is a picturesque city, with a large Altstadt, some remaining city gates, and the Gothic Munster (i.e. large church but did not receive cathedral status as a bishop never used it as his headquarters). All of which have been well preserved and maintain. It might be the cleanest city in Germany, which is saying something. The downtown area that includes the Altstadt is quite active, commercially.  Further, it is set between the Rhine and the Black forest in the southern part of German that is known for it's good weather and fine food. France is not far, nor is Switzerland. It is a university town. That and the size of the city helps support a good arts community. Plus, it has a great public transport system including light rail, and bus. Freiburg is on a main line of the Deutsche Bahn, so you have great access to the train system.

What makes the Weihnachtsmarkt enjoyable was the sitting in the Altstadt, plus the fact that so many of the booth had hand made items like the carved wooded figures in the picture.

My personal favorite booth was the one that sold springerle presses. These press were a little different than I had previously seen as they were made of clay rather than carved out of wood. The guy at the booth explained that with clay, they can offer more detain in the form than with wood. Plus they are easier to clean. The detail and variety of these forms was truly amazing. They have a website a www.springerle.com where there are detailed pictures of the forms.

Weihnachtsmarkt Koblenz

Koblenz also has a Weihnacktsmarkt. Koblenz does have an active tourist trade, due to the passenger barges that travel the Rhine throughout the year. The barges dock along the Mossell, along the Altstadt (Old City).

Koblenz's Weihnachtsmarkt actually takes up 3 different market squares in the Altstadt. Being separated takes a little from the experience, making the markt seem small. Plus the fact that most of what is sold at the stands is factory produced. Of course, there are still plenty of opportuites to take in a little glühwein, or other typical food for a Weihnachtsmarkt. But sorry to say, it just doesn't have the feel of Trier's markt.

Weihnachtsmarkt Trier

Trier, is one of my favorite cities in Germany. Although Trier is Germany oldest city, what makes it interesting for me is that it was one of Europe's most important cites north of the Alps early in its history. As a result, there a buildings and ruins from Roman, Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque.

When I heard that Trier's Weihnachtsmarkt was one of the nicest in the area, this was enough reason to hop on a train for another visit.

Nürnberg's Christkindlesmarkt is Germany's oldest and most well known Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas market). This tradition has spread throughout Germany. Now every city of any size or that depends on the tourist trade has such a market. They do provide a bit of light and fun during the dark days of December (remember that we are actually north of Columbus, resulting in darkness earlier here).

Trier's market is not huge, but it has a nice setting in the city's main market place, surrounded by buildings from various periods in the city's long history. In addition, most of the cities pedestrian area is lighted by decorative stars. The market had stands selling hand made Christmas decorations and other articles. Some mass produced articles were on sale as well. There was a merry-go-round for the young kids. And, of course, several booths selling typical foods of Weinachtsmarkts, various wursts, reibekuchen (potato pancakes), and glühwein (mulled wine)

Beers I've Tried: Battin Gambrinus

I was introduced to Battin Gambrinus on our trip to Luxembourg. Battin is a Luxembourg brewery since 1937. The Gambrinus is a pale lager with a rich gold color and a thick fluffy white head that has good staying power and that leaves laces on the glass as the beer is drunk. The taste begins with creamy maltiness that gives way to a finish that is hoppy (prehaps saaz hops) but not overly so. Over all a full flavored, balanced larger that is a pleasure to drink.

However, it is not cheap. 4 euros for 6 .25 liter bottles, or about 1.67 per half liter.

Gegorian Chant at Kastorkirche

Spent a most pleasant evening last week at a concert in the Basilika St. Kastor.

St. Kastor is the oldest of the Romanesque churches for which Coblenz is known. There has been a church on this site, near Deutsche Eck, since the middle of the 9th century. The present from the the church dates from the mid-12th century although a careful restoration was done after WWII as the church was hit by British bombers.

Combining this small gem of a church with a program of Gregorian Chant made the even special. The group, Schola Gregoriana Pragensis, is a group of professional singers from Prague who specialize in this form of music.

Listening to the Latin text of these chants sung in melodic vocals that resonated from the thick wall of this 1200 year old Romanesque church -- a church that was in place during the period in which this music originated -- made for a fitting and delightful evening.

Luxembourg - Nov 2009

We visited a friend of Magda's who lives in Luxembourg and whose husband works for the EU. It was a most "unfriendly" day. Most of the day was spent in conversation. But we decided to take a quick tour of the EU area.

When I worked at FIZ-Karlsuhe in 1991, one of my first trips was to Luxembourg. I remember the fortifications of the city above the deep valleys. I also remember a single building devoted to European government (of course this was pre-EU).

So I was more that surprised to see the city that has been built, all since 1995. Buildings were there for parliament, courts, the symphony, offices, banks and everything required to support the people working there.

The bottom part of one of the buildings contains a mall, that includes an amazing grocery store called Auchan. This store provides for people from all over Europe that are working at the EU, and are generally well paid and appreciate their food. Here are some of my observations:

• a tenth of the store was devoted to drinks, more than half of that was wines from all over the world. A large part of this was French. There was also a large selections of wines from Luxembourg (the Moselle extends into Luxembourg). The USA was represented by two levels of wines from Gallo.
• Beers from all over Europe were there, Germany, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. The USA was represented by Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Miller.
• 30-40 meter long and 1 meter deep showcase of cheeses
• 30-40 meter long and 1 meter deep showcase for salamis, wursts and pâtés
• Huge counter of fresh fish, plus a counter of salted cod (which, I'm told is popular with the Portugese contingent to the EU).
• Frozen foods to satisfy any special needs of representatives from any European country.
• Sometime, watching the people shopping was as interesting as the selection offered by the store. I mean there are people from all over the world shopping there.
  

Beers I've Tried: Bitbuger Premium Pils

Bitburger is a classic German pilsner that is brewed int he town of Bitburg, within an hour's drive from Coblenz. Bitburger traces it's history back to 1817. While originally brewing ales, Bitburger brewed its first pilsner in 1883. Today, no ales are brewed, only pilsners. The Bitburger Premium Pils is the foundation of Bitburger's current reputation.

It is one of Germany's national brands. It is the official beer of the German national soccer team. There is probably no bigger sponsorship deal that that in German. It is also one of the German beers that can be found in the USA. It is Germany's no. 1 beer sold in draft.

This is one of the good one. Nice hoppy finish, light yet full-bodied, great foamy head. If you want to understand German pilsners, this would be a good starting place.

Of course, Bitbuger is brewed according to the deutschem Reinheitsgebot, the German beer purity law from 1516 that states that only water, barley and hops can be used in the production of beer.

Cost about .55 to .64 euros per .5 liter bottle.